A Scientific Look at a Popular Men’s Body Wash

I often get asked about the ingredients in beauty and personal care products. Between my two teenage sons and husband, there’s always an Axe product floating around our house. Honestly, there’s always the smell of an Axe product floating around my house (which isn’t a bad thing). If you ask any cosmetic chemist, we go straight to the label to find out more about how the product works.

Looking at the label for Apollo Axe Body Wash for Men*, this formulation is simple and effective. It contains only the necessary ingredients to create a thick, clear, great smelling, and foaming body wash. The biggest challenge to this formulation is incorporating the fragrance and maintaining a clear, viscous product. It doesn’t contain conditioning agents or moisturizers and has a “squeaky clean” skin feel.

Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Cocamide MEA make up the primary cleansing system and help solubulize the fragrance. Fragrance is the star ingredient for this product’s claims.

According to axe.com, this product is “a classically masculine fragrance with an addictive edge. Crisp notes of green fruits and fresh sage make up this refreshing scent.”

The preservatives, Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazolinone, are a common preservative blend that’s free of parabens and formaldehyde.

Viscosity (the product’s thickness) is adjusted with salt (Sodium Chloride) as explained here. PPG and Propylene Glycol are most likely added to help with cold temperature stability or clarity.

Each ingredient has a function as described below.

Ingredients (function)- definition

Water (carrier)- dissolves the other ingredients in the formulation

Sodium Laureth Sulfate (surfactant)- helps remove the oils and dirt, creates the foamy lather

Sodium Chloride (viscosity adjust)- controls the thickness

Fragrance (aesthetics)- For scent

Cocamide MEA (Surfactant)- helps remove the oils and dirt and adds creaminess to the lather

Citric Acid (pH adjust) (acidity and alkalinity)

PPG-9 (solvent)- controls the thickness

Tetrasodium EDTA (chelator)- prevents water impurities from causing stability or performance problems

Methylchloroisothiazolinone (preservative)- protects from microorganism growth

Methylisothiazolinone (preservative)- protects from microorganism growth

Blue 1 (CI 42090) (aesthetics)- adds color

Yellow 5 (CI 17200) (aesthetics)- adds color

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