How to Formulate a Clean Custom Body Wash
Body wash is a product we use almost everyday to help get us squeaky clean. Although it is all washed off within minutes while we are in the shower (or however you choose to get clean), the ingredients still have the potential to be harmful to your skin and to the environment.
We wash all of the soap we use down the drain and into our water/sewage systems. Using this information you may already have an idea of why “clean” body wash is beneficial to your skin health AND to the environment. Have you thought about formulating your own clean body wash? Strap in and continue reading to discover the benefits of clean custom body wash. Let’s get into it!
Are most body washes clean anyways?
The short answer to this question is NO. Body washes are made to get us clean when we use them, so how could they possibly not be clean themselves? While they may get us clean, that does not mean that the ingredients used to make them are clean in themselves. First let's define what we mean by “clean” ingredients:
There are multiple different standards of “clean” used in the beauty industry, and the most prominent ones are the ones used at Genie Supply including Sephora Clean, Whole Foods Clean, and Credo clean. These brands have outlined what they consider to be clean beauty, with Sephora Clean being the least stringent of the three. Check out our Clean Beauty page that goes into detail about these three standards to gain a greater understanding of them.
To sum up the definition of ‘“clean” in the beauty industry, clean beauty products are products made without ingredients shown to or suspected to harm human health or the environment. There are thousands of unclean body washes on the market, many of which you have probably used yourself.
Most “unclean” body washes contain strong surfactants, harmful PEG’s, or artificial fragrance (Source). To check our own body wash or other popular brands for “cleanliness” check out this awesome resource on the Environmental Working Group website that can help identify what harmful ingredients they may contain and why they are not considered clean.
Why do we want clean body wash and what ingredients aren't clean?
As mentioned before the most popular unclean ingredients in body wash are PEG’s (Polyethylene glycols), including strong surfactants, as well as artificial fragrances. Surfactants are the primary cleaning agent in almost all body washes.
Surfactants help to remove dirt and other debris from our skin by trapping dirt and then washing it away as it leaves our skin (Source). Many surfactants are not considered clean for multiple reasons.
Firstly some commonly used surfactants like sodium stearate and sodium lauryl sulphate have been found to easily irritate sensitive skin, and cause mild endocrine disruption (Source). Although they may not have this effect on all skin types, individuals who struggle with sensitive skin may find surfactants to be irritating to the skin.
Secondly, (something that affects us all) some commonly used surfactants and the by-products of making some surfactants are extremely harmful to aquatic life (Source). This becomes even more of an issue when we realize that the surfactants used in body wash are mixed in with our water when it goes down the drain.
Depending on how your city or town deals with waste water and how manufacturing companies deal with their waste, using body wash with strong surfactants can and will harm local aquatic life.
The good news is: Not all surfactants are created equal! Genie Supply offers many clean cleansers with clean surfactants like coco betaine, and decyl glucoside. These surfactants are considered clean ingredients and don’t offer the harmful effects of stronger, man made, surfactants.
When formulating your own custom body wash, keep in mind that any good wash or cleanser has surfactants in it to help clean our skin and remove any dirt that may have accumulated throughout the day(s).
To avoid the harmful effects of unclean surfactants use clean surfactants like coco betaine, decyl glucoside and others in your clean custom body wash. When in doubt, check your surfactant on the Environmental Working Group website for cleanliness.
Another common unclean ingredient in body wash is artificial fragrance. Artificial fragrances and scents are used in many popular body washes, and while they may smell delicious, they are not considered clean. The Environmental Working Group gives artificial fragrance an 8/10 on the danger scale (Source).
This score can vary depending on the exact artificial fragrance used. The reason most artificial fragrance has been found to be “unclean” is that, similar to surfactants, they can easily irritate the skin, and have been found to be harmful to aquatic life. They have also been found to exacerbate asthma and cause respiratory irritation (Source).
Artificial fragrances are known irritants and allergens when applied to human skin, so it is desirable for them not to be in body wash or other cosmetics applied to our skin. The good news here is that there are a multitude of natural scents and fragrances to be used in custom body wash that are not harmful to our skin or the environment.
Plant extracts and essential oils can be used to add fragrance to any custom body wash, without the harmful effects artificial fragrances offer.
Genie Supply offers a multitude of different all natural and all clean fragrances and scents including cherry fruit extract and lemon extract. If you are interested in finding more clean and natural fragrances for your custom body wash, check out all of our clean fragrances and scents here!
