Guest guest Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 Good mooring all: A question was raised on another (soapers) list that I couldn't find an answer for. The question involved a soap that is billed as all natural, but that contains " EDTA Sodium Edetate " . I found it's entry in the household products database, but it really didn't tell me much. In my search I came across the Living Nature web site, as well as a couple of online store that sell Living Nature. This may be the soap the soaper was referring to. They list it differently though, as tetrasodium EDTA (sodium edetate).. It's interesting, because they claim to be all natural, and even provide information on the ingredients they use. All the ingredients that it but this one. Nor could I find contact information to ask about it. Can anyone here tell me something about this chemical? Diane GreenFireHerbs.com " Never say 'can't' when there's a 'How About This' still to be tried! " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 Hi , Let's see if I can give you (and everybody else) some information on EDTA. First of all, EDTA, or Ethylenediaminetetraacetate, is an organic chemical but not a natural product, it is a synthetically produced amino acid in common use throughout the food and cosmetic industry. Here's a link from the Whole Foods webpage with a good overview of EDTA: http://www.wholefoods.com/healthinfo/edta.html Quoting from there: ***** EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) is a common sequestrant and antioxidant added to foods, body care, and household products. It occurs as disodium calcium EDTA, tetrasodium EDTA, and disodium dihydrogen EDTA. As a sequestrant, it binds trace minerals such as copper, iron and nickel that may be in the product. If not inactivated, these minerals will lead to discoloration, rancidity and textural breakdown. When added as an antioxidant, EDTA prevents oxygen from causing color changes and rancidity. <snip> EDTA in Body Care, Household Products and Pharmaceuticals EDTA is often added to detergents, liquid soaps, shampoos, agricultural chemical sprays, pharmaceutical products, oil emulsions and to textiles to improve dyeing, scouring and detergent operations. It is used as a metal chelating agent, in metal cleaning and plating, in the treatment of chlorosis, to decontaminate radioactive surfaces, as a metal deactivator in vegetable oils, as an anticoagulant of blood, as an antioxidant, in the clarification of liquids, in analytical chemistry spectrophotometric titration, to aid in reducing blood cholesterol, to treat lead poisoning and calcinosis. EDTA salts are also added to products in the place of phosphate compounds used to reduce calcium and magnesium hardness in water. It can prevent bleaching agents from becoming active before they're immersed in water. ***** EDTA comes in 4 neutralizations, but in the creation of body care products (soaps & lotions, etc.), we generally choose between disodium EDTA or tetrasodium EDTA. Generally that choice is made based on the pH of the product the EDTA is going into. Disodium EDTA is acidic and tetrasodium EDTA is alkaline, therefore, it is generally best to choose the one that most suited to the product being made. Tetrasodium EDTA is generally used in soapmaking. Chelating agents like EDTA complex with metal ions. Unless inactivated, they can reduce the effectiveness of your preservative and antioxidant system. Metal ions act a catalysts for oxidation; eliminating these catalysts enhances the antioxidants' activity. In cosmetics, chelating agents have the ability to enhance the action of the preservatives used. They bind up the magnesium in gram Negative bacteria cell walls thus weakening them and making them more susceptable to the biocide action of the preservative. The optimum use level for disodium EDTA for preservative enhancement is 0.2% in your formulations. In soapmaking, tetrasodium EDTA is especially valuable in binding up minerals in hard water areas. In doing so, it improves lathering and reduces soap scum. In my own soapmaking, I use about 1% tetrasodium EDTA, based on the water phase of my soap (not the oils). My soaps lather very well! Versene, one of the manufacturers of EDTA has some useful general guidelines on their site regarding the use of EDTA which can be found on their website (excerpted here): Personal Care Products - Bath Preparations A 3-10% concentration of VERSENE 100 XL (my note -- this is a 39% solution of tetrasodium EDTA), 1.2-4% Disodium EDTA (VERSENE Na2 Crystals ), or Tetrasodium EDTA (VERSENE 220 Crystals) (based on weight of detergent-based bubble bath formulations) counteracts the defoaming action of hardness ions on toilet soaps. Personal Care Products - Bar and Solid Soaps VERSENE chelating agents effectively prevent chalking, rancidity, and metal-catalyzed discoloration in bar and other solid soap formulations. Additional quantities of chelating agent may also improve foaming, soaping action, and the " feel " of the soap at normal bathing temperatures. Personal Care Products - Creams, Oils, Ointments Use of 0.01% VERSENE chelating agent is quite standard in most emulsified and multiphase personal care products. Control of trace metal ions with VERSENE chelating agents can prevent discoloration, rancidity, and other undesirable metal-catalyzed reactions. Many products may also be protected from spoilage. Personal Care Products - Creams, Oils, Ointments Discoloration and rancidity of lotions may be prevented with 0.2 to 0.5% (by weight) of VERSENE chelating agent. In sulfide and sulfhydrate-containing products, 0.5 to 1.0% of VERSENE chelating agent may be used to prevent metal sulfide formation. Personal Care Products - Hair Preparations VERSENE chelating agent at 0.1 to 0.3% concentration in alkaline sulfite preparations stabilizes the formulations against air oxidation catalyzed by copper, manganese, and other metals. VERSENE chelating agents also help prevent precipitation of sulfites in hard water areas. VERSENE chelating agent (0.2 to 0.5% based on dye concentration) is used to protect against precipitation, color change, and rub-off caused by calcium, copper and iron. In hard water areas, a water solution containing 1% of VERSENE chelating agent is an effective rinse for removing insoluble calcium and magnesium soaps. A similar rinse may also be used prior to cold waving or coloring. Personal Care Products - Shampoos It is recommended that all shampoo products include 0.1% VERSENE chelating agents for enhanced shelf life. In addition, VERSENE chelating agent may be used to soften the water with which the liquid shampoo is diluted during manufacture. Hope this helps! Lotioncrafter http://lotioncrafter.com " EDTA Sodium Edetate " Good mooring all: A question was raised on another (soapers) list that I couldn't find an answer for. The question involved a soap that is billed as all natural, but that contains " EDTA Sodium Edetate " . I found it's entry in the household products database, but it really didn't tell me much. <snip> Can anyone here tell me something about this chemical? Diane GreenFireHerbs.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.