The use of silver flakes in cosmetics is gaining popularity. If you are planning to integrate genuine 999 cosmetic silver flakes into your aloe vera formulation, this is what you need to know to avoid making a costly mistake. In the following we share a case with you in which silver flakes 999 (flakes made of pure silver) underwent oxidation and nearly dissolved in a cosmetic product.
What happened?
The incident occurred when one of our customers decided to incorporate silver flakes into their formulation for its visual appeal. The customer had already processed and sold their first order of silver flakes without any issues. However, when they received their second order of silver flakes and processed it into the cosmetic product, they noticed an unusual effect. The silver flakes from the second order oxidized in the cosmetic product and almost completely dissolved, leaving behind unappealing dark spots.
What happened next
Initially, we were unable to determine the reason behind this unusual behavior. Neither the customer nor us had made any changes to the formulation. We were puzzled as to why the first batch had been unaffected while the second batch resulted in the silver flakes oxidizing and dissolving, leaving unappealing dark spots.
To investigate the cause, we requested the customer to send us a sample of the silver flakes used, along with samples of their solution and the product formulation. We sent all three to the laboratory in order to find out what caused the silver flakes to behave so different in the two batches.
The cause: concentration of aloe vera
After conducting tests on all the ingredients, the laboratory discovered that the aloe vera present in the formulation was responsible for triggering the oxidation of the silver flakes in the customer’s second product batch.
But why did aloe vera not lead to oxidation in the first batch?
Although the formulation of the first batch was the same, it’s possible that the order in which the ingredients were mixed was different. Oxidation can occur when the silver flakes are exposed to a high concentration of Aloe Vera.
Conclusion:
While it is possible to use silver and aloe vera together in a cosmetic formulation, it is crucial to carefully control the concentration of aloe vera and the order in which ingredients are mixed to prevent oxidation in the final product.