Hair Spray Formulation for Dry Hair (Child) & Converting to Conditioning Shampoo

Based on the staff's helpful response, here is a summary of the advice regarding your proposed hair spray formula and the idea of converting it into a conditioning shampoo:

Regarding the Hair Spray Formula:

• General Advice: The staff emphasized the importance of identifying the root cause of the dryness and ensuring the current shampoo/products used are gentle and suitable for children, as many standard children's shampoos lack conditioning and can cause dryness.
• Ingredient Recommendations:
  • Cetrimonium Chloride: The staff does not recommend using this ingredient for children due to potential allergy risks.
  • MOIST72 & Hydro Protein: It is recommended to reduce the amount of these ingredients to no more than 1% for MOIST72 and no more than 2% for Hydro Protein, as higher concentrations can feel sticky.
  • Natural Moisturizing Amino Acids: The staff suggests increasing the amount of this ingredient to 2-3%.
• Mixing Order: You can mix all ingredients together gradually by adding them one by one into the water and stirring until dissolved. There is no specific order required.
• pH Adjustment for Panthenol: You should mix all ingredients first to complete the formula. Then, measure the pH of the final mixture. If the pH is higher than 7, add a very small amount of citric acid to bring it down into the recommended range of 4-7.

Regarding Converting to Conditioning Shampoo:

• Fragrance: The staff advises against using fragrance in the formula while the child's hair is in a very dry condition. It's better to wait until the hair health improves.
• Converting the Formula: To turn the base formula into a conditioning shampoo, you would need to add a surfactant (cleaning agent) and a thickener (like SugarThick, as mentioned by the staff).
• BabyFoam: While you asked about adding 30% BabyFoam, the staff indicated that BabyFoam alone at this concentration would likely not be sufficient for cleaning, even for gentle cleansing.
• Recommended Surfactants for Shampoo:
  • For gentle yet effective cleaning, the staff recommends using AminoWash™.
  • If the child is very active and sweats a lot, requiring stronger cleaning, Lauryl Glucoside could be considered, but note that it is alkaline and would require pH adjustment after adding.
• Mixing BabyFoam/Surfactant: Since BabyFoam alone isn't recommended as the sole surfactant, the specific questions about its mixing order (Q5, Q6) are less relevant. Generally, surfactants are added and mixed into the water phase.
• Fragrance/Flora Solve Mixing (Q7, Q8): As fragrance is not recommended at this time, the questions about mixing it with Flora Solve are also not immediately applicable. However, typically, fragrance oils are indeed mixed with a solubilizer like Flora Solve before being added to a water-based formula. The method you described (weighing fragrance and adding 2-5 times Flora Solve by weight) is a common approach for solubilizing fragrance.

In summary, the staff recommends modifying your initial spray formula by avoiding Cetrimonium Chloride, adjusting the amounts of MOIST72, Hydro Protein, and Natural Moisturizing Amino Acids, mixing ingredients in any order, and adjusting pH at the end. For a conditioning shampoo, they suggest using AminoWash™ as a more suitable surfactant than BabyFoam alone, avoiding fragrance for now, and using a thickener.