Liquid Facial Wash Formula: Thickening, Cloudiness, and Suitability for Foam Pump

Hello! I understand you are making a liquid facial wash and encountered issues with thickness and cloudiness.

Based on the formula you used and the information from the myskinrecipes team, the thickness and cloudiness are likely due to the following main factors:

1. Surfactant Concentration and Combination: Your formula contains several surfactants at a relatively high total concentration (Amino Wash 15%, Cocamidopropyl Betaine 10%, Creamy Foamer 5%, totaling 30%). Specifically, Amino Wash (Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate) can cause the formula to thicken or solidify at high concentrations, especially without a chelating agent like Disodium EDTA, as noted by the staff. Cocamidopropyl Betaine and Creamy Foamer also contribute to viscosity and may affect clarity. The combination of these surfactants at these percentages is not suitable for creating a liquid, clear product intended for a foam pump bottle.
2. Other Ingredients: While beneficial for the skin, including moisturizing ingredients like Sodium PCA, extracts (Cucumber, Calendula), and FruitPeel at a total of 10% in a wash-off formula can make it challenging to achieve clarity and stability in a liquid product.

Approach to Modify the Formula to Achieve a Liquid, Clear Product Suitable for a Foam Pump:

• Adjust the Surfactant System: This is the most crucial step. To achieve a liquid, clear product that works well with a foam pump to produce a mousse-like foam, you need a surfactant system specifically designed for low viscosity and good foam in dilute solutions. Your current blend is too viscous for this purpose.
  • Consider using a Sulfate Free Shampoo Base as recommended by the staff (Product ID 1107). These bases are often formulated to be low viscosity and clear, suitable for gentle liquid cleansing products that require good foam.
  • If you prefer to formulate from scratch, you may need to reduce the total surfactant concentration and/or select different surfactants known for low viscosity and good foam in dilute solutions, such as certain Glucosides or Sarcosinates that are suitable for foam formulations.
• Reconsider Active Ingredients: As the staff advised, the effectiveness of active ingredients in wash-off products is very limited because they are on the skin for a short time. Including these ingredients in high amounts can make it harder to achieve a clear and stable liquid formula. It's recommended to reduce or remove non-essential active ingredients to simplify the formula and focus on achieving the desired cleansing and foaming properties. If you want to utilize the benefits of these actives, it's more effective to include them in leave-on products.
• Using a Chelating Agent: If you still wish to use Amino Wash in your formula, you could consider adding Disodium EDTA (Product ID 184) at an appropriate percentage, as suggested by the staff, to help prevent the formula from solidifying. However, adding EDTA may not necessarily make the formula clear or liquid enough for a foam pump.

Summary:

Your current liquid facial wash formula is too viscous and cloudy due to the concentration and combination of surfactants used, which are not suitable for a liquid, clear product intended for a foam pump. To achieve the desired consistency and clarity, you will need to adjust the surfactant system, potentially by using a suitable base or selecting different low-viscosity surfactants, and you may also need to reduce the amount of active ingredients, as their effectiveness in wash-off products is limited and they can complicate formulation for clarity.

I hope this advice is helpful! Please let me know if you have any further questions.