Why Foaming Products Separate & How to Fix it + Blueprint for Every Foaming Product
Updated: 33 minutes ago
Why is my Body Wash, Face Wash, Shampoo, Bubble Bath Separating?
You might be combining your phases incorrectly.
When making products with foaming surfactant ingredients you want to mix together all of the water based ingredients together first before adding in your gelling agent. This means you need to mix your surfactants into your distilled water FIRST before adding in Xanthan Gum or any other gelling agent.
If you do not do this, your surfactants may separate from the distilled water portion.
Why Separation happens…Surfactants are Diluted
The Foaming Surfactant Ingredients we use in our shampoos, body washes, face washes, & bubble baths are actually diluted in water.
This mean, when you add 10% Decyl Glucoside in your product, you aren’t actually using 10% Decyl Glucoside, because it is diluted.
How do we figure out the Surfactants Composition?…Check SDS
Check the SDS from the Supplier you purchased from. If you are buying from reliable suppliers, they should have an SDS present for you to download on the listing page for every raw material. If they do not have one available on the listing page, reach out to the company and have them email it to you. (Most of the time you can download it from the listing page). If they do not have an SDS for their raw material, I wouldn’t recommend using it in your cosmetics.
If you check the SDS in section 3 you will find “3. COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS” This section should tell you what is inside your surfactant and at what percentage. Below is an example of the Composition Info provided by NaturalBulkSupplies.com for Decyl Glucoside
As you can see, they do not provide exact amounts, they are only ranges. What I learned in the IPCS Course, is to take the mid-point for each ingredient and make sure it adds up to 100%.
For example; the Mid-Point of “45 - 49” is 47 and the Mid-Point for “51- 55” is 53.
If you add 47 + 53 = 100%
This means NaturalBulkSupplies.com Decyl Glucoside contains;
47% Distilled Water
53% Decyl Glucoside
Explaining Active Surfactant Matter
What I just explained above is the first process to calculating ASM (Active Surfactant Matter). You first need to find out the ASM for your raw material. In this exercise, we have Decyl Glucoside with an ASM of 53%. We can express this in text by using, Decyl Glucoside (57%). So if you ever see this next to my surfactants name, it is the ASM.
Calculating ASM for Final Product
Here is an example formula;
phase A
5% Glycerin
78.5% distilled water
0.5% Liquid Germall Plus
phase B
You can see we are using 5% Decyl Glucoside, but that does not mean there is actually 5% Decyl Glucoside in the final product. Because the Decyl Glucoside is a 57% dilution.
That means 53% of the 5% Decyl Glucoside is actually Decyl Glucoside and the other 47% is Distilled Water.
To calculate the exact amount of Decyl Glucoside in this formula you need to multiple
53% x 5 = 2.65%
This means there is actually 2.65% in this formula
(Raw Material ASM% x Percentage used in Formula
= ASM for Surfactant in Final Product)
If you do not have a percent button on you calculator
you will need to move the 5% Decyl Glucoside decimal up 2 spaces.
Now you have, 0.05
Multiple 0.05 x 53 = 2.65
(Percentage used in Formula, decimal moved up 2 spots x Raw Material ASM)
= ASM for Surfactant in Final Product)
How much ASM for each type of Product
This is a common question I am asked, and I think the ultimate answer is, it’s up to the formulator and what type of product they are wanting to make and who it is for. But generally people like to have a guideline to follow and this can really help when you are first starting out and when wanting to formulate for different skin types.
Here are some posts I found sharing suggested ASM for each type of product
I also want to share what I learned in the IPCS Course about blending surfactants and calculating ASM for foaming products. I am only in the first part of the course and I have already learned so much.
1.5 - 5% non-ionic (to emulsify fragrance)
Poly Suga®Mulse D9 / BioSuga™ Mulse C80, FSS LipoSolve, SYMBIOSOLV CLEAR PLUS / FSS SuperSolv, Polysorbate 20, Polysorbate 80, PEG 40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Coco Glucoside, Decyl Glucoside, Caprylyl Capryl Glucoside, Lauryl Glucoside, etc.
3-5% anionic (up to 10% for Body/Shampoo)
Sodium (C14-16) Alpha Olefin Sulfonate ( AOS-40) Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate Powder (SCI), Foaming Apple, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate (DLS), Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate (SLES), Sodium Cocoyl Methyl Taurate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSA)
3-5% amphoteric (up to 10% for Body/Shampoo)
Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Coco Betaine, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Lauramidopropyl Betaine, Cocamidopropylamine Oxide, Lauramine Oxide
up to 3% foaming non-ionic (optional)
How to Properly Combine Surfactants
With the above guide in mind
1. Mix your non-ionic surfactant with your fragrance oil, essential oil, or any other oil you may want to add into your formula.
2. Add in the rest of your surfactants and mix well.
3. Mix surfactants with all of your water soluble ingredients.
4. Add in gelling agent/thickener.
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