When using P&G products such as Dawn for bubble solutions, it is well known that adjusting the ph is an improvement.
However, this does not seem to be the case with some Japanese detergents.
The Charmy Magica series is the successor to Charmy “Power of Suds” and is currently used by many Japanese bubblers.
I used Charmy Magica “Jokin +” (Antibacterial +) to make a bubble solution and adjusted the pH from 8.5 to 7.7 with citric acid.
The bubble film then lost its stable interference color band pattern, and the entire film was covered with a chaotic and irregular pattern. Its function as a bubble solution is clearly diminished.
Charmy Magica / ph8.5 (non-adjusted)
Charmy Magica / ph7.7 (adjusted with citric acid)
One possible cause:
Dawn mainly uses SLS and SLES as surfactants. On the other hand, in Charmy Magica, the surfactant used in the largest quantity is AO (Alkyl amine oxide); AO is an amphoteric surfactant that changes the charge of its hydrophilic groups depending on the surrounding environment; it is anionic in the alkaline range and cationic in the acidic range.
I suspect that citric acid affects the hydrophilic groups of AO, causing some of them to become cationic, thereby disrupting the surfactant formation that forms the bubble film.
But... the swirling pattern on its surface, reminiscent of a paisley pattern, is strangely beautiful.
