Hyaluronic Acid…

[Madoo]

I added hyaluronic acid to my CP soap. I know it’s best used as a leave on ingredient. I bought it for that purpose, but I was curious how it would behave in CP. I do not sell any of my soap or anything I make. It’s for personal use or gifted to my family and friends. So, I made a 1% hyaluronic acid stock, then I used that as 20% of my water weight. Which ended up being 1.5 oz. It was a 2 lb batch of soap. 37% lye concentration. I added the hyaluronic acid stock after trace. It blended right in. I cut the soap this morning. It was very hard, but I used tallow and kokum butter, so I expected that. No weeping or leaking or moisture. Nothing weird. Also, I used extra strength brewed coffee for the other 80% of my liquid. I’ll update as it cures if anything interesting or weird happens. There was no information on doing this anywhere, so we’ll see.

 

[The_Phoenix]

Hmm. Hyaluronic acid helps to retain moisture in the skin in a leave-on topical application. In soap, because it will not remain on the skin, I expect you will receive none of the benefits you would if used in a serum or lotion. And it’s highly likely that sodium hydroxide will change the chemical composition of the hyaluronic acid. On that I cannot be sure—it’s just my theory. Leaving it even more ineffective as an active ingredient in soap.

That’s not to say it isn’t a fun experiment. Just my $.02.

 

[AliOop]

Your soap tops look like a yummy sundae topping

Regarding the HA, I know the form that is most often sold for and used in cosmetics (sodium hyaluronate) is not considered a true acid - it is close to a neutral pH. However, if you used actual hyaluronic acid, and not sodium hyaluronate, it is fairly acidic (couldn't find a specific number, just that it is acidic). I have to wonder if, like most acids, it would react with the NaOH, and thus become sodium hyaluronate. If that is the case, adding it to your soap batter would result in an increased superfat. Of course, at the amount you used, that would be a negligible difference in the final SF, but something one would want to think about if using in higher amounts.

I've always wondered if the acids in coffee also react with some of the NaOH. Maybe @DeeAnna can chime in?

 

[CreativeWeirdo]

 

[Madoo]

Hmm. Hyaluronic acid helps to retain moisture in the skin in a leave-on topical application. In soap, because it will not remain on the skin, I expect you will receive none of the benefits you would if used in a serum or lotion. And it’s highly likely that sodium hydroxide will change the chemical composition of the hyaluronic acid. On that I cannot be sure—it’s just my theory. Leaving it even more ineffective as an active ingredient in soap.

That’s not to say it isn’t a fun experiment. Just my $.02.

After being made into a 1% stock, I think at 20% there’s only about .02% of actual hyaluronic acid. I knew that putting it into soap wasn’t very practical. I just wanted to see what would happen. I think I read that 1 gram of hyaluronic acid can hold up to 6 liters of water, so I weighed the soap and I’m curious to see it’s weight loss as it cures.

Your soap tops look like a yummy sundae topping

Regarding the HA, I know the form that is most often sold for and used in cosmetics (sodium hyaluronate) is not considered a true acid - it is close to a neutral pH. However, if you used actual hyaluronic acid, and not sodium hyaluronate, it is fairly acidic I have to wonder if, like most acids, it would react with the NaOH, and thus become sodium hyaluronate. If that is the case, adding it to your soap batter would result in an increased superfat. Of course, at the amount you used, that would probably be a negligible difference in the final SF, but something one would want to think about if using in higher amounts.

I've always wondered if the acids in coffee also react with some of the NaOH. Maybe @DeeAnna can chime in?

It was hyaluronic acid I used, not sodium hyaluronate. I had a 5% sf. I usually use between 3-5%. I also used banana peels as replacement for tussah silk in my lye solution. I saw this video series on YouTube from soap&clay for vegan tussah silk alternatives. I didn’t use them because they’re vegan, but because I had them on hand. And thank you that was my first attempt at high top soap frosting.