It was around mid-January 2022 that I first noticed something strange.
I was mixing the tara gum solution as usual, and as soon as I added the detergent (Cucute Muscat scent), the liquid instantly turned cloudy white. It was as white as milk, and the part of the whisk that was immersed in the solution was completely invisible.
I was surprised, but tried the solution. Obviously, the bubble was over-moist and dripped like never before. As soon as the bubble left the wand, it could not defy gravity and fell straight to the ground.
I searched for the cause of the anomaly (cloudiness and poor performance). I suspected the involvement of glycerin (or the correlation between tara gum and glycerin), since I was experimenting with slurrying tara gum with glycerin at the time. However, I conducted an experiment shortly afterwards that excluded glycerin, and glycerin was ruled out as the culprit.
Since I usually took the water for the bubble solution from the garden faucet, I imagined that temperature might be a factor. (For the past few nights, the temperature at night when I mix the solution has cooled to below 5°C.) So I tried using warm water, but the result was the same.
Later, I used another old Cucute ("RelaxDays Verbena & Citrus", different scent, same ingredients) that I bought last year and had not used. It didn't turn cloudy!
I casually looked at the product description on the back of the new Cucute bottle, and found that the surfactant ratio of the new Cucute had been changed (down from 37% to 32%), and the ingredients had also changed. The surfactant Sodium dialkylsulfosuccinate has been replaced by Alkyl hydroxysulfobetaine.
I turned white...
I checked Kao's website and found an announcement that their dishwashing detergent products will be completely renewed in February 2022. It told me that what I had feared had happened, something that Dawn users had once experienced.
When I use this new Cucute in the amount described in the previous recipe, the solution performs significantly less well.
I experimented with gradually increasing the amount of the new Cucute, and found that it performs better at concentrations where the water to detergent ratio is about 16:1. (I usually prefer 18.5:1.)
After adjusting it, I think it's not bad. But the texture does seem different... Very watery and drippy.
I've only done a simple test, so I need to see how much of a change it makes against other wands (large tri-stiring, triple garlands, etc.).
