Incorporating Shea Butter and Vitamin E into Clear Liquid Soap

Question

I need advice on incorporating organic refined shea butter and Vitamin E (Tocopheryl Acetate) into a liquid hand soap formula. The formula contains approximately 25% total surfactants, including 20% sulfate surfactants and nonionic surfactants, as well as Betaine. When I tried adding them, the resulting texture was cloudy and milky white. What techniques can I use to make the formula clear?

MySkinRecipes Expert · Accepted Answer

Incorporating Shea Butter and Vitamin E into Clear Liquid Soap

To incorporate Shea Butter and Vitamin E into your liquid hand soap and aim for a clear product, the main challenge is that traditional Shea Butter and oil-soluble Vitamin E are oils and do not naturally mix clearly with water-based surfactant systems like yours. This is why your current attempt resulted in a cloudy, milky texture.

To achieve a clearer formula, you should consider using water-soluble or water-dispersible forms of these ingredients instead of the oil-soluble versions.

For Shea Butter, consider using PEG-75 Shea Butter Glycerides. This form of Shea Butter has been processed to be easily dispersed in water. While the description indicates it produces a cloudy liquid when dispersed in water, it is designed for water-based formulas and is much more compatible than oil-soluble Shea Butter, potentially leading to a more stable, uniformly cloudy (rather than separated) or even semi-clear product depending on the concentration and other formula components. You can add this directly to the water phase of your formulation.
For Vitamin E, consider using Vitamin E (Tocopheryl Acetate) Water-Soluble. This is a water-soluble version of Vitamin E Acetate that can be dissolved directly into the water phase of your formula, which should help maintain clarity.

Your formula already includes Natural Betaine (Crystal), which is water-soluble and beneficial for providing moisture and reducing irritation, fitting well within a hand soap formula.

Technique for Incorporation:

Prepare your water phase containing the sulfate and nonionic surfactants, Betaine, and water.
Add the PEG-75 Shea Butter Glycerides to the water phase and stir or blend until dispersed.
Add the Vitamin E (Tocopheryl Acetate) Water-Soluble to the water phase and stir or blend until dissolved.
Gently mix the entire formula to avoid excessive foaming.

Using these water-compatible versions is the best approach to minimize cloudiness and achieve a more stable, potentially clearer product compared to using oil-soluble Shea Butter and Vitamin E in a high-surfactant system without a strong solubilizer. However, achieving perfect water-clear transparency with any significant level of Shea Butter derivative can still be challenging, as PEG-75 Shea Butter Glycerides is described as producing a cloudy liquid.