Chemistry

Demythifying the myths: Stearic acid is not an anionic emulsifier

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I can’t stress this enough – stearic acid is a non-ionic fatty acid that thickens anhydrous products and emulsions. It is not an anionic (negatively charged) emulsifier.  Sight, I thought we’d demythified this one years and years ago, but here it is, out in the wild, messing things up again. Out there in the world...

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Chemistry fun: How to read a molecule!

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On this site and in my e-books,  I’ve been sharing diagrams of molecules to show you how their shape or composition affects the viscosity, surface tension, melting point, and other properties. I’ve realized I haven’t shared how to interpret these if you haven’t taken a chemistry class or if it’s been ages, so let’s do...

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Q&A: Can I use tetrasodium EDTA in an acidic formulation? If so, how?

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In the monthly Q&A, Free Drey asked, Hi Susan, I had some questions about Tetrasodium EDTA. I know it’s suggested to be used in high alkaline formulations, whereas Disodium EDTA is better for pH under 8. If I only had Tetrasodium EDTA, could I use it in formulations under pH 8 if I adjusted the pH...

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Chemistry of your hair: The hair strand – the cuticle (updated 2023)

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The cuticle is the part of the hair that probably concerns us the most on a day to day basis. When our hair emerges from our scalp, it has about 6 to 10 layers of cuticle about 50 micrometres on a side and about 0.5 micrometres thick. The cuticle is attached to the cortex and...

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Emollients you will love: Babassu oil (INCI Orbygnia Oleifera (Babassu) Seed Oil) – updated October 2022

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If you’ve spent any time on the blog, you’ll know how much I love love babassu oil! Let’s take a look at this gorgeous solid oil! Yes, babassu oil (INCI Orbygnia Oleifera (Babassu) Seed Oil) is a semi-solid, white oil that’s solid at room temperature, but melts at 24˚C (76˚F), which which means it will...

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