Goat's Milk Conditioner - Alternative to Optiphen?

[blp189]

Hi All,

Very new to diy cosmetics and this forum, so excuse me if I'm posting in the wrong place! moved

I'm looking to create a goat's milk conditioner and have found recipes online. I'm able to get my hands on the BTMS and other ingredients, but the Optiphen is proving difficult. I live in the UK and it just doesn't seem available.

What can I use an alternative? I'm able to buy Phenoxyethanol and Caprylyl Glycol separately, so can I combine them myself into the recipe? If so how do I work out what % of each?

This is recipe

4.5 Ounces Goat Milk
4 Ounces Flat Beer (any kind)
3 Ounces BTMS Emulsifying Conditioner
1 Ounce Wheat Germ Oil
1/4 Ounce Optiphen Conditioner
Few Drops Fragrance of Choice

Any advice or information greatly received!

 

[Bann51]

Check your country's approved preservative list. UK has much more regs than we do in the US. I think they put out an extensive list of bath and body approved ingredients. I saw it once online. Check your UK bath and body sites. They will all list their preservatives of similar products that contain liquids. Many UK folk are on Youtube. Good luck!

 

[cmzaha]

Unless you are going to sending your product out for testing, such as challenge testing, that is what it is called here, I would not add in the Goat's Milk. It can be very very hard to preserve a lotion that contains milk.

 

[shunt2011]

I agree with Carolyn. With the goat's milk and beer you are asking for a huge problem with preservation. Sugars and milks are food for mold and bacteria.

 

[DeeAnna]

I agree with the others. I agree there are lots of recipes on the internet, but these recipes are not necessarily tested, safe, or sensible. It's tempting to load up a lotion with lots of "nourishing" ingredients, but the reality is that these ingredients are often great sources of food for microbes.

Effective preservation of a product is based on maintaining a sanitary work environment, using effective preservatives to control microbial growth during storage and use, using packaging that reduces contamination from the user, AND limiting the amount of microbial food sources in the product. Cosmetic chemists recommend limiting ingredients that act as food sources (such as beer and milk) to a tiny percentage of the product weight for the best chance of long-term preservation. See also item #15 here -- http://makingskincare.com/how-to-formulate-like-a-pro/

Another thing about this recipe is it calls for 2% optiphen based on the total weight of other ingredients. Regardless of the overall suitability of this recipes, it's important if you're going to use a preservative to use it correctly. Have you researched the correct usage rate for optiphen? If not, here's a good overview -- http://makingskincare.com/preservatives/

If you really want a lotion like this, make enough to last for a week, store the unused portion in the refrigerator, and discard any leftover lotion after a week. Preservative or no preservative, that's really the longest safe shelf life for this lotion -- and that assumes it's refrigerated.

 

[cmzaha]

For almost a year I tried to make an Arnica infused lotion and it never preserved, always creating mold and would go bubbly. This is a lotion that did not even have proteins and sugars. I do not remember the exact recipe because I just gave up on it. But I did try several preservatives including Pheno Nip and it just would not work. Keep it simple is the best scenario for making lotions. As handmade B&B makers, most do not have access to an in-house lab or even the knowledge to do in-house testing. We have to depend on the manufacturer's descriptions of preservatives and pay to send out for challenge testing and plate counts. I am not saying no one has the knowledge, but how many have their own labs.