Men's Refreshing Body Wash

Refresh and recharge with this soothing Eucalyptus and Spearmint body wash. Easily create your own high foaming body wash with less than 10 ingredients and in 5 steps.

TOOLS:

Beaker or Mixing Bowl

pH strips or pH meter

Gloves

Spatula or Spoon

Balance (optional)

INGREDIENTS:

487 g / 2 1/4 cups Distilled Water

30 g / 2 tbsp Glycerin (moisturizing)

300 g / 1 1/3 cups Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate (cleanser)

150 g / 2/3 cup Coco-Betaine (cleanser)

10 g / 2 tsp Preservative (prevents microorganism growth)

0.6 g / 1/8 tsp Eucalyptus Spearmint Essential Oil (fragrance)

0.03 g / 1 drop Blue Food Coloring

10-12 g / 2 - 2 1/2 tsp Salt

As needed (QS) Citric Acid, 50% solution (adjusts pH)

PROCEDURE:

Step 1: Add Water, Glycerin, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, and Coco-Betaine into your beaker and mix until combined. This is your surfactant solution which is responsible for cleaning your skin and for providing the luxurious foam experience. Mix gently or it will get very foamy!

STEP 2: Slowly add the preservative and mix until uniform. The preservative helps protect water based products from growing yeast, bacteria and mold. If you prefer to opt out of this part (don’t recommend), store your finished body wash in the refrigerator and use within a week. You may want to make a smaller batch to avoid waste.

STEP 3: Now for the fun part. Add Eucalyptus Spearmint Oil and blue color to your solution. Mix until the solution is uniform. At this point, your body wash is not too thick. Don’t worry, the magic is coming soon!

STEP 4: Check the pH of your solution with pH strips or pH meter. Make sure that the pH is around 5.0-6.5. This is the best range for your preservative to work. If the pH is too high, add 2 drops of citric acid solution. See how to make citric acid solution here.

STEP 5: Now it’s time to make your body wash thick! Salt helps thicken by packing the surfactants closer together which adds viscosity. Add 2 tsp of salt and mix. If it’s still too thick, add 1/2 tsp. more to see if it thickens. If you add too much, the viscosity will eventually drop which can’t be recovered with more salt.

STEP 6: Pour into your desired packaging and add your labels.

Makes ~1,000 mL or 16 oz. of Body Wash

How to Use: Pour a small amount onto luffah or wash cloth and lather up! Enjoy the calming aroma of lavender and then rinse.

Ingredients: Water, Sodium C14-16 Alpha Olefin Sulfonate, Coco-Betaine, Fragrance, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Citric Acid, Sorbic Acid

Protips:

If you accidentally added too much citric acid, your pH will be too low. You can start over or raise the pH by adding a base. Typically, a Sodium Hydroxide solution is used but higher concentrations are dangerous and special safety precaution must be followed. I recommend working with a lower concentration such as 0.1N Sodium Hydroxide. Always wear gloves when adjusting pH.

*Disclaimer: All opinions and reviews are strictly my own. These formulations are designed for educational and experimental use only. User assumes all risks.

Here’s a printer friendly version. Happy Formulating!