Improving Foam in Your Body Wash Formula

It sounds like you're working on a body wash formula and experiencing low foam. Let's look at your ingredients and how they might be affecting the lather.

Your formula includes the following key components:

• Water
• Glycerin
• SLES (Sodium Laureth Sulfate): A primary anionic surfactant, good for cleansing and foaming.
• Cocamidopropyl Betaine: An amphoteric co-surfactant that helps boost foam quality and mildness.
• Cocamide DEA: A nonionic surfactant often used as a foam booster and thickener.
• Preservative
• SugarThick™ (PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate): A thickener that generally does not interfere with foam.
• Fragrance
• Polysorbate 20 (Tween 20): A nonionic surfactant often used as a solubilizer.

Why Your Formula Might Have Low Foam

Several factors can contribute to low foam:

1. Surfactant Concentrations and Ratios: The total amount of surfactants (SLES, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamide DEA) and their relative proportions are the most critical factors for foam. If the total concentration is too low, or the balance between the primary surfactant (SLES) and co-surfactants isn't optimal, foam can be poor.
2. Cocamide DEA Effectiveness: While Cocamide DEA is a foam booster, its performance can vary. Ensure it's used at an effective concentration.
3. Polysorbate 20 Level: Polysorbate 20 is primarily a solubilizer. Nonionic surfactants like this produce less foam than anionic or amphoteric ones. If used at a high concentration, especially relative to your main surfactants, it can suppress foam.
4. Other Ingredients: Glycerin at high levels, or the presence of oils or emollients (if any are included beyond the basic list), can also reduce foam.

Considering Your Suggested Additions

• Apple Foam™ (Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids): This is a gentle anionic surfactant known for producing good, high-volume foam. Adding Apple Foam™ could definitely help boost your formula's lather and improve its mildness.
• PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate: This is a nonionic surfactant and emollient. It's often used for skin conditioning and solubilizing. While beneficial for skin feel, it is not a foam booster and, like Polysorbate 20, could potentially reduce foam if used at high levels.

Recommendations to Improve Foam

1. Adjust Surfactant Ratios: Review the percentages of SLES, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, and Cocamide DEA. Increasing the total surfactant concentration or adjusting the ratio (e.g., increasing Cocamidopropyl Betaine relative to SLES) can improve foam.
2. Add Apple Foam™: Incorporating Apple Foam™ (Product ID: 5948) is a good strategy to increase foam volume and improve the lather quality.
3. Optimize Solubilizer Use: Ensure you are using the minimum effective amount of Polysorbate 20 to solubilize your fragrance. High levels can be detrimental to foam.
4. Check pH: Cocamidopropyl Betaine performs well around pH 7.0. Ensure your formula's pH is suitable for your surfactant system.
5. Evaluate PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate: While it offers skin benefits, adding PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate may not be the best approach solely for boosting foam and could potentially reduce it. Focus on optimizing your main surfactants and adding a dedicated foam booster like Apple Foam™ first.

In summary, adjusting your primary surfactant system and adding a foam booster like Apple Foam™ are the most effective ways to increase the foam in your body wash formula. Reviewing the levels of solubilizers like Polysorbate 20 is also important.