Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating can suspending agents substitute for solubilizers?

  • can suspending agents substitute for solubilizers?

    Posted by GeorgeBenson on March 24, 2022 at 5:25 am

    If I make a body wash with a suspending agent such as aqua sf-1 or synthalen, can i get away with not solubilizing my fragrance oil before adding it? 

    The particular surfactants i am using are not solubilizing the fragrance oil i have chosen. I could easily use some polysorbate for that but it’s got me wondering, since suspending agents seem to just freeze everything where it is, would it also “freeze” the fragrance oil and keep it from separating?

    it will be an opaque body wash so I’m not concerned with haziness, it’s really just laziness on my part in trying to skip a step! (And also why have an extra ingredient in there if i dont have to).

    pharma replied 2 years ago 2 Members · 1 Reply
  • 1 Reply
  • pharma

    Member
    March 24, 2022 at 8:30 pm

    You’d have to add too much to ‘freeze’ fragrance oil droplets; the result will be closer to a gummy bear than a body wash ;) . However, that body wash likely contains emulsifiers which might do a decent enough job to get away with a somewhat increase viscosity. I would go with hydrophobically modified polymers (’emulsifying’ carbomers) instead. The INCI would for example be Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer though not all of these will work, check out the different types of Carbopols. Carbopol Aqua CC might also work (not the same INCI). They’re not made to emulsify fragrance oils but they’re probably the ones which might work good enough in conjunction with your standard ‘soap’ emulsifiers/detergents.

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