-
Amount of oils in face lotions according to skin type
Hi! I’m new here. I’ve searched for the answer through the forum (and google, of course), but didn’t find it. Help me please!
I want to read about proper oil amount in face lotions/creams according to the skin type. Are there some science researches on this question? Some formulators say there’s no need to use more than 10% of oils, others say that our skin needs 20-30% of it. Where can I find the answer?
Thank you in advance. -
6 Replies
-
Thanks for the question and welcome to our forum.
The problem with your question is that there is no specific answer. First, skin doesn’t “need” any oil from a cosmetic product. There are people around the world who have never used skin lotions and their skin is perfectly fine. You need to clarify what you are trying to accomplish. Why do you want people to put oil on their face? What skin characteristic are you trying to change?
Second, your question is like asking a cook, how much salt do you add? The unsatisfying answer to your question is “use enough oil to make a product that your consumer likes to use.”
Formulators who say to use 10% or 20-30% are just guessing. That advice is not based on any settled science.
What is true is that when making an emulsion (lotion) there is a range of ingredient amounts that people use. For light lotions that range is 10 - 40% oil. Then you use about 5% humectant and enough emulsifier to keep the formula stable.
But if you’re looking for some specific answer, you’ll need to define better what you are trying to accomplish.
I apologize if this answer is less than satisfying. But it reflects the reality of formulating.
-
Perry, thank you for a quick and detailed answer! You’re right - it’s a little hard for me to put a proper question, because English is not my native language. But I’ll try to specify it.
I thought that we are putting oils in skin care products because of their fatty acids (which are essential for skin), phytosterols, tocopherols and so on. It’s not that way?
I’m living in Ukraine, and here all the formulators are trying to reach a balance of different fatty acids in lotions (for example, between oleic and linoleic acids or a-linolenic and y-linolenic acids). If the skin is dry it needs more oleic one, if oily - more linoleic.
But there is no agreement among them on the total amount of oils in cream. Not because of their tactile characteristics or rate of absorption, but because of “the need for the stratum corneum and the epidermal barrier”.But from your answer, I realize it supposedly does not matter. Is that really so? -
Well, it may matter to any individual consumer. But there is not some simple formula which says “if you have this type of skin, you need this oil in this amount.” There are way too many factors involved.
I can confidently say that research in this area is not so advanced that anyone could make specific claims about what fatty acids skin needs and how much. It’s a compelling marketing story but not supported by science.
-
Thank you! Your answer is more than satisfying.
-
Hi swaikstan, I live in Bulgaria and I understand the Russian language almost perfectly. I was visiting some russian and ukrainian forums for homemade cosmetic in the past, and I think the information there is quite misleading in general. If you want to gain your knowledge into the cosmetic formulations you’d better read the threads in this forum. Guys like Perry have a lot of experience in the proffesional industry, so their comments could be very useful. And ofcourse you should make some personal experiments to find out the answers of your questions.
-
ggpetrov said:If you want to gain your knowledge into the cosmetic formulations you’d better read the threads in this forum. Guys like Perry have a lot of experience in the proffesional industry, so their comments could be very useful. And ofcourse you should make some personal experiments to find out the answers of your questions.
Thanks a lot for your answer! Recently, I also came to this conclusion. I am glad that I found this forum with such intelligent people.
Log in to reply.