Troubleshooting Your Cloudy Vitamin C E Ferulic Serum

Based on the details you've provided and the conversation with the staff and other users, it seems the cloudiness you're experiencing when mixing phases A and B of your Vitamin C E Ferulic serum is likely due to an incompatibility between certain ingredients in phase A and phase B.

Even though you've correctly heated Laureth-23 in phase B until it's clear, the issue appears when you combine it with phase A. The staff confirmed that the final product should be clear, indicating something is not dissolving or is reacting improperly.

A helpful suggestion from the conversation is to identify which specific ingredient in phase A is causing the problem. Phase A contains Water, Triethanolamine, Ferulic acid, and Panthenol. Phase B contains Ethoxydiglycol, Propylene glycol, Glycerin, Laureth-23, and D-alpha tocopherol (Vitamin E).

To pinpoint the culprit, you can try the following troubleshooting steps:

1. Prepare phase A without Triethanolamine, Ferulic acid, and Panthenol (just Water).
2. Prepare phase B as usual, heating Laureth-23 until clear.
3. Mix the simplified phase A (Water) with phase B. Check if it remains clear.
4. If the mixture is clear, add Triethanolamine to the A+B mixture and observe.
5. If it remains clear, add Ferulic acid and observe.
6. If it remains clear, add Panthenol and observe.

By adding the ingredients from phase A back one by one, you should be able to see which specific ingredient causes the mixture to turn cloudy. This will help you understand the incompatibility.

Your measured pH of 3-4 is appropriate for a Vitamin C serum containing L-ascorbic acid, so the pH level itself is likely not the cause of the initial cloudiness when mixing A and B.

The staff also mentioned they are developing a pre-mixed base for this formula, which could be a more convenient option if you continue to face challenges with the DIY method.

We hope this troubleshooting approach helps you identify the issue!