Chemistry
Chemistry Thursday: All about acids!
What is an acid? From Wikipedia: An acid is a chemical substance whose aqueous solutions are characterized by a sour taste, the ability to turn blue litmus red, and the ability to react with bases and certain metals (like calcium) to form salts. Aqueous solutions of acids have a pH of less than 7. A lower...
Want to learn more chemistry?
If you want to know more about chemistry, I cannot suggest enough that you hie thyself to your local retailer of books and pick up this gorgeous and giant tome, Molecules, by Theodore Grey, and his other book, Elements (which also comes in calendar form, something I also received for Christmas!). I was surprised to see...
Weekday Wonderings: Using polysorbates and separation? Exact formula?
In this post, using polysorbates in your products, Lisa asks: I’ve tried the bath oil formula, but I noticed that the polysorbate 80 starts to separate from the oil after letting it sit for a while. Everytime I want to use it, I have to shake it up. Is there anything I can add to prevent...
Chemistry Thursday: The difference between solubilizers and emulsifiers redux
In this post on solubilizers, someone asked: I still don’t get the difference between a solubilizer and a emulsifier. If I mix propylene glycol (in substitution for the surfactant), cetyl alcohol or stearic acid in water, will I be getting a lotion? The quick answer is no because there’s nothing in your question that is...