| What is it? | STEPAN-MILD® BSB is a gentle pre-blended surfactant product featuring anionic, non-ionic, cationic, and amphoteric surfactants. It creates products with gorgeous, rich lather and a really lovely conditioned skin feel on rinse-off. |
| INCI | PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Sodium Trideceth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Lauroamphodiacetate, PEG-150 Distearate, Sodium Laureth-13 Carboxylate, Quaternium-15 |
| Appearance | Yellow liquid |
| Usage rate | I haven’t found a maximum usage level; 10–40% works well for most products. |
| Scent | Characteristic; detergent-y |
| Active surfactant matter | ~42% |
| pH | 6.5–7.5 |
| Charge | Anionic, Nonionic, Cationic, and Amphoteric |
| Solubility | Water |
| Why do we use it in formulations? | STEPAN-MILD® BSB can be used to quickly and easily create surfactant products like body washes, hand washes, and shampoos. It’s a great way to start working with surfactants as you can use it as the sole surfactant product in a formulation. |
| Do you need it? | No, but it is a nice “shortcut” surfactant product. |
| Refined or unrefined? | STEPAN-MILD® BSB only exists as a refined product. |
| Strengths | STEPAN-MILD® BSB is an easy-to-use blend that functions nicely as the sole surfactant-type ingredient in a wide variety of formulations. |
| Weaknesses | I haven’t found it for sale outside of Canada yet. |
| Alternatives & Substitutions | The easiest substitution would be a different pre-blended surfactant product, like Iselux Ultra Mild and Miracare Soft 313. Different surfactant blends do create different feeling finished products, but it’ll still cleanse. Depending on what you’re making you may need to do your own experiments to get a finished product you’re happy with.
Otherwise, you’ll need to create your own surfactant blend featuring different charges and prioritizing choosing mild surfactants. I recommend checking out this table, this FAQ article, and this series of posts to learn more. |
| How to Work with It | Include it with the surfactant and/or water phase of your formulation. STEPAN-MILD® BSB can be hot or cold processed. |
| Storage & Shelf Life | Stored somewhere cool, dark, and dry, STEPAN-MILD® BSB should last two years. |
| Tips, Tricks, and Quirks | Thickens well with salt (NaCl). |
| Recommended starter amount | 250mL (8 fl oz) |
| Where to Buy it | As of July 2020 I’ve only found it for sale at Voyageur Soap & Candle and Windy Point, both in Canada. |
Want to compare different surfactants?
Check out my super-useful surfactants table!
