Current Body Wash Formulation (Free Formulation)
For this formulation, I am going to make it 15% ASM. Since I am going to use sulfates, I really do not need a lot for it to be effective. Lately, I have been, doing 5% ASM of the anionic surfactant and 10% of the amphoteric surfactant. This creates a high foam with good cleaning but is not drying. I am blending SLS and SLES. Do you need to blend anionic, not necessary, but I am going to. As they have slightly different properties. It can make it more mild just even using a combination of surfactants. For the SLS and SLES, I am using 2.5% ASM of each. 10% ASM of the cocamidopropyl betaine.
ASM Calculations:
SLS 2.5%
29*0.0863=2.5027
8.63%
SLES 2.5%
30*0.08335=2.5005
8.33%
Cocomidopropyl Betaine 10%
30*0.3334=10.002
Otherwise, I want to keep this formulation simple. I have been loving 10% of a humectant. I actually used propylene glycol in my formulation just because I have so much of it. Glycerin is amazing.
I have hard water, so I do add a chelating agents to my surfactant formulations. I want to try tetrasodium glutamate diacetate to my surfactant formulations. See the substitutions section for suggestion on alternatives. For my preservative, I am going to use Liquid Germall Plus at 0.50%. The method of this formulation is important. So make sure you read it a couple of times before you make it.
I choose to not add fragrance to this formulation. I did not want to fuss with it changing viscosity. Surfactant products thickened with salt are dramatically affected by fragrance oil and essential oils. For example, fragrance oils with vanilla tends to thin formulation out, while citrus ones tend to thicken.
How thick your formulation turns out will depend on the salt content of your Cocamidopropyl betaine and other ingredients that you add.
Let’s look at the formulation.
Calculations:
100-(10+1+0.50+8.63+8.33+33.34)=38.2
38.20*3=114.6
8.63*3=25.89
8.33*3=24.99
33.34*3=100.02
Method:
Sanitize all your equipment, containers, and workspace. Gather all your ingredients and make sure that your notebook is set up. In a glass beaker, add all your phase A ingredients. Stir until the ingredients are uniform. In a separate beaker, weigh out phase B. Stirring gently, pour phase B into phase A to create phase A/B. Some foam will be unavoidable, but stir gently. Check and adjust the pH to 5.5. See below on how to do that. Pour into the final packaging. Be sure to label and date your latest formulation.
Adjusting pH:
Adjusting pH (Dilution Method): Get two beakers; one will be used as our washing beaker, and the other will be used to make the dilutions. The main thing with making dilutions is you want to make enough that the probe can be covered. You can weigh out 1 gram of product and 9 grams of distilled water to make a 10% dilution. Or you can weigh out 2 grams of product and then 18 grams of distilled water. Get your pH meter out and rinse it with distilled water into the other beaker I had you get. Dry off the meter with a lint-free product. Mix it well and take the pH. If you are using strips, do not make a diluted solution, no matter the viscosity, or the pH will be way off. Do not put the strips directly into the product. Even if you are taking the pH of the product directly, you want to add your product to a separate beaker. Wait for the reading to be stable, take a note of the pH, and discard the Sample after. Then put the product on the scale and tare it. Add 0.10g either the 50:50 citric acid solution (to lower the pH), the sodium hydroxide (to raise the pH), or TEA (to raise the pH of the product). Stir well, then wait at least 1 minute before making another dilution. Keep repeating the process until you get the desired pH. You will be surprised how much it may take. I recommend making a bigger batch than you want so you can account for that.
Adjusting the Viscosity With Salt:
IMPORTANT: Make sure you know how much salt is already in your formulation!
Make sure that you have added everything, including color and fragrance. This is very much like adjusting pH. You add a little at a time, no more than 0.30% salt at a time. Add 0.30% at a time and mix and make sure that the salt is dissolved. If you like the viscosity, then you can stop and package. If you are not you can add 0.30% at a time and see the viscosity. I know it can be tempting to just add a bunch at once but it is not a good idea. Once you add to much, you cannot thicken it any more with salt. If you are at the point where it is more than 3% than the surfactant that you chose can not thicken with salt. It is also important to note that just because you used a certain percentage on salt one time that it will be the same amount next time. It all depends on where you are on the salt curve. Also make sure you are using a salt with no additives. Sea salt can also work.
Substitutions and Alterations:
Substituting ingredients will change the final feel, viscosity, and overall effect of the final product. percentages and the formulation procedure may need to change with substitutions. These substitution suggestions are just suggestions and have not been tested to work.
To find out where to purchase ingredients, check out the ingredient supplier page on the diamond level blog.
You can alter the surfactants to what you want but that will completely change everything. So it is not recommended. You can
You can use a different humectant.
You can use 0.20% sodium phytate or EDTA in place of the 1% Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate. Add the difference to the water to ensure it totals 100%.
You can also use this as a clarifying shampoo if you wanted too.
I know that many are not going to make this formulation but at least here is an example of how to formulate with them. I personally use sulfates as they give me the best clean. If you want to use sulfates that is personally up to you.
