Thickening Agents and Preservatives for Clear Herbal Shampoo

To make a clear herbal shampoo formula more viscous and to preserve it, you can use the following types of ingredients:

Thickening Agents

For a clear shampoo, it's important to choose a thickener that doesn't make the formula cloudy. Here are some options suitable for thickening shampoo and maintaining clarity:

• EasyThick ™: Provides easy thickening in shampoo and liquid soap formulas and gives a clear texture.
• ClearClean™: A liquid thickener (Acrylates Crosspolymer) that provides high clarity and viscosity, suitable for suspending beads or pigments if needed. Works best in pH 4-6.
• SugarThick™ (PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate): Derived from sugar, this thickener is suitable for formulas with detergents and gives a clear gel texture. It can also help reduce irritation from harsh sulfates.
• FoamThix™ Liquid (e.q. Crothix Liquid): A liquid thickener (PEG-150 Pentaerythritol Tetrastearate (and) PEG-6 Caprylic/Caprylic Glycerides (and) Water) that can be used in clear formulas and gives a soft skin feel.

Choose the thickener based on your desired viscosity, ease of use, and compatibility with other ingredients in your specific herbal shampoo formula.

Preservatives

Preservatives are essential to prevent microbial growth in your shampoo. For a herbal shampoo, you might consider natural-origin options or broad-spectrum preservatives effective in the typical pH range of shampoo (usually slightly acidic).

Here are some suitable preservatives:

• Global Guard™ 221: A natural-origin, water-soluble, broad-spectrum preservative effective in pH 2-7.
• Coco-Preserve™: A natural-origin preservative derived from coconut extract, water-soluble, broad-spectrum, effective in pH 4-8.
• NaturePreserve™ LB2: A natural-origin, water-soluble, broad-spectrum preservative effective in pH 2.0-6.5.
• Mild Preserved™ COS: A broad-spectrum, water-soluble, odorless preservative effective in a wide pH range of 2-8.
• Preserve-BSB™: A broad-spectrum preservative (Benzyl Alcohol (and) Sodium Benzoate (and) Potassium Sorbate (and) Aqua) effective up to pH 5.5.

When selecting a preservative, consider the pH of your final formula and the desired level of "naturalness." Always perform a challenge test to ensure the preservative is effective in your specific formulation.

Remember to follow the recommended usage rates and mixing instructions for each ingredient.