HOW TO MAKE A GENTLE HAND WASH

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Privacy - Terms
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Hand washing has always been an essential part of staying healthy, and while an alcohol-based hand sanitiser can be a good way to clean your hands when you’r

It is common to refer to any sort of foaming hand wash as “soap”, but most liquid foaming hand cleansers aren’t true soap. True soap is made from saponified fat

One of the biggest advantages of surfactant-powered hand washes is their ability to be acidic, unlike soap. Our skin is acidic, with a pH around 5, and using slightl

If you are new to surfactants, take a read of the posts below where we talk about their function in cosmetics.
5 Natural Surfactants for use in Organic Cosmetics (https://formulabotanica.com/natural-surfactants/)
How to Make a Natural Shower Gel using Surfactants (https://formulabotanica.com/natural-shower-gel/)

GENTLE HAND WASH INGREDIENTS

We have chosen a blend of three, gentle natural surfactants for this hand wash formulation. They are all liquid, so are very easy to incorporate into our formulation

Coco glucoside is part of a compound ingredient that also includes glyceryl oleate. Made from glycerin and oleic acid, glyceryl oleate serves as a re-fatting ingredi

We are using Solagum™ AX to thicken the hand wash into something that can be nicely dispensed from a pump-top bottle. Solagum™ AX is a tradename blend of

Hands raw from alcohol sanitizers? Make this easy #formulabotanica formulation for a natural hand wa
url=https%3A%2F%2Fformulabotanica.com%2F%3Fp%3D38451&text=Hands%20raw%20from%20alc

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OUR FORMULATION: GENTLE HAND WASH
This formulation doesn’t require any heat to make, but it does need some time to allow the Solagum™ AX to hydrate and the Geogard Ultra™ (our preservative) to f

Formula for 200g

Phase Ingredients Weight (grams)

A Solagum™ AX 3.00g

A Vegetable glycerine 40.00g

A Geogard Ultra™ 3.00

B Decyl glucoside 12.00g

B Coco Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate 10.00g

B Cocamidopropyl Betaine 20.00g

B water-soluble liquid calendula extract 2.00g

B Lavender essential oil 0.22g

B Geranium essential oil 0.14g

B Ylang ylang essential oil 0.04g

C Distilled water 109.6g

pH 10% l-arginine solution for raising the pH as required

    Total: 200.00

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INCI
Solagum™ AX: Acacia Senegal Gum & Xanthan Gum
Geogard Ultra™
: Gluconolactone (and) Sodium Benzoate
Water-soluble liquid calendula extract: Aqua (and) Glycerin (and) Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Sodium Benzonate, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid

EQUIPMENT NEEDED
Glass beakers
Scale (accurate to 0.01g)
Glass stirring rods
Small wire whisk
Disposable pipettes (optional)
Bottle with a pump top
pH strips or pH meter
Labels

METHOD OF MANUFACTURE
Method of Manufacture

1. Phase A

Combine phase A, whisking thoroughly to break up any clumps and ensure the powders are thoroughly dispersed.
 2. Phase B

Combine phase B in a second beaker, stirring gently to combine.

3. Combine

Combine phases A and B, stirring gently.

4. Add Phase C

Gently add phase C to the beaker containing phases A + B. It is helpful to pour the water down the side of the beaker, or over the back of a spoon held near t

5. Leave to hydrate & thicken

Cover the mixture and leave to hydrate & dissolve overnight. The handwash will thicken as the Solagum™ AX hydrates, and the Geogard Ultra™ will dissolve.

6. Check & adjust pH

Check and adjust the pH as needed; the target pH for this formulation is 4.5-5.

7. Bottle

Package the hand wash in a pump-top bottle and label it. Use as you would use any liquid hand soap.

FORMULATION TIPS
The gel may split if you alter anything, though the essential oils, surfactants and gelling agent are the most likely candidates to cause this. If this happens, yo
When shopping for Coco Glucoside (and) Glyceryl Oleate, look for trade names Lamesoft® PO 65 and ELOPERS™ CONSPM400.
If you don’t have Coco Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate you could try using Plantapon® TF (INCI: Decyl Glucoside (and) Polyglyceryl-10 Caprylate/Caprate (and) Co
The INCI for the water-soluble liquid calendula extract does not need to match exactly; just be sure whatever you use is water-soluble and that 1% is within t

SUGGESTED SUPPLIERS
USA/Canada: Essential Wholesale (https://essentialwholesale.com/), Formulator Sample Shop (https://www.formulatorsampleshop.com/), Voyageur Soap & Can
EU/UK: Formulator Sample Shop (https://www.formulatorsampleshop.eu/), Alexmo Cosmetics (https://www.alexmo-cosmetics.de/), and Naissance (https://naiss
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FAQS
What’s the difference between a hand cleanser and hand sanitizer?

The main difference lies in whether the product is brought to market as a cosmetic or biocide product. A hand cleanser’s purpose is cosmetic and that of cleansin
effective should contain 70% or more alcohol.

Are there hand cleansers without sodium lauryl sulfate?

Sodium lauryl sulfate is a common surfactant, or surface active agent, in personal care and household cleaning products that has been in use since the 1930s. It c

Do surfactant free cleansers work?

Surfactants are foaming and lathering agents that are common in personal care products. They can be petrochemical or naturally derived. They do more than foa
particles without the aid of surfactants.

Where can I learn to formulate natural skincare products?

Join us at Formula Botanica, where tens of thousands of students and followers take our free and paid online courses (https://formulabotanica.com/ourcourses/
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 13 comments Sort by Newest

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Mar Win
It is great to learning however some ingredients may not available in
our country, Myanmar. So sad
Like · Reply · 1y

Sneha Joshi
Impressed
Like · Reply · 1y

The Cabin at Willow Cottage

Hi! Could you use 3 grams of xanthan gum if you didn’t have
Solagum?
Like · Reply · 1y

Eliza Gong
Hi there! You can use Xanthan Gum as a replacement but it
will produce a different type of gel texture altogether. It may
feel a little "clumpy" and the texture may not be as smooth.
You can experiment with it by creating a small 50g batch
and see how you like it. Solagum AX is a combination of
xanthan gum and acacia senegal gum which yields a lovely
gel texture. Hope this helps.
Like · Reply · 1y

Claude Et Carel Hollebecque-Leeger

With what can I substitute Cocamidopropyl Betaine? I have SODIUM
COCO SULFATE in powder form. Would that work? Thanks
Like · Reply · 1y

Hala Alhorany
Hi,, looks great.. I'm yet to try it so before doing so I wonder why
 such formula needsd to raise the pH?!! usually the surfactant used 
have high pH so using them in a formulation usually needs to lower
the pH, not increase it.. pls advise.
Like · Reply · 1y

Formula Botanica Education Team

The general gist is that the pH raising is "as needed", as
stated in the instructions.
When we made this and tested the pH it tended to be quite
acidic—usually right around 4.
This was a very repeatable result.
Like · Reply · 1y

Zahra Sh
Hi Johanna,
Thank you, very helpful. I have a question about L Arginine. COuld
you explain,
Why do you need to increase the PH and when do you add the L
Arginine solution in this formula?
Thanks
Like · Reply · 1y

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