May I recommend Google Sheets? It makes it super easy to keep track of recipe tweaks and changes, and notes on what worked and what didn't. I love it. I'm more disorganized than everyone I know when I have to keep track of papers. You probably aren't as disorganized as I am but Sheets will probably still make it easier for you to keep track of recipe tweaks, if you experiment as much as I do. If you're interested I can share my spreadsheet template.Oh, I'd have to hunt down the scrap of paper I wrote that particular formula on.
I haven't tried polysorbate 80 yet. I haven't even bought any. What do you feel is the main benefit of using it in a shampoo bar?Cocamidapropyl betaine was probably a small percentage, and a little Polysorbate 80 might have been in there too. I shampoo my hair daily, so my formulations tend to be weak compared to commercial ones.
Regarding weak shampoo, if by "weak" you mean it doesn't strip all the oil off your head, then I think that's a good shampoo no matter how often hair is washed. When the scalp is regularly stripped of oil, more oil is produced to replace it and the scalp just gets more oily. That's my experience anyway.
From what I have learned in my research, mixing multiple surfactants together makes a product milder. If you only have one or two, it tends to be harsher. So I use at least three in my bars and they're pretty mild. I have one with seven different surfactants (still mostly SCI though) and use it as body wash pretty frequently. I feel clean, but it removes so little oil from my skin that I don't feel like I need lotion after a shower. It's great. That one however is having a hard time staying together and not turning to mush, so I may re-formulate it. Looking at my formula I think I didn't have enough hardener in it.
Agreed. I customize shampoo and conditioner for my testers, based on hair type.ETA: different hair types, skin types, and life styles all do better with different formulations. I don't mean to imply that high amounts of SCI or any other surfactant are wrong or bad. I was only intending to state what works for me, and I meant to imply that safety isn't the only consideration when trying to find the right formula for your hair.