As I mentioned in the post on INCI names, a lot of suppliers will change the name of the ingredient they carry to represent their company or their core values. We have a lot of confusion about "conditioning emulsifier" and it helps to know the proper name of the ingredient so you aren't reliant upon one supplier.
SURFACTANTS
Let's say you're interested in Coco SilkyCleanse from the Herbarie or Creations from Eden. Knowing that the INCI for this ingredient is Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate means I can go to the Personal Formulator or Of A Simple Nature (UK) and buy it there!
I try to use the INCI for ingredients like surfactants and esters because it makes it easier to find these ingredients in your local suppliers' stores, but sometimes they are simply too long to type!
One of the problems with surfactants is that suppliers like to sell blends of surfactants, which means you're reliant upon them for that specific combination. (LabRat always said don't get reliant upon blends because if they run out or stop carrying it, you'll have to reformulate. This happened to me with Bioterge 804!) For instance, I love to use BSB and LSB from Voyageur (those are also the names Stepan gives them) and I can't find those combinations anywhere else. When you see BSB on this blog, you can substitute it for a different blend, generally ones that are considered "baby blends" like the Baby Blend Concentrate from the Herbarie. When you see LSB on the blog, substitute it for your favourite surfactant or the surfactants found in the INCI name.
BSB is INCI: PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Sodium Trideceth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Lauroamphodiacetate, PEG-150 Distearate, Sodium Laureth-13 Carboxylate, Quaternium-15.
LSB is INCI: Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate and Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
EMULSIFYING WAXES
It gets worse with emulsifying wax. I use Polawax, which is listed as emulsifying wax NF (the ingredients are a trade secret) and you'll see emulsifying wax NF listed for a number of different products. Before you invest in an emulsifying wax NF or something listed as an emulsifier, read the INCI. For instance, Aromantic (UK) has a product called "Emulsifying Wax Natural" that contains Glyceryl monostearate and cetyl alcohol, which is not emulsifying wax NF. There are a number of different ways to make emulsifying wax NF, and you'll want to check the INCI so you can ensure you'll get the same product again.
If you are looking for Ritamulse (INCI: Glyceryl Stearate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate), you'll want to look for NatraMulse at the Herbarie and Creations from Eden and ECOmulse at Lotioncrafter. (This, by the way, is an emulsifier approved for organic products, and something I hope to play with over my Christmas break from work!)
WHAT TO DO?
In the original post on this topic, DuhBe noted she keeps a spreadsheet of her ingredients with the INCI names on it so she can compare prices between suppliers. I think this is a good way of keeping track of what you're buying and what you want. I can't think of a better way to do this, other than memorizing every ingredient or only referring to said ingredient by the INCI name (which is what I did - I refuse to call it Amphosol AS-40 any more as it's really C14-16 olefin sulfonate, but I don't expect you to be as chemistry obsessed as I am!)
Ideally, I would include the various names for each ingredient in every post, but I simply don't have the knowledge of names outside of North America and I don't have the time doing a search of every supplier for that information.
A FEW NOTES
Please note, the naming of these suppliers should not constitute an endorsement by me of these companies. I use them as examples of where I found these specific ingredients. And could those of you outside of North America please send me a few names of suppliers you like so I can take a look at what they carry?
As a secondary note, if your supplier is advertising that the ingredient you're about to purchase contains "no chemicals" or was created "without chemicals", you're dealing with someone who doesn't know his/her business very well. Run away now.
If your supplier doesn't list the INCI, ask them for it. It's something that should be standard on every suppliers' website. If they don't know it, refuse to give it to you, or don't bother responding to your e-mail, find another supplier (if possible).
And finally a note to suppliers - for the love of all that is good and holy, could you please learn to type and/or proofread your sites? In going through a few of them, I was shocked to see so many poorly spelled ingredient names. Not only is it annoying to those of us obsessed with correct grammar and spelling, it makes it really hard to do a search for an ingredient when you've spelled it wrong!
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