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DIY Powder Shampoo (no this isn't dry shampoo, it's actual foaming shampoo) - Exclusive

Recently a patron sent me a powdered shampoo, which I've never seen before, so I definitely wanted to try to make one myself. I was limited to the ingredients I had on hand, but I think I came up with a pretty good formula. I've only used this shampoo once, and so far I like it. My boyfriend said it makes his hair extra fluffy. lol Which I do think I would agree with that. This shampoo definitely don't feel like it weighed down my hair at all. I followed with this hair conditioner bar

Formula

phase A

  • 60% Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI)

  • 4% DL Panthenol

  • 0.8% GuarCat (INCI; Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride)

  • 35.2% Colloidal Oatmeal

50 gram recipe;

phase A

  • 30 grams Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI)

  • 2 grams DL Panthenol

  • 0.4 grams GuarCat (INCI; Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride)

  • 17.6 grams Colloidal Oatmeal


Directions;

  • combine all ingredients together and mix. make sure you are wearing a respirator when working with Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate.

  • optional; sift powder

  • use funnel and pour into bottle. I used a bottle like this

note; something I want to mention is the fact that you need to wear a respirator when working with SCI, so I'm not exactly sure how safe it is to use a powdered product like this, as each time you are using it the powder does go in the air risking you breathing it in. If anyone has anything to add to this please leave a comment and let me know. My thinking, is that since the powder isn't pure SCI its diluted, so it is fine. Realistically any loose powdered product we use shouldn't be breathed in. So I think this is just the way powdered products are. Also we are only using a small amount of powder each time unlike when you are formulating with SCI you have a giant bag of it and you are scooping and mixing causing a lot of the SCI to go airborne.

another note; you may have noticed I doubled the percentages of the ingredients I normally use. For example, I normally use DL panthenol at 2% but since this is a powder that is going to be diluted with water, I doubled the percentage and used 4% DL panthenol.

pH adjusting; natural pH was around 5.8 no pH adjusting needed. Our hairs natural pH is 4.5 - 5.5 so it is a bit higher than our hairs natural pH, but it's totally okay as water has a pH of 7 so it will not damage the hair.


Benefits/Purpose of each ingredient

Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate - anionic surfactant. creates lather and foam. Ecocert approved surfactant

DL Panthenol - it’s a film former that increases shine while hydrating the hair strand to be more elastic, more manageable, and healthier. It can thicken the hair shaft, making hair appear thicker.

GuarCat (INCI; Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride) - can help condition hair without build up. This is cationic, but is still compatible with anionic surfactants. It also acts as a thickener.

Colloidal Oatmeal - oats have been said to help hydrate the hair and soothe the scalp.


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.

Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate - you can try a different powder anionic surfactant like Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (using a different powdered surfactant with change the pH. I picked SCI due to it's low pH. All the other surfactants I just mentioned have a higher pH. So I highly recommend SCI for best results.

DL Panthenol - you can leave out. or you can add in another water soluble powder that would have benefits for the hair like betaine or honey powder look up powder from your ingredient suppliers and see what kind of powders they offer.

GuarCat - you can try another gum like xanthan gum, guar gum or caesalpinia spinosa gum





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