Evaluation of Your Foam Pump Body Wash Formula

Thank you for sharing your formula and questions. Let's evaluate your proposed liquid soap formula for a foam pump, focusing on achieving thick foam, moisturized skin, lasting fragrance, and suitability for the foam pump dispenser.

Your initial formula includes:

• Cocamidopropyl Betaine 20%
• Creamy Foamer (Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate) 5%
• Coco Foam (Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine) 5%
• SulFoam (Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate) 5%
• Glycerin 5%
• Fragrance 5%
• Fractionated Coconut Oil 5%
• Hydro Protein (Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein) 0.5%
• Phenoxyethanol 1%
• Citric Acid (for pH adjustment)
• Water to 100%

Formula Evaluation and Recommendations

1. Surfactant Blend (Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Creamy Foamer, Coco Foam, SulFoam): This blend uses a variety of surfactants, including amphoterics (Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Coco Foam) and anionics (Creamy Foamer, SulFoam). This combination is good for creating rich, stable foam, which is desirable for a foam pump. The total active surfactant level is quite high, which contributes to cleansing and foam. For a foam pump, the final viscosity needs to be low (water-like). The combination and ratios of these surfactants will determine the base viscosity. You may need to adjust the ratios slightly during testing to ensure it is liquid enough for the pump.
2. Fractionated Coconut Oil (5%): Including 5% oil in a wash-off product like body wash is challenging without a proper emulsifier, and it's likely to cause separation as you experienced with grapeseed oil. Oils at high percentages in wash-off products also tend to reduce foam and may leave a residue. For a moisturized feel in a wash-off product, ingredients that can adhere to the skin are more effective. It is recommended to remove the Fractionated Coconut Oil from this formula. If you wish to include a very small amount of oil for marketing purposes, it would need a suitable solubilizer/emulsifier, and clarity might be lost.
3. Fragrance (5%): Including 5% fragrance requires a strong solubilizer to prevent separation and maintain clarity (if desired). Flora Solve Clear is a suitable solubilizer for fragrances in water-based systems. However, dissolving 5% fragrance while maintaining clarity and stability in a surfactant system can be difficult and often requires a high ratio of solubilizer to fragrance (e.g., 2-5 parts Flora Solve Clear to 1 part fragrance). This means you might need 10-25% Flora Solve Clear, which is a significant amount and could impact the formula's properties and cost. If clarity is essential, you might consider reducing the fragrance level to 0.5-1.0%, which is a more typical usage rate in wash-off products and easier to solubilize. If you proceed with 5% fragrance, start testing with Flora Solve Clear at a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio (15-20% Flora Solve Clear) and adjust as needed. Note that achieving perfect clarity with high fragrance levels can be challenging.
4. Moisturizers (Glycerin, Hydro Protein, and others):
   • Glycerin (5%): Glycerin is an excellent humectant, drawing moisture to the skin. 5% is a good level for providing some hydration.
   • Hydro Protein (Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein) (0.5%): Hydrolyzed proteins can offer some conditioning benefits. 0.5% is within the recommended range.
   • Additional Moisturizers: To enhance the moisturized feel after rinsing, as you inquired about achieving a soft, non-sticky feel, incorporating a cationic skin-conditioning polymer is highly recommended. These polymers have a positive charge that allows them to adhere to the negatively charged skin surface, providing a conditioning effect that survives rinsing. Poly-Conditioner 47 (Polyquaternium-47) is a good option for body wash formulas, typically used at 0.1-3%. Adding 1-2% of Poly-Conditioner 47 would significantly improve the skin feel after washing compared to humectants alone in a wash-off product. Methyl Gluceth-20 is also a humectant, similar to Glycerin, and can contribute to the moisturizing feel, but cationic polymers are generally more effective for a lasting feel in wash-off products.
5. Phenoxyethanol (1%): This is a standard and effective preservative at 1%.
6. Citric Acid: This is used to adjust the pH to the desired range (typically 5.5-6.5 for skin). You will need to add this gradually and measure the pH until the target is reached.
7. Propylene Glycol: Propylene Glycol serves multiple functions, including acting as a solvent, a humectant, and improving the skin feel (making it feel more slippery during application). It is commonly used in body washes for these reasons and can also assist in solubilizing ingredients like fragrance. Adding 1-5% can improve the overall feel and stability of the formula.
8. Viscosity for Foam Pump: The formula must be low viscosity. The initial surfactant blend should ideally result in a liquid suitable for a foam pump. Avoid adding traditional thickeners like Sodium Chloride (which works with certain anionic surfactants like SLS but not effectively with amphoterics and sulfosuccinates in this blend and can cause separation) or Flora Foam (which thickens amphoteric surfactants, leading to a thicker, not thinner, product). The staff's advice to remove Sodium Chloride and add Flora Foam was in the context of a different formula where thickening was desired, not for a foam pump liquid. For a foam pump, focus on the surfactant ratios to achieve low viscosity.

Suggested Modified Formula

Based on your goals and the recommendations:

• Cocamidopropyl Betaine 20%
• Creamy Foamer (Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate) 5%
• Coco Foam (Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine) 5%
• SulFoam (Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate) 5%
• Glycerin 5%
• Propylene Glycol 5%
• Flora Solve Clear 15% (Adjust based on testing, may need more or less depending on fragrance. Consider reducing fragrance if clarity is paramount.)
• Fragrance 5%
• Poly-Conditioner 47 1-2%
• Hydro Protein (Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein) 0.5%
• Phenoxyethanol 1%
• Citric Acid (adjust pH to 5.5-6.5)
• Water to 100%

Note: The percentage of Water will be adjusted to make the total 100% after adding all other ingredients.

This modified formula removes the oil, includes a solubilizer for the fragrance (though achieving clarity at 5% fragrance is challenging), adds Propylene Glycol for improved feel and solvency, and includes Poly-Conditioner 47 for enhanced skin conditioning after rinsing.

Next Steps

• Prepare a small test batch of the suggested modified formula.
• Mix the Flora Solve Clear with the Fragrance first, then add to the water phase containing the surfactants, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Poly-Conditioner 47, Hydro Protein, and Phenoxyethanol.
• Adjust the pH using Citric Acid.
• Check the viscosity to ensure it is suitable for your foam pump. If it's too thick, you may need to slightly reduce the total surfactant concentration or adjust their ratios.
• Evaluate the foam quality, skin feel after rinsing, and fragrance performance.
• Observe the stability of the formula over time (check for separation or changes in appearance).

Developing a stable, clear formula with high levels of fragrance and conditioning agents requires careful testing and adjustment.