Adjusting Formulation: Percentage Change when Replacing Gel Base
Question
When modifying a formulation by removing a portion of a pre-made Gel Base and replacing it with an active ingredient (e.g., Vitamin C), how do the percentages of the original ingredients from the Gel Base change in the final mixture? For example, if an ingredient is 5% in the original 100g Gel Base, and 10g of the Gel Base is removed and replaced with 10g of Vitamin C, will the original ingredient's percentage in the final 100g mixture be less than 5%? Please explain the calculation.
Answer
Okay, I see the conversation has reached a clear conclusion with the help of other users.
The key takeaway is indeed that when you remove a portion of the original Gel Base and replace it with another ingredient (like Vitamin C), the percentages of the original ingredients within the final mixture will decrease compared to their percentages in the initial Gel Base. This is because the total weight might remain the same (if you remove 10g and add 10g), but the amount of each original ingredient is reduced proportionally when you remove a part of the base mixture.
As correctly pointed out, if an ingredient was 5% in the original 100g base (meaning 5g), removing 10g of the base means you remove 10% of that ingredient's amount as well (0.5g), leaving 4.5g of that ingredient. When you add 10g of Vitamin C to the remaining 90g of base, the total is back to 100g, but the ingredient that was originally 5g is now 4.5g in the 100g final mixture, making its new percentage 4.5%.
So, while the ratios of the ingredients within the remaining base portion stay the same, their percentage relative to the total final product changes.
It's good that the concept is clear now!