Iron Chemist results: Sodium lactate

So this week's Iron Chemist challenge was to make at least two products with sodium lactate. I admit this was a very hard ingredient to use because I use it in just about everything, so how am I to come up with some new ways of using it? I can't use it in a rinse off product - well, I can, but it's kind of pointless as it will rinse off your skin - and I can't use it in a lotion, because I've done that a hundred times. But I think I finally came up with two recipes with sodium lactate that are new and different!

RECIPE #1 - LIP BALM WITH SODIUM LACTATE
5.4% lecithin
2.1% sodium lactate
20% beeswax
25% aloe butter
21% rice bran oil
26.5% fractionated coconut oil

Mix lecithin and sodium lactate together first until well incorporated. Then weigh out the other ingredients into the same container and heat in a double boiler until melted. Pour into lip balm tubes and rejoice.

For this first recipe, I thought it would be nice to have a humectant in a lip balm. I figured I could use the emulsifying power of lecithin to emulsify the tiny amount of sodium lactate I'd be using in the balm.

So far the sodium lactate has not wept out of the lip balm, so I'm considering this a success. It feels nice on my lips, and I'm finding the extra humectant in the lip balm is making my lips feel nice and smooth. Remember not to go over 3% with the sodium lactate or it will make you sun sensitive.

RECIPE #2 - FOOT GEL WITH XANTHAN GUM
HEATED PHASE
5% sodium lactate
56.5% water
20% peppermint hydrosol
10% aloe vera
0.5% allantoin
2% Phytokeratin

COOL DOWN PHASE
2% panthenol
1% Germaben II
3 to 4% xanthan gum

I heated up the heated phase in a double boiler and dispersed the allantoin into it, stirring really well. When the mixture had heated and held at 70˚C for 20 minutes, I removed it from the double boiler and let it cool. I added the panthenol and Germaben II (used because I have some hard to preserve things like xanthan gum in this recipe) and added 2% xanthan gum. It wasn't thick enough, so I added 1% more. And it gelled!

I chose xanthan gum for this project because I couldn't find my Amaze XT and I really wanted to make a gel. I do have a lot of sodium lactate in this recipe, but I figured since your feet aren't going to be exposed to the sun, it would be okay. At this level, sodium lactate is an exfoliant, and that's always a good thing for a foot product.

You could use this as a facial gel - I did, and quite liked it - but you'd want to reduce the sodium lactate to 2.5% or lower so you don't get sun sensitivity. And you might not want peppermint on your face.

If you wanted to add some essential or fragrance oils to this product, mix 1% polysorbate 20 or another solubilizer with 1% fragrance or essential oil in a separate container, then add it to the gel during the cool down phase. It won't be clear, but this mixture wasn't all that clear either. (I left it in the beaker for the pictures, because you can't really see it in the jar, it's a gel!)

The one down side of this product - when you wet it, it gets a bit slimy. If I were to make it again - and I probably will because it does feel nice on my feet - I might reduce the xanthan gum to 2% or use the Amaze XT as I don't get that feeling from that product.

Join me tomorrow for our newest challenge ingredient, then next Saturday for the results!