These harmful and unclean ingredients are just the most popular ones used in body wash, but don’t forget there are many more ingredients used in different types of body washes like parabens and formaldehyde releasing agents that are considered “unclean” and harmful to our skin. As mentioned above, check your body wash or other popular body washes using the Environmental Working Group website.
How to formulate a body wash:
Almost every body wash contains 6 main components. These components are as follows:
1. Water
Like most formulations, water is used in body wash as a solvent. Water helps to absorb and dissolve other important ingredients so that the other ingredients are able to have their desired effects. Think about if there wasn’t water in your custom body wash formulation, then the other ingredients may not mix with each other, or will be too strong to be effective and could even be dangerous to your skin at extremely high concentrations.
2. Surfactant
We have already discussed quite a bit about surfactants and their uses in body wash. As mentioned before, the chemical makeup of surfactants makes them essential to any good body wash, but it is important to choose “clean” surfactants for your custom body wash for the benefit of your own skin and for the benefit of the environment.
Surfactants work by trapping dirt and other grime on your skin within them, and then easily washing away, surfactants also create the classic lathering effect of many cleansing products (Source). When studying surfactants you will find that one end of the molecule is hydrophilic and the other end is hydrophobic, which means that one end of the molecule loves water and the end hates water (Source). (Talk about polar opposites!).
This relationship is what allows for one end of the molecule to pick up and trap dirt while the other end allows the molecule to be easily washed away.
3. Sodium chloride (Salt used as a chelating agent)
Sodium chloride, which is the scientific name for salt, is another commonly used ingredient in most body washes. Salt is considered a clean ingredient in skincare. We all may know what salt is and how it tastes, but what purpose does salt serve in custom body wash formulations?
It is used as a chelating agent, which means it helps to stabilize the formula, so it does not separate while it is sitting waiting to be used next (Source). Chelating agents bind with metal ions and prevent them from chemically reacting with other ingredients in the formulation.
4. Humectant(s)
To put it simply, humectants attract and retain water. They help to bring a moisturizing effect when used in custom body wash (Source). They help to draw moisture from the environment and your skin and retain it on the skin surface. In order for a custom body wash to have a moisturizing effect humectants need to be in the formula.
Glycerin is a popular clean humectant used in body wash, that has the ability to trap moisture on the skin’s surface.
5. Preservative(s)
Preservatives are used in many cosmetic formulations to prevent the growth of bacteria and mold in the product. Imagine opening up a bottle of body wash only a week after you bought it, and it already has mold or bacteria growth, and maybe even a funky smell! Nobody wants this to happen to them, and this is why preservatives are important to be used in custom body wash.
One very commonly used class of preservative is parabens, which are not clean ingredients because of the health risks they pose according to the Environmental Working Group. These risks include skin irritation and potential harm to aquatic life (Source).
There are many clean alternative preservatives available however like ethylhexylglycerin and sodium benzoate used at Genie Supply, so you can keep your custom body wash formulation clean AND safe from bacteria! Keep in mind, however, that preservatives are not magic ingredients that keep your formula preserved and bacteria free forever. They simply help to preserve the product for longer.
6. Any desired actives (Optional0
Any desired activity is the final component of a clean custom body wash. Depending on what exactly you are trying to achieve with your custom body wash, there are a variety of potential actives available. One example of a potential active could be a form of vitamin C, since vitamin C offers a variety of benefits when used in skincare (check out this blog for more information on vitamin C benefits in skincare).
When formulating your custom body wash, it is a good idea to discuss the desired effects of your body wash with your formulating chemist to determine what actives would best help to achieve those effects.
Formulate with Genie Supply:
If you are looking to formulate your own clean custom body wash, Genie Supply offers custom formulation services to help you reach your goal! Custom formulating at Genie Supply is flexible, easy, and we will never trap you into producing your product with us!
Once our experienced chemists and you work together to determine your exact formula, you own it and are free to take it anywhere you’d like to be manufactured with no strings attached. We have a diverse staff that truly cares about your product’s success! To learn more about custom formulating with Genie Supply head over to our Custom Formulating Page which contains everything you need to know about formulating with Genie Supply including timelines and costs.
If you have an idea for a custom body wash and already know you want to work with us, fill out our onboarding form and receive a free 15 minute consultation with a member of our staff to discuss your custom body wash idea!
