Formulation Review and Improvement Suggestions

Let's review your facial wash formulation based on the ingredients and their descriptions.

Here is your formulation:

• Sulfate Free Shampoo Base (pH 7, Clear, Foaming): 20%
• Encapsulated Salicylic Acid (Liquid, Timed-Release, Wash-Off): 4.3%
• Mild Preserved Eco™: 1%
• Distilled Water: 75.7%
• Total: 101%

Based on the product descriptions:

1. Total Percentage: Your total percentage is 101%. The sum of all ingredients in a formulation should always be exactly 100%. You need to reduce the amount of water by 1% to make the total correct.

   • Corrected Water Percentage: 75.7% - 1% = 74.7%
   • New Total: 20% + 4.3% + 1% + 74.7% = 100%

2. Sulfate Free Shampoo Base (pH 7, Clear, Foaming): The description recommends a usage rate of 5-40%, specifically suggesting 25% for baby formulas and 30-35% for adult formulas. Your current usage of 20% is below the recommended range for adult products and even slightly below the baby formula recommendation. This is the most likely reason for the low foam you observed. To increase foaming, you should increase the percentage of this base.

3. Encapsulated Salicylic Acid (Liquid, Timed-Release, Wash-Off): The description states a usage rate of 1.6-6.6%. Your usage of 4.3% is within this recommended range. The description also mentions that using more than 3% may cause small bubbles that disappear quickly, which could slightly affect the foam texture but is unlikely to be the main cause of overall low foam. Your 4.3% usage is equivalent to 1.29% active Salicylic Acid (since the product contains 30% active SA), which is well within the regulatory limit of 2% for over-the-counter products.

4. Mild Preserved Eco™: The description recommends a usage rate of 1.0-1.5% for general cosmetic formulas. Your usage of 1% is within this recommended range and is appropriate for preservation.

Recommendations:

• Correct Total Percentage: Adjust the Distilled Water down to 74.7% to make the total formulation 100%.
• Increase Foaming: To improve the foaming, increase the percentage of the Sulfate Free Shampoo Base. Try increasing it to the recommended range for adult formulas, such as 30% or 35%.
• Adjust Water: If you increase the Sulfate Free Shampoo Base, you must decrease the Distilled Water accordingly to keep the total at 100%. For example, if you increase the base to 30%, the water would become 100% - 30% - 4.3% - 1% = 64.7%.
• Keep the percentages of Encapsulated Salicylic Acid and Mild Preserved Eco™ as they are, as they are within their recommended ranges and suitable for your formulation goals.

By increasing the concentration of the primary cleansing ingredient (the Sulfate Free Shampoo Base), you should achieve better foaming while maintaining the benefits of the Salicylic Acid and proper preservation.