[fareloz]

Don’t you think you have too many emulsifiers in the products, like 3 already? Emulsifiers are surfactants and they can give “soapy” effect (some are well-known for this, like Olivem 1000). And you think of fighting the issue with … adding one more emulsifier to have 4?

HLB has nothing to do with foaming, this metric is just a very rough assumption of how stable you emulsion will be using specific ethoxylated emulsifiers. Nowadays this metric is considered obsolete.

I would suggest to keep your formula minimalistic. Just stick to one chosen emulsifier at reasonable concentration.

[fareloz]

To me it usually doesn’t really matter. The only problem is quicker evaporation of fragrance, so you would need bigger amount of the fragrance.

[fareloz]

Niacinamide together with ascorbic acid (I wonder if Vitamin C is ascorbic acid in your formula) can give Niacinamide Ascorbate with bright yellow color

[fareloz]

Ascorbic acid is very soluble in water. If you have problems that means you have too little of water to dissolve it.

As I see you are trying to make a tweaked Skinceuticals formula. They use Ethoxydiglycol, while you are using Propylene Glycol. AA is more soluble in ethoxy while not really soluble in PG. Plus your percentage of AA is higher (18% comparing to 15% of Skinceuticals).

Ethoxydiglycol is hard to source and it is pricey, so instead of it and PG I can suggest using Propanediol. Ascorbic acid has good solubility in it, but it might take some time to stir.

[fareloz]

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjrRxDr30gw

2. Yes, companies always do this. Let’s take a look at classic Head & Shoulders shampoo:

INCI: Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Cocamide MEA, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Citrate, Piroctone Olamine, Parfum, Citric Acid, Glycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Salicylate, Limonene, Polyquaternium-10, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Linalool, Sodium Hydroxide, Citronellol, Propylene Glycol, Menthol, Verbena Officinalis Leaf Extract, Citrus Grandis Fruit Extract, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Extract, Triacetin, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, CI 17200, CI 19140

Sodium Laureth Sulfate - anionic

Sodium Xylenesulfonate - anionic

Cocamide MEA - non-ionic

Cocamidopropyl Betaine - amphoteric

[fareloz]

UPDATE:

It appeared the problem is water. Distilled water apparently is not the same as deionized water. Due to metal ions in water the copper part of Copper PCA was replaced with these free ions. Then copper ions oxidized. The solution was to replace the water source to have deionized water. The good source is water after reverse osmosis filter without remineralization step.

[fareloz]

I suspect your problem is not about thickness of the product, but maybe the soapiness of the emulsifier. Olivem 1000 is known to give the “soaping” effect (when you rub it, it gives you white cast for quite some time and you can’t rub it in for a while), especially in a combination with gums. If so, you can try switching to other self-thickening emulsifier

[fareloz]

Check what commercial hair oils contain to make them light - caprylic capric triglycerides, carbonates, volatile silicones.

But the supplement itself may have a very sticky base.

[fareloz]

Maybe I am wrong, but buffer solution to me is not just some base in water, but also a corresponding acid. E.g. citrate buffer is Sodium Citrate + Citric acid + Water.

Anyway when you add Salicylic acid to sodium citrate solution you get this:

Sodium Citrate + Water + Salicylic Acid -> Sodium Salicylate + Sodium Citrate + Salicylic Acid + Citric Acid + Water

Basically depending on pH, part of Sodium Citrate will swap Citrate with Salicylic Acid and form soluble in water Sodium Salicylate + Citric Acid.

pH stability for salicylic acid is from 3-4

It is not a stability pH. Salicylic acid in skincare is stable under any pH. It is the lowest pH you can reach in skincare products without being regulated and without precipitation in water-containing solutions.

is salicylic acid will be affected when added to a solution with a pH of 7 or 9 or buffer solution of sodium citrate?

Not sure what do you mean by this. Any acid is affected by rising the pH. The higher pH - the less acid in free form. In your example some of the acid becomes Sodium Salicylate. And that’s fine.

Please I need your answer.

I would suggest searching the forum because questions about Salicylic Acid were asked many times (including from myself haha)

[fareloz]

Such products are not dissolved AA, but a dispersion of very fine AA in the base.

[fareloz]

It is stearic acid and cetyl alcohol, you have too much of them

[fareloz]

Ethylated ascorbic acid is known as the most stable water-soluble derivative.

[fareloz]

I have checked several shampoos with clarifying title and they are all just regular sulfate shampoos

[fareloz]

Reduce Propylene Glycol to 5%

[fareloz]

This is almost a typical formula of a hand sanitizer (although most companies use carbomer as it is cheaper than Sepimax Zen). And sanitizers kill bacteria, right? So why do you need preservative for something that kills bacteria itself?

[fareloz]

The 500 Dalton Rule suggests that in order for a molecule to penetrate the skin barrier, its molecular weight must be less than 500 Daltons. All HA forms, even ultra small, are much bigger than 500 Daltons.

Also, the smaller HA ingredient - the less potent it is in terms of binding water. If you need a good hydration - use Glycerin.

[fareloz]

Did you adjust the pH BEFORE adding the peptides? Because if you adjusted the pH it can’t change unless something is interacting in the formula. Since you’ve got green color I suspect it is oxidized copper. You need to check what other incompatible ingredients you have

[fareloz]

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[fareloz]

Is it the ph of the final formulation or only after adding sodium citrate.

The final pH of the solution. The lower pH - the more acid inside.

And what will I get in the final formulation

As I said you get a mix of original Sodium Citrate, Sodium Salicylate, Citric acid and Salicylic Acid.

The lower pH - the more SA in the solution. But the lower pH - harder to keep it dissolved. If you use only water and Sodium Citrate I don’t think you can get 2% of SA soluble in water under pH 3.0 (but if you raise it to 4.0 most of SA becomes Sodium Salicylate and it is soluble in water)

[fareloz]

Not sure what I can say more here. In products like Skinoren and other similar where AA percentage is 10%+ the acid is not dissolved in some base. Instead a very tiny powder of AA dispersed in the base. The powder is so fine. so tiny and dispersed so evenly that you can’t notice with your eyes and feel with your fingers that it is not dissolved.

[fareloz]

THD is oil soluble while OP asked for a derivative for aqueous formula

[fareloz]

You still don’t provide the use except of this characteristic. Is it just for labeling?

[fareloz]

Please create a separate thread instead of hijacking others question. Because: it is the rule of the forum and more people will see it.

[fareloz]

Of course there is a very popular way - injections.

In terms of skincare - you are not allowed to “penetrate deep”. Skincare is not a drug, it should stay at upper layers of the skin

[fareloz]

I still don’t see the actual application of the value you are trying to get. Maybe you just want a characteristic which is just meaningless and no need to bother with. What you are trying to achieve with this number, what are you going to use it for?