{"id":10514,"date":"2017-02-09T22:34:43","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T22:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/?p=10514"},"modified":"2021-07-06T11:03:25","modified_gmt":"2021-07-06T10:03:25","slug":"what-can-go-wrong-formulations-ph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/what-can-go-wrong-formulations-ph\/","title":{"rendered":"What can go wrong if you don’t control your formulation’s pH?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once upon a time most cosmetic products were supposed to have a pH between 4.5 – 6.5 to meet the skin’s pH. This was a globally and legally acknowledged range and you will\u00a0still read about it in old school cosmetic formulation books – your formulation’s pH was generally expected to fall somewhere within that broad range (depending on what you were formulating).<\/p>\n

This broad range, although still legally valid, is no\u00a0longer technically correct when you\u2019re working\u00a0with natural and organic cosmetics. In fact, you should keep your formulation’s\u00a0pH in a much narrower range.<\/p>\n

We’ve summarised three reasons here\u00a0to show you that you need to start paying much more attention to the exact pH of your product:<\/p>\n

1. Colour Changes<\/h3>\n

When making natural skincare, we generally don’t use pigments but instead allow the colour of our products to be dictated by the natural ingredients we use, such as plant oils, extracts, powders or other plant-based ingredients. Most natural formulators view the inherent colour of their ingredients as a wonderful indication of just how natural their products are. However, the colour of many\u00a0natural ingredients is highly pH dependent.<\/p>\n

The beautiful red colour of beetroot or elderberry is caused by their anthocyanins: pigments and antioxidants that\u00a0belong to a parent class of <\/span>molecules called <\/span>flavonoids. Depending on the pH, anthocyanins have a colour spectrum that ranges between dark blue to purple to red. If you want to achieve the same colour shade and product integrity from batch to batch, then you will need to adjust your formulation’s\u00a0pH to be within a narrow range. You will also need to make sure that the pH of your product does not change during its shelf life, which is why stability testing is so important (check out our Certificate in Cosmetic Stability Testing<\/a>).\"Colour<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Properties of natural\u00a0ingredients susceptible to pH change<\/h3>\n

Not only can the colour of your ingredient vary according to its pH, but the properties of your plant-based ingredient are far more likely to be affected than those of mainstream\u00a0synthetic ingredients. For instance, the antioxidant activity of anthocyanins is affected by modifications in pH and can be decreased if you modify the pH sufficiently. In other words, your ingredients might not have the desired effect on the skin if the overall pH of your product is in the wrong range.<\/span><\/p>\nThe antioxidant activity of anthocyanins is affected by modifications in pH #CosmeticScience <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n

3. Natural Preservative efficacy is pH dependent<\/h3>\n

The efficacy of almost all naturally-derived preservatives is pH dependent. If you vary your formulation’s\u00a0pH by\u00a0only half a\u00a0grade, you may completely deactivate some of the preservatives in your product. The supplier of your preservative should always tell you the optimal pH of your preservative and you must take this into consideration as you are formulating\u00a0your product. <\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, if your naturally derived preservative is active at a pH of 4 – 4.5 and the overall pH of your product is 6, then you run the risk of your formulation becoming\u00a0contaminated before it even reaches your customers. This factor alone should\u00a0convince you about the importance of pH adjustment in your organic cosmetic formulations.<\/p>\n

Want to learn more about natural cosmetic preservatives? Read: Everything you wanted to know about natural preservatives<\/a>.<\/p>\nYou might deactivate your preservative if you don't control your pH #CosmeticScience <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n

How should you measure your formulation’s pH?<\/h3>\n

Although pH indicator rolls or strips are great when you’re first starting out with formulating, they can be more challenging to work with if you are trying to achieve a narrow range for your formulation’s pH. After all, pH strips are not as precise as a pH meter. <\/span><\/p>\n

When you start seriously formulating and manufacturing\u00a0natural cosmetics, you should\u00a0consider investing in a reliable pH meter with a glass electrode.<\/p>\n

pH meters vary in optic, performance, precision and complexity. It might be quite overwhelming knowing which pH meter to choose, particularly when faced with the large number of options available\u00a0and the broad price range of pH meters\u00a0– they can vary in price between \u20ac10 to \u20ac10,000.<\/p>\n

You can purchase a precise and simple\u00a0pH meter for your artisan lab with a budget of somewhere between \u20ac40-100. It is worth\u00a0investing in a proper pH meter when you are preparing water-based products such as toners, shampoos, lotions, hydrogels, etc.<\n\nHave you ever experienced any pH related disasters in your artisan lab when working with natural ingredients? Share your experiences with us below in the comments!\n\n\n\n

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Once upon a time most cosmetic products were supposed to have a pH between 4.5 – 6.5 to meet the skin’s pH. This was a globally and legally acknowledged range and you will\u00a0still read about it in old school cosmetic formulation books – your formulation’s pH was generally expected to fall somewhere within that broad range (depending on what you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2978,"featured_media":45509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[138,109,80],"class_list":["post-10514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-formulate","tag-natural-preservative","tag-ph","tag-stability-testing"],"cp_meta_data":{"_edit_lock":["1625565690:2984"],"_edit_last":["2984"],"_pilotpress_redirect_location":["-1"],"slide_template":["default"],"_single_add_custom_css":[""],"_wpb_vc_js_status":["false"],"_kleo_transparent_menu_color":["white"],"_kleo_title_color":["#"],"_kleo_title_bg":["a:5:{s:3:\"url\";s:0:\"\";s:6:\"repeat\";s:6:\"repeat\";s:4:\"size\";s:7:\"inherit\";s:10:\"attachment\";s:6:\"scroll\";s:8:\"position\";s:8:\"left top\";}"],"_kleo_title_bg_color":["#"],"_kleo_post_layout":["default"],"_kleo_header_layout":["default"],"_kleo_page_menu":["default"],"_kleo_page_menu_secondary":["default"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["40"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":["formulation's pH"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":["formulation's pH"],"_yoast_wpseo_title":["What can go wrong if you don't control your formulation's pH?"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["If you work with natural ingredients, you need to start paying much more attention to your formulation's pH to ensure your product remains stable."],"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":["75"],"_thumbnail_id":["45509"],"_item_likes":["14"],"classic-editor-remember":["classic-editor"],"_sbi_oembed_done_checking":["1"],"saswp_custom_schema_field":[""],"saswp_modify_this_schema_37129":["0"],"saswp_article_speakable_37129":["0"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":[""],"sbg_selected_sidebar":["a:1:{i:0;s:1:\"0\";}"],"sbg_selected_sidebar_replacement":["a:1:{i:0;s:1:\"0\";}"],"rank_math_primary_category":["40"],"rank_math_title":["What can go wrong if you don't control your formulation's pH?"],"rank_math_description":["If you work with natural ingredients, you need to start paying much more attention to your formulation's pH to ensure your product remains stable."],"rank_math_focus_keyword":["formulation's pH"],"rank_math_news_sitemap_robots":["index"],"rank_math_robots":["a:1:{i:0;s:5:\"index\";}"],"rank_math_analytic_object_id":["1259"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2978"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/formulabotanica.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}