Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Antioxidants for oils

  • Antioxidants for oils

    Posted by simplepimple on July 28, 2025 at 3:40 pm

    I want to add rosemary oleoresin leaf extract (ROE) to my facial oil formula. I already have 0.1% tocopherols in there, and want to add ROE for the synergistic antioxidant effects it has with tocopherols. Do I simply add ROE? Or do I reduce the amount of tocopherols when adding ROE for a total of 0.1% antioxidants? And how much ROE should be added?

    Facial oil consists of q.s. squalane, 15% black seed oil, and 0.1% mixed tocopherols T50.

    simplepimple replied 2 hours, 1 minute ago 2 Members · 3 Replies
  • 3 Replies
  • Graillotion

    Member
    July 28, 2025 at 11:44 pm

    .1% of MTE is plenty, as would adding the same amount of ROE.

    As both beg to be oxidized…store them in the refrigerator…and throw them out after 6 months, unless you are nitrogen blanketing them between uses. Minimize number of times you open the lid.

    Generally, I recommend people use .1%….simply for the fact that they struggle to measure quantities less than that….as you can see use rate typical of industry in attached.

    If you are buying oils off the street….chances are incredibly high…that they have already been adulterated with MTE. If you are buying oils that originated from ICSC out of Denmark, they were treated with ROE as they were processed.

    Good Luck.

    • Graillotion

      Member
      July 28, 2025 at 11:47 pm

      Note…AP will not go clear into straight oils…so do not mix that in…UNLESS you are only making emulsions….where it works perfectly to create a synergy.

    • simplepimple

      Member
      July 29, 2025 at 9:21 am

      Wouldn’t adding that much antioxidants (0.1% tocopherols + 0.1% ROE) lead to pro oxidation?

      If it’s hard measuring out anything less than 0.1%, then would it be better to add ROE directly into the oil stock (in this case, adding ROE directly into the black seed oil)? That way, when I add black seed oil to my final formula, there would also be a small concentration of ROE in there as well. If this is the way to go, then how much ROE should be added to the oil stock? 0.1% or more or less? And should I keep the tocopherols as 0.1% in my final formula?

      I’d also like to mention that my original formula (squalane, black seed, and tocopherols) did well in the stability test. The strong scent of black seed oil did dissipate, but did not go rancid. I’ve just recently learned about ROE, and thought adding it would extend the shelf life even further; I also just like to account for all precautions.

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