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5% Lactic Acid Exfoliating Treatment w/ ECOCERT Preservative (Exclusive 11/23)

My skin has been wack! & I need an AHA! My favorite is lactic acid. I normally like to pair it with a glycolic acid hyaluronic acid based serum too. So I might make that next. But for now, here is a lactic acid exfoliating treatment using a ECOCERT preservative. I wanted to use ECOCERT solubilizer as well, but mine was expired. So you can use Poly Suga®Mulse D9 in place of the Polysorbate 20. I would use it at maybe 3% or 4% instead though.

Note; in my vlog I posted before this post I mentioned that Geogard 221 is not water soluble because I tried mixing into water. But a patron commented saying that they have been able to get it to mix into water, you just have to mix it a lot. So you can try that if you want. I'll have to do some more experimenting.

I also recommend watching this video or reading this blog to learn more about formulating with alpha hydroxy acids


Lactic Acid Exfoliating Treatment Formula;

phase A

phase B

phase C

phase D


Lactic Acid Exfoliating Treatment 200 g Recipe;

phase A

phase B

phase C

phase D


Directions;

  • Start by combining phase A in a heat safe container.

  • Place in a water bath or on a hot plate and mix occasionally to dissolve the allantoin.

  • While that heats, take another beaker and combine all of the ingredients in phase B & mix until the sodium phytate has dissolved.

  • Grab another beaker and combine the ingredients in phase C and mix.

  • Grab another beaker and combine the ingredients in phase D & mix.

  • Once the allantoin in phase A has dissolved remove from heat.

  • Grab phase B and pour phase A into B & mix.

  • Pour phase C into phase A/B & mix.

  • Then pour phase D into phase A/B/C slowly while mixing.

  • There might be bubbles in the formula, that is totally normal. It's because polysorbate 20 is a surfactant but it's not a soapy surfactant.

  • Check pH and make sure it's between 3.5 and 4.5

  • Then you can pour into whatever bottle you would like.


Benefits/Purpose of each ingredient

  • Allantoin - helps soothe the skin

  • Distilled Water - helps dissolve the allantoin

  • Rose Hydrosol - helps soothe the skin an adds a lovely Rose scent

  • Propylene Glycol - a humectant that helps hydrate the skin

  • Sodium Phytate - this is a chelating agent

  • Lactic Acid - this is a gentle alpha hydroxy acid that helps exfoliate the skin

  • pH Buffer (10% Sodium Hydroxide & 90% Distilled Water) - lactic acid has a really low pH. So it lowers the pH of your product to an unsafe pH for the skin. So you need to use the pH buffer to raise the pH in order to safely use this product on your skin

  • Geogard 221 - this is an ECOCERT preservative

  • Polysorbate 20 - a solubilizer that helps mix insoluble ingredients, like fragrance oils or Geogard 221 into watery solutions.


Substitutions;

substituting ingredients will change the final feel, viscosity, and overall effect of final product. percentages and formulating procedure may need to change with substitutions. these substitution suggestions are just suggestions and have not been tested to work.



Buffing solution to raise ph

Directions; weigh out the distilled water in a plastic container. Look for a container that is PP#5 as this is a hard plastic that can withstand heat. I use this one. Next weight out the sodium hydroxide in an other container. I use a little glass bowl. Go into a well ventilated room or preferably outside and pour the sodium hydroxide into the water, NOT the other way around. Make sure you pour the sodium hydroxide into the water. You also want to make sure you have gloves, a mask, and protective eye wear on when working with sodium hydroxide. After you pour the sodium hydroxide into the water mix it up. You will notice the solution will become foggy, it may sizzle and it will heat up. This is totally normal. Let it sit until the water runs clear and it returns to room temperature. You can then store the 10% sodium hydroxide solution in a thick plastic container. You want to look for HDPE #2. Add a label onto your container so you know what it is and when you made it.


important note; wear protective clothing like long sleeves, goggles, and gloves when working with sodium hydroxide. Also work in a well ventilated room or outside.

You can also raise the ph using triethanolamine, I've personally never used it, but it does seem to be popular. You can purchase it here. I don't know how to use it, since I have never tried it, I just wanted to share this method with you as well.


How to raise and lower ph of your products

I like to start by taking the ph of my product so I know what the starting ph is. I then will begin by adding about 5 drops of my ph buffing solution into my product. I mix it in and let my product sit for about a minute before taking the ph again. Take the ph again and if you need to add more ph buffing solution add more.

When you first make a new product you may have to go back and forth a lot when adjusting the ph, but once you make the product again, you will have a better idea of how much buffer solution you need.


Typically when I use the citric acid buffing solution I may need anywhere between 5 drops - 100 drops, just depends on the starting ph of my product and how big of a batch I made. As for the sodium hydroxide buffing solution I normally factor this into my formula because I use so much. Like I said, the only time I have to raise the ph of my products is when I work with AHA's and usually I use a lot of buffing solution. For example, if I make a toner with 5% glycolic acid I know I will need about 20% sodium hydroxide buffing solution. So I factor in the 20% buffing solution into my formula for the glycolic acid toner. The first time you formulate with an AHA it may take a while until you figure out how much buffing solution you need, but I promise with practice you will learn exactly how much buffing solution to use in each product. AHA's & BHA's are tricky to work with, so I only recommend it if you have been formulating for a while and are comfortable with it.



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