Imidazolidinyl Urea in CP Soap Safety?

[RosesforEos]

I went to Michael's the other day for MP soap base, and they had these soap additives next to the bases. I bought the Rose Clay Mask Base, and it contains "Kaolin Clay, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Powder, and Imidazolidinyl Urea". I looked up the last ingredient and couldn't find any information on its safety in cold process soap. From what I understand, it acts as an antimicrobial agent in cosmetics by releasing formaldehyde as it decomposes.

Since NaOH is a strong base, I'm worried about how the two will react if I were to add the clay to my soap? I don't want a formaldehyde laden soap if that's the reaction that were to occur. Any Organic Chemists out there who can give some insight?

 

[shunt2011]

I would personally avoid MP from Michaels. Their soap base is terrible. As for the pink clay it’s should be fine. There’s no active lye in MP to react. I would guess it’s not uncommon for cosmetic clays to have other additives.

 

[RosesforEos]

I would personally avoid MP from Michaels. Their soap base is terrible. As for the pink clay it’s should be fine. There’s no active lye in MP to react. I would guess it’s not uncommon for cosmetic clays to have other additives.

I wanted to try putting the clay into my cold process where there would still be active lye. Maybe I should keep it in the MP only? And that's good to know about the Michael's MP. I've never used it before

 

[GemstonePony]

According to Google imidazolidinyl urea is made with a NaOH solution, so it seems unlikely to me that it would react again, at least from a caustic fumes perspective. It could still turn weird colors and whatnot, but I imagine there's a small enough amount that it shouldn't impact anything too much.

 

[RosesforEos]

According to Google imidazolidinyl urea is made with a NaOH solution, so it seems unlikely to me that it would react again, at least from a caustic fumes perspective. It could still turn weird colors and whatnot, but I imagine there's a small enough amount that it shouldn't impact anything too much.

I think I'll go ahead and make a small test batch to see how it behaves. Thanks!

 

[earlene]

That product is meant for a FACE mask, not soap. See this link for a description of the cosmetic ingredient.

 

[RosesforEos]

That product is meant for a FACE mask, not soap. See this link for a description of the cosmetic ingredient.

I saw that website when I went googling, but I had trouble making sense of it. It seems to only tell that the ingredient can cause contact dermatitis in some people, it's used as a preservative in cosmetics, and that it has safe usage limits due to it's status as a formaldehyde releaser. The data on imidazolidinyl urea seems limited beyond cosmetic safety. What should this tell me about its use in soap? Should it never be used for that purpose?

Your pointing out that it is a face mask base doesn't help much in regards to potentially using it in cold process soap. I'm aware of the intended use from the packaging, but given that the main ingredient is kaolin clay, and the second ingredient is lemon peel powder I wondered if it could be used for soap. My skin seems fine from using it for a face mask, but I'm hesitant of applying it to soap.

Is your advice to keep it as a face mask only? Thank you for your help.

 

[Dan9250]

Imidazolidinyl urea is an antimicrobial preservative used in cosmetics.
It is chemically related to diazolidinyl urea which is used in the same way.
Imidazolidinyl urea acts as a formaldehyde releaser.
Formula: C11H16N8O8
Molar mass: 388.29 g/mol
ChemSpider ID: 35067
PubChem CID: 38258
Cas number: 39236-46-9 scbt.com

 

[DeeAnna]

If the function of this chemical is to act as a preservative, my experience with lye-based bar soap is that a preservative is not required; the high pH of lye-based bar soap is its own preservative.

There are some situations where this preservative action is not effective, as when someone adds large chunks of food (oats, pumpkin, flower buds/petals, etc.) in or on the soap, but no preservative can be effective in situations like this.

If you were talking about diluted lye-based liquid soap or cleanser that is a synthetic detergent product or a syndet and soap blend, the situation would be quite different. A preservative may be useful in these situations.

But you're not talking about these products, so I'm really wondering -- why you want to use this chemical in cold process soap?

 

[RosesforEos]

If the function of this chemical is to act as a preservative, my experience with lye-based bar soap is that a preservative is not required; the high pH of lye-based bar soap is its own preservative.

There are some situations where this preservative action is not effective, as when someone adds large chunks of food (oats, pumpkin, flower buds/petals, etc.) in or on the soap, but no preservative can be effective in situations like this.

If you were talking about diluted lye-based liquid soap or cleanser that is a synthetic detergent product or a syndet and soap blend, the situation would be quite different. A preservative may be useful in these situations.

But you're not talking about these products, so I'm really wondering -- why you want to use this chemical in cold process soap?

It's an ingredient in a premixed clay face mask base. I'd rather not use the chemical, but I don't mind if it has no adverse reactions in a bar of soap. I'm mainly interested in using the clay. I think I'll just order some kaolin clay and keep the mask base as a mask.

Thank you all

 

[DeeAnna]

Thanks for your reply, @RosesforEos. I had lost track of your original question and ended up not helping you at all. My apologies for not going back to re-read your original post so I would stay more on topic.