Q&A

Q&A: Modifying a quick refreshing scalp spray – part one, altering the ingredients (formula)

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In the Q&A post, Tiba asked, I’d like to ask about salicylic acid toners. I want to make a toner that decreases oiliness of scalp, sprayed 10-15 minutes before bath time on scalp. My only experience with formulating is making Salicylic acid with ethanol 99% (absolute alcohol), TCA (?) with purified water. But for the scalp...

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Q&A: Can I use 5% allantoin in an anhydrous balm?

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In this month’s Q&A, Ann asked, Hi Susan, I have a question about using allantoin in a balm. I found a formula (I dont want to link again if it’s going to be marked as spam but the title is ‘using allantoin in balm’) that used 5% (five whole percents not 0.5!) allantoin mixed into the...

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Q&A: What could cause these clumps in my anhydrous balm?

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In this month’s Q&A, Big G asked, Hi Susan, been subscribing for a while but this is my first time asking a question. I’ve been tweaking an anhydrous balm but my recent batch all had circles/clumps where the beeswax looks like it solidified separately from the rest of the constituents (not sure that’s what happened but...

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Q&A: Experimenting with fatty acids, fatty alcohols, and fatty esters to determine their sensory characteristics?

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In this month’s Q&A, Susan shared, I recently did a side by side comparison of thickeners to try to see and feel the differences between them. I heated 9 grams of fractionated coconut oil (FCO) with 1 gram each of the following: behenyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, cetyl esters, cetearyl alcohol, and stearic acid. I put all...

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Q&A: How to figure out what’s an anionic surfactant? What’s a substitute for Stepan-Mild® LSB in a body cleanser?

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In the Q&A, Taylor Soapworks (Christy) asked, Hi Susan! More of a praise/comment than a question, but there are questions running through my head, too. I’m having difficulty wrapping my brain around the positively/negatively charged surfactants — but certainly not because you fail to explain — it just hasn’t clicked for me yet. So while bar...

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