A note about using concentrates:
Each of the listed products is a concentrated blend of surfactants often used by major
formulators of hair and body shampoos, hand cleaners and bubble baths. The key to these
concentrates is for you to test various formulations to reach your desired product.Viscosity (or thickness) of the blend can be adjusted with the use of sodium chloride
(salt) at low levels in some of the products. This can range from 0.5% to 4%-5%. Viscosity can also be adjusted by
the concentration of blend in the finished product. For the
Free LV and Free HV Blends, the viscosity is adjusted by adjusting the PH. See
formulation for details.
Although the pH of the final product is often fine without any adjustment, we like to
maintain a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Things like water quality can effect the final pH. As an
added note, we like to use soft or distilled water although this is not a must. The pH can
be checked with a simple litmus or pH paper. Most often when pH must be adjusted, pH
has to be adjusted downward. We most commonly use Citric Acid in this case in very low
levels, 0.1% ( that's one tenth of 1 percent).
When adding essential oils, use them at them at 0.1% ( that's one tenth of 1 percent).
This is not a hard and fast rule and you can adjust this to your own requirements. Add the
EO to the concentrate prior to adding it to the water. This helps
solubilize the oil into
the water.
Preservatives are a must if you anticipate long term storage. They are required often
because of the additional products that you are adding or because of possible
contamination during the mixing procedure. If you are using these products within 3 to 4
weeks of making them, preservatives may not be required. As with many products the
selection of preservative is often up to the individual and what they feel safe with.
Germaben II or Phenonip are just some of the preservatives that can be used as well as
grapefruit seed extract at levels ranging from 0.1-0.5%.
If you intend to market your products, always shelf test your product, that is, allow
it to sit several months in a warm area to check on its stability. All ingredients must be
listed on the label.
Cost Factors: Each of these concentrates vary a little in cost but lets assume you buy
1 gallon of concentrate for $17.60 and the freight cost is $6.00 (varies for your
location) for a total of $23.60 per gallon of concentrate. To make a premium
shampoo it would take 1 part concentrate to 4 parts of water. Buying in 5 gallon pails saves both on product
cost as well as freight making your actual costs lower still!
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