Blog Readers Challenge Questions Answered, Part 2 1

I’ve gotten a few responses from my questions on last week’s challenge. Today, I’ll answer a few more of these questions from different readers with help from Technical Support.

From jaspersgarden) I struggle the most with which ingredients are best for which products. For example – I formulated a very nice hair conditioner a year ago. In my next 4 batches, I added different ingredients – like dl panthenol, IPM (don’t know why!), Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Vitamin E, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Silk Amino Acids, Liquid Silk, then some different extracts (ie White Lily Extract, Orchid Extract). But it seems like the less extra ingredients I add – the better the hair conditioner is…!! Sometimes the ingredients I read from vendors sound like it would be really nice in my hair conditioner…viscious cycle! So it would be nice to know exactly what would work in different formulas and why! (lotions, creams, hair conditioners, etc.)

This is the perfect example of the KISS method. KISS is an acronym for Keep It Simple Sue. Sometimes we don’t need to add all the extra. And if we think the label needs more ingredients, add them at less than 1%. We don’t feel every ingredient needs to be 50%. Certainly some items really show their stuff when used at a low percentage.

Try creating a formulation that is simple. Then allow for a small amount of single ingredients to be added. You may decide to keep the ingredient, and you may decide to omit it and never make the same mistake again. You might even find that allowing for a 50/50 mix of 2 ingredients to be added will change things for the better.

In the example of your hair conditioner, try allowing 5% of something that varies. It might be the dimethicone, IPM, proteins, or extracts. If you don’t like the feel, then replace it with another ingredient. If you think you like the addition but it was too extreme, then back off the amount you added.

If you have an exact recipe you don’t mind sharing, then we can show you in examples. If you don’t want to share, email the Technical Support staff so you can get help. We even have a blog entry on how to change a single oil in a soap recipe. This can be found at Cold Process Soap, Day Two. Once you read this blog entry, it will probably help you approach the hair conditioner product.

Submit your photos and text for the guest written Hot Process Soap Week! Submissions will be accepted through May 18th at blog@thesage.com. Hot Process Soap Week will be May 25th through May 29th.