I’ve talked about Chelating Agents many times in the past, and I have a post from 2019 talking about Sodium Phytate, but apparently 2019 was 6 years ago.…So let’s do an updated post and talk about a few other chelating agents.
It is almost always necessary to add a chelating agent into your product.
Products that don’t need a chelating agent
Anhydrous Formulas (products that only contain oil soluble ingredients. E.g - Body Oils, Face Oils, Massage Oils, Anhydrous Body Butters, Anhydrous Body Scrubs, Cleansing Balms, Lip Gloss, Etc.)
Cationic based Products (Products using a cationic surfactant like BTMS 50) E.g - Hair Conditioners, Body lotions using BTMS 50 as the emulsifier, Leave in Conditioners, Shaving Creams made with Cationic Surfactants, Etc.)
When using Electrolyte Sensitive ingredients like Carbomer. I have a post talking about electrolytes READ HERE. Ingredients that are Electrolyte sensitive don’t always get destabilized by chelating agents, so you can experiment to see if it does. Read my post on electrolytes to learn more about how to identify if an ingredient is electrolyte sensitive.
Why we need a Chelating Agent
Improve the preservation of product
Stabilize Emulsion
Prevent color changes to your product
Helps keep the pH from drifting.
Can help reduce soap scum in cleansing products in hard water.
What is a Chelating Agent
There are "metal ions", which can be present in any water-based system. These “metal ions” can also come in contact with your formula during the formulating process from the metal utensils we use during the formulation phase. These metal ions can react with your formulation ingredients causing problems, including:
Spoilage and rancidity
Degradation of vitamins and essential fatty acids
Fragrance degradation
Discoloration
Haze formation and precipitation
Poor foaming and rinsability performance.
In simple terms, chelating agents create a more stable formulation and helps keep all the lovely ingredients in your product more stable. So chelating agents basically improve your products and keep them in tip top shape for longer. Chelating agents also act as a preservative potentiator.
Examples of Chelating Agents
Sodium Phytate - Ecocert / Natural
Disodium EDTA is used in formulas with a, neutral to mildly acidic pH, like most creams, lotions, and neutral pH liquid soaps and shampoos. (pH of 7 or lower) Disodium EDTA is Not Heat Sensitive.
Tetrasodium EDTA is used in formulas with an alkaline pH. (7 or above) like most handmade soaps. It can also be used in creams, lotions, and surfactant systems. According to lotioncrafter.com, If you want to make a clear or transparent product it might be best to use Tetrasodium EDTA instead of Disodium EDTA. Tetrasodium EDTA is Not Heat Sensitive
Sodium Phytate is used in formulas that are marketed as natural or Ecocert. Adjust products final pH to 6.0 or below. Sodium Phytate is Not Heat Sensitive.
Ecocert / Natural Chelating Agents
Unfortunately for those trying to stay natural or Ecocert, both Tetrasodium EDTA & Disodium EDTA are not. Instead I would recommend using Sodium Phytate. This has been my go to chelating agent for years. It’s the chelating agent I used when I sold my products on Etsy as well. I really like it. It dissolves super easily in water and you can add it in during the heated phase, so it is not heat sensitive. The only down side is that it does have a really high pH. It has a pH of 10-12. So keep in mind that this could raise the pH of your product. You only need to use it between 0.05 - 0.5%, so a little goes a long way. It might not even effect your products pH, it’s just something to keep in mind.
How to use a Chelating Agent
They are all so easy to use! All the chelating agents I’ve mention in this post are used the same way. Use them within their suggested usage rate.
Sodium Phytate: 0.05 - 0.5%
Tetrasodium EDTA; 0.1%
Disodium EDTA; 0.1-0.3%
Mix and dissolve them into your water phase. They are not heat sensitive so if you need to heat your water that is fine. Some chelating agents may take longer to dissolve than others, which is fine. Proceed with heating the emulsion. The chelating agent will eventually dissolve.
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