Recommendations for Shampoo and Soap Thickening

Thank you for sharing your shampoo formula and questions about thickening. Based on your formula and the goal of achieving a clear, viscous product, here are some recommendations:

Thickening Your Shampoo Formula

Your shampoo formula includes Lauryl Glucoside, Coco Glucoside, Mild Wash (Sodium Lauroamphoacetate), and Poly conditioner pro. To increase the viscosity of this clear liquid shampoo, you can consider the following:

• Increase Concentration: You can try increasing the concentration of Easy Thick or SugarThick in your shampoo formula. These are effective thickeners for surfactant systems like shampoos.
• Alternative Thickeners: Several other thickeners are suitable for creating clear, viscous shampoo formulas:
  • ClearClean: This is an Acrylates Crosspolymer that provides high clarity and viscosity. It works well in the pH range of 4-6, which is suitable for skin-neutral formulations.
  • FoamThix Liquid: This liquid thickener (PEG-150 Pentaerythritol Tetrastearate (and) PEG-6 Caprylic/ Caprylic Glycerides (and) Water) is easy to use and works well in shampoo and liquid soap formulas without affecting foam.
  • Ceteareth-60 Myristyl Glycol: This nonionic thickener is excellent for creating crystal clear cleansing systems and works over a wide pH range (2-12). It shows synergistic thickening with surfactants and salts.

Experimenting with the concentration of your chosen thickener is key to achieving your desired viscosity.

Thickening Your "Oil Phase" Soap

You mentioned trying Easy Thick at 1% to thicken your "oil phase" soap without success. Easy Thick is designed to thicken water-based shampoo and liquid soap formulas. Therefore, it will not be effective in an oil-based system.

Thickening an "oil phase" soap requires using thickeners specifically designed for oils or systems with a high oil content. Since the term "oil phase" soap can refer to different types of products (e.g., a cleansing oil, or a liquid soap with a significant oil component), the best thickener depends on the exact nature of your soap formula.

Generally, for thickening oil phases, you would use oil gelling agents. Options include:

• Oil Thick Range (Soft, Hard, Transparent, Thixotropic): These are Dextrin Palmitate based thickeners that create oil gel textures with varying degrees of hardness and clarity. The best choice depends on the specific oil used and the desired final texture.
• Oil-Fix Range (O, S, W): These are Silica Dimethyl Silylate based thickeners that can thicken oils and silicones and also act as emulsion stabilizers.
• Silicone Thick: This is specifically for providing viscosity in silicone oils like cyclopentasiloxane.

To provide a more specific recommendation for your "oil phase" soap, it would be helpful to understand more about its composition, particularly the type and amount of oil present.