Chemical Empire 1980

Chapter 51 The First Pot of Finished Product

In Xu Qiang's opinion, in order to make a popular shampoo product, in addition to the purity of the soap base, there is another key factor, which is the synthesis of the essence.

In the current domestic market, there are very few manufacturers producing flavors, and most of them are state-owned enterprises. Private enterprises rarely have this technology. The flavors produced by state-owned enterprises are generally supplied on a targeted basis, and related products are not available on the market, so it is impossible for Xu Qiang to buy flavors directly.

Although there is no supply of finished flavors, Xu Qiang can synthesize the flavors himself by purchasing raw materials and then mix them into flavors. This is also his only way to obtain flavors at present.

The so-called spice is a volatile aromatic substance, also called aromatic raw material. It is a substance that can be smelled or tasted and can be used to prepare flavors.

In the past life, there were many types of spices. The most common synthetic spices were vanillin, linalool, phenylethyl alcohol, citral, maltol, etc. These spices can be used as food additives and can also be added to daily chemical products. They have a wide range of uses.

Although Xu Qiang has mastered the synthesis formulas and processes of many spices, the raw materials needed to synthesize these spices are difficult to purchase, and the refining process is complicated. It is difficult to make finished products without relevant equipment. Therefore, for Xu Qiang, it is best to buy ready-made finished products.

In fact, the only finished flavor Xu Qiang bought was pinene, which is also the most commonly used flavor in China.

Pinene alcohol exists naturally in essential oils such as pine oil, lavender oil, orange leaf oil, neroli oil, etc. It has a fresh and subtle aroma like pine and lilac, and can also be synthesized into flavors such as lily, lilac, lily of the valley, and narcissus.

In addition to being used as a food additive, this fragrance is more widely used in various daily chemical flavor formulas, especially in soap and synthetic detergent flavor formulas, with a usage of up to 30%.

As for how to use it, you can add it directly to skin care products: pineneol has a good moisturizing effect, and you can add a few drops of pineneol to your toner to help keep your skin hydrated.

In addition, terpineol can be used in creams or lotions to increase the moisturizing properties of the product.

"Uncle, what are you doing?"

Seeing Xu Qiang setting up the pots and fiddling with rows of beakers in the house, Liu Jun, who was walking by the door, couldn't help but ask.

"You three brothers stay away. I'm planning to do something. It might be dangerous. Don't get hurt." Xu Qiang said.

"Could it be fried explosives?" Liu Jun immediately had an association when he heard Xu Qiang talking about fried explosives at the dinner table some time ago.

"That's right!" Xu Qiang said casually.

"Oh my God!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jun immediately ran away without a trace.

Seeing that there was no one outside, Xu Qiang started to make shampoo.

Strictly speaking, if you want to make shampoo, you must first make a soap base. The specific method is to add alkali to animal oil or vegetable oil at high temperature for refining. Depending on the raw materials and methods, the quality of the refined soap base will also be different.

However, Xu Qiang was in a hurry, so he used a more convenient method, which was to extract the soap base directly from the soap.

Soap is very cheap these days, only 35 cents a bar. Xu Qiang gets it from the supply and marketing cooperative at wholesale price, less than 32 cents each bar. And these soaps will soon become cheap soap bases.

Xu Qiang first crushed all the soaps and put them aside, then made a fire and set up a pot.

While the water was boiling, Xu Qiang prepared the essence and glycerin to be used in advance.

After the water boils, put the crushed soap into the pot and stir it back and forth to make it melt as quickly as possible.

When you feel the soap is almost dissolved, add the glycerin and pinene that you have prepared in advance. The amounts are calculated in advance.

During this period, Xu Qiang kept stirring and tested the pH of the mixed solution to ensure that it always maintained a neutral pH value.

As the water evaporated, the mixture in the pot had become a paste and turned a little yellow.

The last step is to add salt. The role of adding salt is to adjust the viscosity of the mixture. The more salt is added, the thicker the solution will be. Whether it is producing shampoo cream or shampoo liquid, salt is a very important thickener.

Finally, after some operations, Xu Qiang finally made a whole pot of shampoo cream. Then he waited for the shampoo cream to cool down and put it into a plastic bucket that had been prepared in advance.

"What's that smell? It smells so good?"

At this time, Erhu smelled a fresh fragrance outside, so he walked in immediately.

"You've come just in time." Seeing Erhu, Xu Qiang motioned him to come in, then smiled and said, "Brother, you haven't washed your hair for a long time, right?"

"I just washed it this morning." When Erhu noticed that Xu Qiang's eyes were not right, he immediately wanted to escape.

"Come here!" Erhu just turned around when he was pulled back. Xu Qiang said, "This is the shampoo I just made. Try it first..."

"Shampoo?" Erhu had obviously never used such a high-end daily chemical product. He took a look at the paste-like substance in the pot and said in surprise, "You said this thing can be used to wash hair?"

"It's used for washing hair. You're lucky to be the first user of our new product..."

"No, I've already washed it."

“No need to deduct bonus!”

"Then I'll give it a try..."

Erhu looked helpless. Under Xu Qiang's gaze, he poured some water into the washbasin, then grabbed some shampoo with his fingers and began to rub it.

Soon, bubbles appeared on Erhu's head, and a fresh fragrance wafted out, the smell making people feel relaxed and happy.

“This thing is pretty good!”

At this time, Erhu finally discovered the benefits of shampoo.

Compared with alkaline noodles and soap, this shampoo basically does not irritate the scalp. The reason is that during the processing, Xu Qiang has been controlling the pH value of the solution to keep it at a neutral level.

And because of the addition of essential oils and fragrances, the shampoo feels smooth, is more easily soluble in water, has rich foam and a fragrant smell, making it more convenient and comfortable to wash with. This is an experience Erhu has never had before when washing his hair.

"I'll try too."

Seeing that Erhu was enjoying washing his hair, Liu Jun at the door also came over.

"Come and wash." Xu Qiang said with a smile.

So, several people gathered around the basin and started washing their hair.

For a moment, the whole house was filled with the fresh scent of shampoo, and even the usually taciturn Big Black Bull couldn't help but try it.

"This shampoo cream is really a good stuff, uncle, are you planning to sell it?" Erhu asked with surprise as he wiped his fragrant hair with a towel.

"Aren't you talking nonsense? If you don't sell it, are you going to keep it for food?" Liu Jun rolled his eyes at Erhu.

"Not yet." Xu Qiang shook his head and continued, "This batch is just a trial production. I still need to re-adjust the essence to give our product the scent of various fruits and flowers. I also need to modify the process to make the shampoo smoother and more comfortable to wash with..."

(End of this chapter)