How to Make Shower Gel
- taralee
- Apr 19, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: May 13, 2022
All ingredients in this formula are naturally derived or Ecocert approved.
Formula;
phase A
1.5% xanthan gum soft
10% glycerin
1.2% euxyl k 903
phase B
56.3% distilled water
phase C
20% AOS 40 INCI; Sodium C14-C16 Olefin Sulfonate
Directions;
combine all ingredients in phase A and mix until combined. (Add in mica powder during this phase if desired. I only add in a pinch for small batches since it doesn't show up on my scale. If you are making large batches, keep track of how much you are adding.)
add phase B directly into phase A and mix until thickened (some clumping may occur)
pour all ingredients from phase C directly into phase A/B and mix to combine.
check and adjust ph between 4.5 - 5.5
cover and let sit overnight
the next day you can pour your shower gel into your desired bottle
the natural ph of this shower gel was 5.55 this ph is fine since it's a wash off product. So you can keep it there if you don't want to worry about lowering the ph, but still check the ph since yours may come out different if you source your ingredients from a different supplier.
Benefits/Purpose of each ingredient
glycerin - humectant that hydrates the hair and scalp
xanthan gum soft - thickener
euxyl k 903 - preservative
AOS 40 - anionic surfactant. main ingredient creating lather and bubbles. sulfate free, mild and gentle surfactant.
cocamidopropyl betaine - amphoteric surfactant. This is a co surfactant. It assists the anionic surfactant by making it more mild while also boosting foam and lather. Although AOS 40 is a pretty mild anionic surfactant compared to other anionic surfactants.
glyceryl oleate - a re-fatting agent and can be found in our hair lipids and skin lipids. It can help improve surfactant systems by subsiding the drying effect that can sometimes occur. Makes surfactant systems more soft, conditioning luxurious, and gentle.
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.
glycerin - propanedial, propylene glycol or other humectant
xanthan gum soft - other xanthan gum, guar gum, siligel, sepimax zen, guarcat, Caesalpinia Spinosa Gum. If you use any of these instead you will have to use them at a different percentage. I don't have experience with Caesalpinia Spinosa Gum or guar gum, so I'm not 100% sure if those will work. They are just suggestions.
euxyl k 903 - any water soluble preservative; e.g. liquid germall plus, optiphen plus, euxyl PE 9010, geogard ECT, Tristate Eco, etc.
AOS 40 - any other liquid anionic surfactant. E.g. DLS, foaming apple, foaming soy, ammonium lauryl sulfate, plantapon LGC sorb, plantapon 611L UP
cocamidopropyl betaine - any other liquid amphoteric surfactant. E.g. lauramidopropyl betaine, disodium cocoamphodiacetate
glyceryl oleate - this is the only refatting agent I've used, so you can try a different one, but I'm not sure how it will turn out in comparison. E.g FSS Sucrose Cocoate, TEGOSOFT® GC, SurfPro CC-6
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