Softening Your Pomade

The hardness of your pomade is primarily controlled by the amount of wax, especially beeswax, and the balance between your solid/semi-solid fats (beeswax, shea butter) and your liquid oils (fractionated coconut oil, olive oil).

Here's how to adjust your formula:

• Adjust Ratios: To make your pomade softer, you can:

  • Reduce the amount of Beeswax: Beeswax provides structure and hardness. Using less will result in a softer product.
  • Increase the amount of Liquid Oils: Adding more Fractionated Coconut Oil or Olive Oil will help to decrease the overall firmness of the pomade.
  • Adjust Shea Butter: While shea butter adds richness and some structure, it's softer than beeswax. You could potentially slightly increase shea butter, but adjusting the wax and liquid oil ratio will have a more significant impact on hardness.

• Consider Ceteareth-25 (Paste Maker): The staff suggestion of using Paste Maker (Ceteareth-25) is a good one. Although often used as an emulsifier to combine oil and water, Ceteareth-25 can also function as a texturizer in oil-based systems. It is described as helping to create a creamy texture and adding substance without being sticky. Incorporating Ceteareth-25 into your oil phase by heating can help soften the final product and give it a smoother, more pliable consistency. It might also allow you to incorporate a small amount of water if you desire a different feel or washability, but this would then require a preservative.

Additional Ingredients

Based on your current ingredients, adjusting the ratios as mentioned above is the primary way to control hardness. Adding Ceteareth-25 is a good option for texture modification. Other ingredients would depend on desired properties (e.g., scent, specific hair benefits), but are not necessary just to fix the hardness issue.

Preservative

For a traditional anhydrous pomade (containing only oils, waxes, and butters, with no water), a preservative is generally not needed because there is no water phase for bacteria or fungi to grow in.

However, if you decide to add water to your formula, for example, by using Ceteareth-25 to create a water-soluble or emulsified pomade, then you must include a suitable broad-spectrum preservative to prevent microbial contamination.

In summary, focus on adjusting the proportions of your beeswax and liquid oils. Consider adding Ceteareth-25 for improved texture and softness. Only add a preservative if you introduce water into your formulation.