Why did I buy that again? Cetearyl ethylhexanoate, decyl glucoside, phytokeratin, and esters

In the why did I buy that post (either this one or the other), I've noticed requests for ingredients for which I've already written posts. So here are a few posts you might have missed...

Decyl glucoside (click, and scroll down a bit) is a very mild non-ionic cleanser that works well as both a primary or secondary surfactant as it is a good foamer. It has an alkaline pH - 7 to 9.5 - so you'll have to bring your pH down with citric acid or another acidic ingredient to ensure it reaches the right pH for skin and hair. (Another data sheet states the pH is 11.5! EEK!) It is about 48% to 52% active ingredients in the surfactant, and the suggested use is 4% to 40%. This is a great ingredient for a conditioning shampoo or body wash as it improves the cationic conditioning in your products, as well as offer foam stabilization.

Click here for more information on how to adjust the pH in your products. 

A few recipes with decyl glucoside...
Philosophy's Purity Made Simple Cleanser
Creating cleansing wipes

Phytokeratin is a proprietary blend of soy, corn, and wheat proteins designed to be the best of all worlds. It has elements with low molecular weight for penetrating skin and hair, and it offers substantivity and film forming through the higher molecular weight molecules. As with other proteins, it is water, glycerin, and alcohol soluble, so this is for products containing water - anhydrous products are right out! Include any proteins in your cool down phase at 1 to 5%. (Having said this, LabRat suggested putting in the heat and hold phase, so I'm going to suggest that as well.) Click on the link to learn more and see some sample recipes!

AquaEm is very much like Caprol Micro Express, and you can use it in the same way, as a solubilizer for oils into water soluble products.

I'm not sure why you bought rooibos tea for your products, but it is lovely to drink. (I'm currently enjoying a pot of praline champagne rooibos tea and it's very tasty!) I don't suggest using it in your products - please read this post - as it is really hard to preserve teas and infusions!

And Jackie asked about esters! If you click here and scroll down, you'll see all the posts on esters from this blog. Or you can click here to get to the start at the beginning of the series and click "newer post" to continue.

Join me tomorrow for more fun with why-did-I-buy-that ingredients!