Hi all!
I’ve come across a Lush product called “Ultrabland” which is sold as a basic balm cleanser. The ingredients list has absolutely stumped me!
List of ingredients
It seems to be a water in oil emulsion however.... there’s no emulsifier and nothing to saponify the beeswax....
Does anyone have any idea how they manage to emulsify the water and oil and achieve stability?
It’s sorcery!
Comments
I know that Lush makes self preserving products where possible but that one is puzzling indeed.
and now they say paraben is Safe Synthetics.
back to the topic. i'd like to know the secret of traditional cold cream too
this is fresh's ingredient. even stranger (to me) than Lush
Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil
Aqua (Water)
Cera Alba (Beeswax)
Pentylene Glycol
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil
Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil
Osmanthus Fragrans Flower Extract
Rosa Damascena Flower Water
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil
Ormenis Multicaulis Flower Wax
Tocopherol
Sodium Carbonate
Limonene
Citronellol
Geraniol
Citral
Isn't Meawdowfoam oil go rancid fast? maybe i am confused it with other oil
I have been tasked with developed formulas similar to this on a handful of occasions now. Basically, it's a water-in-oil "emulsion" and the sorcery is to add the Water, Honey, Glycerin phase very slowly under homogenization to the heated oil phase. Also, keep you Aqueous Phase down to 5% or less. It's just basically brute-force jamming the Aqueous Phase into an oil/wax matrix.
When presented with this by clients, I always suggest to the client to just use a water-in-oil emulsifier. But, the clients who generally request this kind of formula are really hardcore naturalists who want a self-preserving balm with no emulsifier.
These formulations are relatively unstable and quite prone to yeast/mold contamination. I find it amusing that Lush elected to use Parabens as the preservative.
While it might look intriguing, let me leave you with this thought: After the last one of these, I promised myself that I would never again take on a client who wanted this type of product formulated. They are just not worth the time and effort because they are so tricky to get right. Why waste your time trying to start a fire by rubbing sticks together when you live in a world where lighters exist.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
It is more dangerous to put a potentially contaminated product on compromised skin than it is to use a preservative.
And, these are naturally-derived (non-synthetic) emulsifiers and preservatives that I was recommend. No dice ... some people just don't appreciate the risk they are taking for the sake of being "natural"
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
Agreed! I'm not the biggest fan of Lush but I am intrigued how they manage to make 'self preserving' creams and the like. They tend to use that combination of preservatives throughout their products which I'm not a fan of.
I've found it mentioned that the Fresh product has 17% water and that it's based on Galen's original cold cream formula.... sounds like they've slightly modernised the formula by adding in some fancy ingredients.
Also seems to me that they are using the Sodium Carbonate as a means to saponify the beeswax to create the emulsion. But I'm certainly no chemist so perhaps someone else can comment.
@MarkBroussard
Totally agree with your perspective! Personally I'd love to be able to formulate this kind of ancient cream purely for the challenge of creating a modern feeling/performing product with such rudimentary ingredients. It's fascinating!
Certainly not opposed to using preservatives and emulsifiers etc but I'd love to see if it's possible without.
It is no doubt tricky as all hell. Would you say that the use of beeswax in cold creams is beneficial in any way? Or purely just very natural. If you were going for the modern angle would you include the beeswax and help it along or omit it entirely in favour of other ingredients.
Thanks for your input and interested to hear your take!
These are more super-granola, birkenstock, all natural formulas ... I don't find them to be elegant at all ... they are merely brute-force kluges in an attempt to satisfy the organic certification requirements without using sodium hydroxide. But, that's just my opinion.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
@Pattsi There is beeswax and sodium carbonate in your example = sodium cerotate/melissinate = emulsifier/soap. To my knowledge, almond oil will go rancid before meadowfoam oil but there's tocopherol in the product too.
Thanks for the great resource @Pharma! I can’t read German but I can read a little French so maybe I’ll have to go hunt it down.... really appreciate you translating those two simple formulas!
@chemicalmatt nawww don’t break my heart telling me people lie
Amen @ngarayeva001 hahah
Walking into their stores certainly doesn’t smell natural
No need for hunting, just CLICK ME.
Their "how it's made" videos terrify me!! It looks more like a salad/dressing production plant than a true cosmetic manufacturing facility.
how is that not going bad in 2 minutes? bentonite and honey? that looks like a disaster. my guess is there is very little water compared to the honey and glycerin so that helps it, but it's still sketchy
no comment ..
I'm wondering how is this even legal..
List of ingredients
- Bentone gel
- Kaolin
- Honey
- Talc
- Ground Organic Aduki Beans
- Glycerine
- Evening Primrose Seeds
- Peppermint Oil
- Tagetes Oil
- Vanilla Absolute
- *Limonene
- Perfume
- Chlorophyllin
- Methylparaben
It appears the formulation is non-aqueous, with the exception of the honey (H2O approximately 17%). The Bentone Gel® is clay in oil.The above is an "ingredient list" not a properly formatted label of ingredients. This list is not in INCI terminology (common names are being used, ie honey should be Mel) and is likely not in the order of decreasing concentration.
Honey is antibacterial and depending on the actual percentage of honey, the honey will inhibit the growth of microorganisms. From memory, I think the percentage needed is 40% honey.
Many of their self-preserving products have to be kept in the fridge. Even then, they can go mouldy. I have had this happen a few times with Lush products when I've put them in the fridge then forgotten about them.