Shark Sauce 2.0

Note:  This post was updated 4/16/16 to reflect new information.  Please note that this is an older formulation of Shark Sauce than the one being sold in the Holy Snails Shop.

Hey everyone!  If you follow me or Fiddy on Snapchat, you've probably already seen the new Shark Sauce.  It's a huge improvement in many areas, including consistency and ingredients.  Let's take a look:

Note:  This recipe took a lot of time, money, and work to develop.  Please be respectful and do not redistribute this (especially without credit).  This is meant for personal use only, not for commercial or profit.  It is provided for free, so please show some consideration or I will not be able to provide future recipes.

Shark Sauce 2.0 (EDIT/PRINT-FRIENDLY VERSION)



Ingredient % (g)
Aloe Vera Juice 49.5 14.03
Sea Kelp Bioferment 15 4.25
Seamollient 15 4.25
Niacinamide 5 1.42
Licorice Root Extract 5 1.42
N-Acetylglucosamine 3 0.85
Green Tea Extract 2 0.57
Panthenol 2 0.57
Sodium Lactate 2 0.57
Germaben 1 0.28
Hyaluronic Acid 0.5 0.14



Changes

Omissions & Replacements

The most notable change is the removal of the oil phase, meaning Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Polysorbate 80, and the botanical oils (Sea Buckthorn and Borage Seed).  It made the serum feel very heavy and oily, and I don't think it was worth having it in there when it could be better put to use elsewhere.

I am switching the preservative for this to Germaben, which uses parabens instead of phenoxyethanol.  I haven't had issues with Optiphen, but I wanted to use a stronger preservative since this is not made in a lab, and contamination is a bigger concern even when I take as many safety precautions as I can.  If you do not want parabens, feel free to continue using Optiphen, or whatever preservative you wish.  Just make sure it can be used within this pH range, and that you're using the proper amount.

Concentrations


Instead of making a Hyaluronic Acid Stock Solution with distilled water and hyaluronic acid, I just put the Hyaluronic Acid into the Aloe Vera Juice.  You can make the stock solution just using Aloe Vera Juice as well, of course.  This increases the concentration of Hyaluronic Acid in the ampoule from 0.0005% (5% of 1% Hyaluronic Acid Stock) to 0.5% Hyaluronic Acid.  I'm going to attempt combining the Hyaluronic Acid and Allantoin into the Aloe Vera Juice next to see if I can have a super nice Aloe Vera stock.

I also decreased Sodium Lactate and Green Tea Extract.  Green Tea Extract was adjusted after reviewing some supplier sites, and seeing the max recommended usage rate was 2% rather than 5%, like many other extracts.  I have never had irritation issues at 5%, but I wanted to make as "legit" of a product as possible, so 2% it goes.  As for Sodium Lactate, you can still safely use it at 5%, but some sites I found said that Sodium Lactate will exfoliate above 2%.  Since this isn't meant to exfoliate, I dropped it to milder levels.

The final result is a much smoother, lighter gel.  It's also much easier to make, since you don't have to worry about emulsifying an oil phase into the water phase and risking clumps that you have to spend time breaking up.

Co-Op

Edit:  The co-op is no longer available.  You may purchase Shark Sauce through the Holy Snails Shop