Lemongrass Essential Oil in Body Wash

ozgirlozgirl
in Formulating
Hi,

I am just wondering if anyone has had any success incorporating Lemongrass essential oil into a body wash. I have a customer who wants this but my attempt to add it to our body wash formula has been unsuccessful with the essential oil oxidising and going yellow in a very short time.

I have spoken to my fragrance supplier and he thinks that it will be difficult to stop the oxidation even if I add an anti-oxidant like BHT.

Unfortunately I cannot change the body wash formula.
 
There are body wash products on the market with Lemongrass but the majority seem to be a blend with other essential oils.

Any thoughts or experiences that anyone would be willing to share would be most appreciated.

Thanks
:)
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Comments

  • zaidjeberzaidjeber
    Hi @ozgirl I did use lemongrass water extract (more of a decoction) in body wash before, it was successful and we still produce the same body wash with the same decoction. 
  • ozgirlozgirl
    @zaidjeber Thanks for the information. Unfortunately I don't think that will work in my current situation but it is always good to remember there are different approaches you can take.
  • Bill_TogeBill_Toge
    that's most likely down to the myrcene content in the oil; myrcene contains a conjugated diene group and is therefore very prone to oxidation / side-reactions

    do you absolutely have to use the oil? if you don't, you could go to a fragrance house to get a synthetic fragrance blend that smells like lemongrass but is less prone to oxidation
    UK based formulation chemist. Strongest subjects: hair styling, hair bleaches, hair dyes (oxidative and non-oxidative) I know some stuff about: EU regulations, emulsions (O/W and W/O), toothpaste, mouthwash, shampoos, other toiletries
  • DASDAS
    If you don't want to change the formula your only option is to change the formula of the fragance. A blend of antioxidants and a different vehicle did the trick for me, but still you need to test it and see how it behaves in time. Even when it seemed stable I saw slight color changes after 6 months, citrics are tricky even when they are compensated with sinthetics. 
  • ozgirlozgirl
    @Bill_Toge ; and @DAS

    Thanks for the information. I think a synthetic fragrance might be easiest in the long run.
  • chemncchemnc
    We have lemongrass in some formulations and with 0.15 Rosamox never had a problem.
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