Improving Foam in Amino Acid Cleanser Base

Adding Foam to Facial Cleanser from Amino Wash Base

Amino acid-based cleansing bases, such as Amino Wash™ (Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate), are very mild surfactants. However, they naturally tend to produce less foam compared to traditional sulfate-based surfactants. If you wish to increase the foam quantity and improve its quality (make it finer and softer), you can do so by adding foam boosters or co-surfactants that help enhance foaming properties.

Commonly used ingredients that pair well with Amino Wash™ base to boost and improve foam quality include:

• Creamy Foamer™ (Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate): This is a foam booster specifically designed to create soft and smooth foam, ideal for formulas requiring a creamy lather. Recommended usage is 10-15% of the formula, but you can adjust it higher if more foam is desired.
• SulFoam™ (Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate): A very gentle surfactant that provides good foaming action with fine bubbles. It can be added to an Amino Wash™ formula at 5-10% to help increase foam volume and stability.
• BabyFoam™ (Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate): A highly gentle powder surfactant that produces good, soft foam. It can be incorporated into liquid formulas at 5-10% to boost foam volume and contribute to a soft skin feel after washing.
• Coco-Foam-50™ (Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine) or Laura-Foam-50™ (Lauramidopropyl Hydroxysultaine): These are amphoteric surfactants often used as co-surfactants to boost foam and reduce potential irritation from primary surfactants. They can be used at 1-10% of the formula to enhance foam volume and stability.
• Cond-Foam™ (Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate): A gentle surfactant with good foaming properties, particularly effective in the pH range of 5-6, which is suitable for the skin. It can be used at 5-10% to increase foam and provide a smooth feel after rinsing.

Additional Tips:

• Combining more than one foam booster or co-surfactant with your Amino Wash™ base often yields the best results in terms of foam volume, fineness, and stability.
• Start with the lower end of the recommended usage range and adjust as needed based on your desired foam characteristics.
• Check the pH of your final formula, as some ingredients like Cond-Foam™ perform best within a specific pH range.