Understanding and Fixing Precipitation in Your Formulation

It sounds like you're experiencing precipitation in your formulation after it initially dissolved. This is a common issue when the concentration of dissolved ingredients is too high for the solvent system to maintain over time.

Why did this happen?
The most likely cause is that the high concentration of active ingredients, particularly AA2G (Ascorbyl Glucoside) at 20% and DMAE (Dimethylaminoethanol) at 10%, exceeded their solubility limit in the amount of water used (59.8%). While they may have dissolved initially, the solution was likely supersaturated, leading to precipitation as the system reached equilibrium.

How to fix it?
The previous suggestion you received is correct: you need to reduce the concentration of the highly loaded active ingredients and increase the water content. Reducing the percentage of AA2G and DMAE will decrease the total amount of dissolved solids, making it easier for the water to keep everything in solution and prevent precipitation.

Reducing AA2G to 10% and DMAE to 5% (and increasing the water percentage to compensate) is a good starting point. These concentrations are still effective for their intended purposes and are much more likely to remain soluble in a simple water-based formulation.

Additional Benefit:
It's also worth noting that high concentrations of DMAE (like 10%) can sometimes cause skin irritation. Reducing the percentage to 5% or lower can improve the formulation's tolerability for sensitive skin.

By reducing the concentration of the key actives and increasing the water, you should be able to create a stable, clear solution.