Thickener Recommendation for Cleansing Gel with Oil

For your facial cleansing gel formula containing 15% Sulfate Free Shampoo Base and more than 1% oil, you are asking about the suitability of Sugar Think, Clear Clean, or Thick Clean for thickening and preventing oil separation.

Based on the information available:

• The Sulfate Free Shampoo Base can be thickened with various agents, including SugarThick™, ClearClean™, and ThickClean™. It is also compatible with the addition of ingredients like natural oil.
• ClearClean™ and ThickClean™ are Acrylates Crosspolymer thickeners suitable for cleansing products. They effectively increase viscosity and help suspend particles through a cross-linkage mechanism. They can be incorporated into formulas containing oil.

However, the main function of ClearClean™ and ThickClean™ is thickening and suspending, not specifically emulsifying oil to prevent separation. While they can help stabilize the formula and improve viscosity, they might not be sufficient on their own to keep more than 1% oil fully emulsified and prevent it from separating over time in a surfactant base.

Sugar Think (or SugarThick™) is also listed as a compatible thickener for the base, but specific details on its oil emulsifying capabilities are not available from the product descriptions I have.

Conclusion:

You can use ClearClean™ or ThickClean™ to thicken your formula with Sulfate Free Shampoo Base and oil. However, be aware that they are primarily thickeners and suspending agents. If you experience oil separation with more than 1% oil in your formula, you may need to consider incorporating a dedicated emulsifier designed for cleansing systems to ensure long-term stability and prevent the oil from separating.