Let’s Dupe: Eve Lom Intense Hydration Serum
Formulations don’t have to be complex. This one is super simple and a breeze to dupe. Cold process, no oil phase, and all ingredients are easy to get hold of (https://makingskincare.com/cosmetic-ingredient-suppliers/). Ingredient wise, the formula is inexpensive apart from the sodium hyaluronate, (high molecular weight: 1-1.5 million daltons), which retails around US$2-5 for 1g. The preservative, Euxyl® PE 9010, is a blend of 90% phenoxyethanol and 10% ethylhexylglycerin.
InstaMask™ – Customizable Instant DIY Clay Mask
InstaMask™ from Vantage won the Silver award for best functional ingredient at In-Cosmetics Global in March last year. These customizable, instant, encapsulated clay mask granules are easy to use. Just add the water phase, mix and apply! We received a sample from Vantage’s UK distributors, Adina and formulated with it back in April 2019 – video below.https://www.youtube.com/embed/YFmAvY1NJuUInstaMask™ (INCI Name: Kaolin (and) Aluminum Silicate (and) Mannitol (and) Cellulose (and) PVP (and) Sodium Polyacrylate (and) Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (and) Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (and) Ascorbic Acid), comprises mainly clay with some gelling and suspending agents. The granules do not include preservative as they are sold dry and are meant to be used for one application. How to use (one-time use only): 📌Weigh one part InstaMask™ and add to that an equal part water (which can be personalised to include water soluble ingredients such as l’ascorbic acid). 📌Wait two minutes for the granules to hydrate, then mix…
Adjusting Emulsion Viscosity
How to make your emulsion thicker or thinner. First analyze your formula to see what ingredients are contributing to viscosity. This is usually the emulsifier blend, gums/polymers and any fatty alcohols/acids (stearic acid, cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol) or waxes in your formula. If you wish to make your emulsion thinner, all these ingredients listed above also provide stability so do be careful not to reduce the concentrations by too much if you are to avoid emulsion destabilisation. The following web page provides the information you need to calculate the minimum amounts of emulsifiers and stabilisers you need: https://makingskincare.com/emulsions-stability/ To reduce viscosity, you can also swap out your emulsifier blend for one which is thinner, such as TEGO® Care PBS6 or the pair up these single emulsifiers: TEGO® Care CG 90 with TEGO® Care PS. Note: If your emulsion turns out much thinner than expected, bear in mind some ingredients can thin…
TEGO® Care PS – Natural Emulsifier
TEGO® Care PS from Evonik (INCI: Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate) is a popular DIY natural emulsifier in Europe, especially amongst German DIY formulators, where it is known by the name of “Emulsan”. It is one of my favourite natural hot process emulsifiers and produces light, flow-able, easy to spread, non-soapy emulsions. Most formulators find this emulsifier an improvement over old fashioned, expensive emulsifiers such as Olivem® 1000 at less than half the price. As always, as it’s a single emulsifier it needs pairing with another emulsifier. TEGO® Care PS is PEG-free, non-ionic and has a HLB of around 12 so produces oil-in-water emulsions. It is quite a thin emulsifier and needs a fair bit of thickener/stabiliser, especially to handle low pH formulations. If your product will be on the thin side, Evonik recommend heating both phases separately, a bit higher than normal, to 80°C to improve stability. Most DIY suppliers in…
Sapogel Q
I was first introduced to this new ingredient in March 2019 by its manufacturer, Alchemy Ingredients. Caroline from Alchemy hosted a special workshop for a small group of formulators which included myself, Jane Barber, Susan Barclay-Nichols (www.swiftcraftymonkey.blog), and Alchemy’s Australian distributors, Carst. The workshop proved a lovely treat for Susan and I before we travelled to Paris together for In-Cosmetics Global. You can read Susan’s blog posts about the workshop below: https://www.swiftcraftymonkey.blog/alltheingredients-are-coming-home-with-me/ https://www.swiftcraftymonkey.blog/what-a-wonderful-day-for-formulating/ What is Sapogel and how does it compare to Sucragel? Sapogel (INCI: Glycerin, Aqua, Quillaja Saponaria Wood Extract, Saponaria Officinalis (Soapwort) Leaf/Root Extract) is a “natural” oil thickener for anhydrous products. Depending on the formulation, the end product can have different textures, from extremely viscous to pourable, and from transparent to opaque. Like Sucragel, Sapogel does require a specific way of processing although it is slightly more forgiving than Sucragel oil can be added at a faster…
Xanthan gum
0.2-0.3% xanthan gum is a common ingredient in my emulsions. I use this natural polymer mainly as a stabiliser. Xanthan, with it’s shear thinning, and high low-shear viscosity, is able to reduce the tendency of droplets to coalesce minimising the chances of emulsion separation. I use natural gums, including xanthan, frequently. They can be superior to synthetic polymers in many ways as they can tolerate electrolytes and be effective over a wide pH range. On the other hand, natural gums, if used at a high concentration primarily to thicken, can be sticky, slimey, stringey and snotty. These issues can be minimised by reducing the concentration and mixing the gum with other types, for example, blending 0.3% xanthan gum with 0.3% sclerotium gum and 0.3% sodium alginate. Xanthan gum is available in a wide variety of grades. Some grades provide more viscosity, transparency and are less likely to clump than other grades.…
Fatty Alcohols: Cetyl Alcohol & Cetearyl Alcohol
Want to make your emulsion thicker, more creamy and stable? Just add 1-2% of either: cetyl alcohol (cetanol (1-hexadecanol C16)); stearyl alcohol (1-octadecanol C18); or cetostearyl alcohol (blend of C16 and C18). I’m a huge fan of these common higher alcohols. I use them in many product types including emulsions, hair conditioners, anhydrous balms/sticks. They are inexpensive, widely available, “natural” and provide emolliency, viscosity build and stability. Let’s dig a little deeper…. Cetyl alcohol melts at 49.3°C and stearyl alcohol at 58°C. Many formulators like to use a combination of both. Making the alkyl distribution wider, by mixing the different chain lengths (C16 and C18) results in a more robust formulation, ability to cope with a wider range of temperatures, improved stability and a better lamellar gel network. You can buy a combination of C18 and C16 in a pre-made blend called, cetostearyl alcohol (commonly known as cetearyl alcohol) in…
DIY hand sanitizer – vital information
Our very own Jane Barber was one interviewed for this informative article on DIY hand sanitizers by The Ecowell: https://www.theecowell.com/blog/hand-sanitizer