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When choosing surfactants for your product, not only their charge or foaming and cleansing properties play a role, but above all ASM, that is, how much active substance will actually be present in your product. Thanks to knowing the ASM value of your surfactant combination, you will be able to dose surfactants more effectively, avoid wasting them, or avoid skin irritation caused by an excessively high dose of surfactants.
ASM is the English abbreviation for active surface matter. ASM is used mainly with surfactants and this value, expressed in percent, represents how much active substance is actually present in the product. It is good to know the ASM value of a surfactant precisely because surfactants are not sold as 100 % pure substances. This means that every surfactant, in addition to the cleansing substance (its share is expressed by the ASM value), contains other compounds, most often water, possibly glycerin or components adjusting the pH, and similar.For this reason as well, when dosing a surfactant into your product, a 30 % share of surfactant in the product does not mean that there will actually be 30 % active substance in the product. On the contrary, there will be less, because the added surfactant is already diluted.A similar situation applies, for example, when using solutions of certain substances or acids; for instance, lactic acid is sold as an 80 % solution, so if you want to have 1 % pure lactic acid in 100 g of product, you must add more than 1 gram, since it is already diluted.
If you want to formulate a product with several surfactants in a blend, you always take into account the total ASM value that these surfactants will have together. At the same time, it holds that you can mix the individual surfactants in different ratios in order to achieve the given total ASM value. For example, you can use a surfactant with a higher ASM value in a smaller amount and, conversely, increase the share of a surfactant with a lower ASM. Or, if you want to save on the amount of raw materials, you can use only a surfactant with a higher ASM value (of course, within the dosage range recommended for the given product).What total ASM value, however, should your product have? Below you will find the most commonly used ranges of total ASM values for individual groups of products.
The ASM values of surfactants are measured and provided directly by the manufacturer. When purchasing raw materials, you will find them listed in the Certificate of Analysis that accompanies each raw material. Sometimes it happens that ASM is not given as an exact value, but as a range; in that case, you can, for your calculation, take into account the mean value of this range, or look more closely at the Certificate of Analysis, where you usually find the exact value measured for the given batch. Precisely because of individual differences between batches and the quality of raw materials from various sources, the ASM value of a surfactant can change, and therefore it is given as a range of values. For better orientation among surfactants, below you will find a list of the most commonly used surfactants and their ASM values.
When formulating a recipe or taking it over from various sources, it is good to verify the total ASM value of the surfactants used. This is also so that you do not needlessly waste raw materials, or to avoid potential skin irritation due to too high a surfactant concentration.
For the calculation you can use online calculators, where you enter the ASM value (in percent) of the given surfactant (provided by the manufacturer in the Certificate of Analysis) and the amount of the given surfactant in the product that you desire. The calculator automatically calculates what the ASM value of the surfactant in the product will be. Subsequently, you can adjust the share of the individual surfactants in the product until the ASM value of the surfactants in the product suits you.The advantage is that the calculators work for several surfactants simultaneously; the disadvantage is that they are mostly available in English, but with the use of online translators their use can be managed.
There are two methods of calculation by which you can arrive at the total ASM value of your product. We will present both calculations using the example of a facial cleansing foam containing two surfactants, namely Proteol apple (ASM 30 %) and Cocamidopropryl betaine (ASM 38 %).
CALCULATION USING PREDETERMINED ASM VALUES
In the first case, we first determine what total ASM value of surfactants we want; in our case this can be 7.3 % (1.5 + 5.7). Subsequently, we determine what share each surfactant will have in the total ASM:Proteol apple 1.5 % ASM concentrationCocamidopropryl betaine 5.7 % ASM concentrationThen we need to calculate the actual percentage representation of the given surfactant in the product, i.e. the figure that you find in recipes and that corresponds to the actual added amount of surfactant. We arrive at this value by dividing the ASM concentration of the given surfactant in the product that we have determined by its ASM value given by the manufacturer, and multiplying the whole by 100. Proteol apple 5 % ((1.5/30).100 = 5 %)Cocamidopropryl betaine 15 % ((5.7/38).100 = 15%)Thus, 5 % Proteol apple and 15 % Cocamidopropryl betaine will be added to the product.
CALCULATION USING PREDETERMINED SURFACTANT VALUES IN THE PRODUCT
The second method works on a similar principle to ASM calculators. We determine in advance what actual share the individual surfactants should represent in the product. Subsequently, we calculate backwards what their ASM value in the product will be. If this value is too high or too low, the actual share of surfactants in the product is adjusted and the recipe recalculated.For example, we want a facial cleansing foam in which the surfactants are used in the following percentage shares:Proteol apple 10 %Cocamidopropryl betaine 10 %We then calculate what ASM concentration in the product corresponds to the given amount of surfactants by multiplying the ASM value of the surfactant provided by the manufacturer by the share of surfactant in the product that we have chosen, and dividing everything by 100. Proteol apple 3 % ASM concentration ((30.10)/100 = 3 %)Cocamidopropryl betaine 3.8 % ASM concentration ((38.10)/100 = 3.8 %)Total ASM: 3 + 3.8 = 6.8 % ASM concentrationA value of 6.8 % total active surfactant in the product is sufficient for a facial cleansing foam; however, if you want to change this value, it is necessary to change the representation of the individual surfactants in the product and to recalculate the recipe. Precisely for this reason, if you choose this procedure, ASM calculators are advantageous because they perform the calculation for you and you only change the actual representation of surfactants in the product.
Some terms need to be known when creating natural cosmetics so that you can always create a product without any imperfections. We believe that this post has contributed to that as well. We will be happy to answer all your possible questions; feel free to write to us at marketing@handymade.skUntil saponification, friends.
