Tensides and their ASM value
Learn about the concepts of tensides and their value to ASM
When choosing a tenside for your product, it is not only the charge or foaming and cleaning properties that play a role, but more importantly the ASM, or how much of the active ingredient will actually be in your product. By knowing the ASM value of your tenside combination, you will be able to dose tensides more efficiently, avoiding wastage or skin irritation from too high a dose of tensides.
WHAT IS ASM?
ASM is the English abbreviation for active surface matter. ASM is mainly used for tensides and this value in percentage represents how much active substance is actually present in the product. It is good to know the ASM value of a tenside precisely because tensides are not sold as 100% pure substances. This means that each tenside contains, in addition to the cleaning agent (its proportion is expressed by the ASM value), other compounds, most often water, possibly glycerin or pH adjusting ingredients, etc.
Also, when dosing a tenside into your product, a 30% tenside proportion in the product does not mean that there will actually be 30% active ingredient in the product. On the contrary, there will be less of it because the added tenside is already diluted.
Similarly, when using solutions of certain substances or acids, for example, lactic acid is sold as an 80% solution, so if you want to have 1% pure lactic acid in 100 g of product, you need to add more than 1 gram of lactic acid, as it is already diluted.
ASM PRODUCTS
If you want to formulate a product with several tensides in the mix, the total ASM value that these tensides will have together is always taken into account. In doing so, you can mix the individual tensides in different proportions to achieve a given total ASM value. For example, you can use a tenside with a higher ASM value in a smaller amount and, conversely, increase the proportion of a tenside with a lower ASM. Or, if you want to save on raw material quantities, you can use only the tenside with the higher ASM value (within the dosage range recommended for the product, of course).
But what overall ASM value should your product have? Below you will find the most commonly used ranges of total ASM values for each product group.
- Shower gels 15-20 %
- Cleansing foams/facial gels
- Shampoos 10-15 %
- Bath foam 20-25 %
WHERE CAN I FIND THE ASM VALUE OF TENSIDES?
ASM tenside values are measured and given directly by the manufacturer. When purchasing raw materials, you will find them listed in the Certificate that accompanies each raw material. Sometimes it happens that the ASM is not given as an exact value, but a range of values, then you can take into account the mean value of this range or take a closer look at the Attestation, where you can usually find the exact value measured for the batch. It is because of individual differences between batches and the quality of raw materials from different sources that the ASM tenside value can vary and is therefore given as a range of values.
For a better orientation in tensides, below you will find a list of the most commonly used tensides and their ASM values.
- Caprylyl/caprylyl glucoside 63 %
- Cocamidopropryl betaine 37-42 %
- Proteol apple 30 %
- Coco glucoside 51-53 %
- Decyl glucoside 51-55 %
- Disodium cocoyl glutamate 30-31 %
- Lamesoft PO 50-55 %
- Lauryl glucoside 50-52 %
HOW TO CALCULATE THE ASM VALUE OF A PRODUCT?
When formulating a recipe or taking it from different sources, it is a good idea to check the total ASM value of the tensides used. This is also in order not to waste raw materials unnecessarily or to avoid possible skin irritation from too high a concentration of tensides.
ASM OF THE BEAKER
You can use the online calculators where you enter the ASM value (in percentage) of the tenside (given by the manufacturer in the Attestation) and the amount of the tenside you want in the product. The calculator will automatically calculate what the ASM value of the tenside in the product will be. Then, you can adjust the proportion of reactive solvents in the product until you are satisfied with the ASM value of the solvents in the product.
The advantage is that the calculators work for several tensides at the same time, the disadvantage is that they are mostly available in English, but with the use of online translators their use can be mastered.
ASM CALCULATION
There are two methods of calculation that can be used to arrive at the overall ASM value of your product. Both calculations will be illustrated using the example of a facial cleansing foam containing two tensides, namely Proteol apple (ASM 30%) and Cocamidopropryl betaine (ASM 38%).
CALCULATION OVER PREDETERMINED ASM VALUES
In the first case, we first determine what we want the total ASM value of the tensides to be, in our case it can be 7.3% (1.5 + 5.7). We then determine what proportion each tenside will occupy in the total ASM:
Proteol apple 1,5 % ASM concentration
Cocamidopropryl betaine 5,7 % ASM concentration
We then need to calculate the actual percentage of the given tenside in the product, i.e. the number that you find in the recipes and corresponds to the actual amount of tenside added.
We arrive at this value by dividing the ASM concentration of the tenside in the product, as determined by us, by the 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 VIA PREDETERMINED VALUES OF THE TENSIDES IN THE PRODUCT
The second method works on a similar principle to the ASM calculator. Determine in advance the actual proportion that each tenside should represent in the product. Then, we back-calculate what their ASM value will be in the product. If this value is too high or low, the actual proportion of tensides in the product is adjusted and the recipe is recalculated.
For example, we want a skin cleansing foam that will use tensides in the following percentages:
Proteol apple 10%
Cocamidopropryl betaine 10 %
We then calculate what concentration of ASM is attributed in the product to a given amount of tensides by multiplyingm ASM of the tenside value given by the manufacturer and the proportion of tenside in the product chosen by us, and dividing all this 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 concentration
A value of 6,8 % of the total active tenside in the product is sufficient for a facial cleansing foam, in the case of allif you want to change this value, the representation of the active tensides in the product must be changed and the recipe recalculated. This is why ASM calculators are advantageous if you choose this procedure, because they do the calculation for you, you only change the actual representation of the tensides in the product.
TENSIDES AND THEIR ASM VALUE - CONCLUSION
There are some concepts you need to know when creating natural cosmetics in order to be able to create a product without beauty flaws every time. We hope this post has contributed to that as well.
We will be happy to answer any questions you may have, feel free to email us at marketing@handymade.sk
Do the saponification, my friends.
