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Can α-bisabolol invoke flushing/vasodilation?
I have recently made a moisturizer containing 0.3% natural α-bisabolol. The formula is a comparable to that of Grahams Eczema Cream.
I’ve used Grahams cream years ago and experienced a slight flushing sensation about 5 minutes after application on the face. However, the cream did wonders for my skin.
My cream has the same flushing effect. Both Grahams and mine, contain 2.5% oatmeal aswell. Like Grahams, my cream leaves a smooth feeling and I can’t say I dislike these sensations. It feels nothing like having an allergy. I’m just curious.
The other ingredients, like oatmeal, I’ve used before in the same %. I can’t think of anything else that can invoke flushing. The pH of my cream is between 4.7 and 5.0. I’ll give the whole formula in another thread, as I have more questions.Does anyone know if bisabolol has vasodilating properties? I’ve been searching and reading safety sheets, but can’t find it.
I found something here, about it causing relaxation of isolated blood vessels from pigs, but no dilation.
It’s remarkable, because I can’t think of having used bisabolol before and I’ve had the flushing sensations only with these two creams. (I have no chamomile allergy, by the way.) -
14 Replies
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causing relaxation of isolated blood vessels from pigs, but no dilation.
Pfff, I’m slow today…
narrowing of blood vessels -> vasoconstriction
relaxation of blood vessels -> vasodilation@DRBOB@VERDIENT.BIZ ,
I just read something you wrote about SLS irritation in bodywash. What do you think of my ‘irritation’, the slight flushing alone, dilated blood vessels, a warm and red skin, the whole skin, not a few spots, not at all unpleasant and not similar to allergic reactions I’ve had in the past. Would this flushing be harmful to my skin anyway? 0.3% bisabolol should be anti-inflammatory, not inducing it. Which has me confused by the above mentioned research on bisabolol on isolated porcine blood vessels.
I would like to hear your opinion! -
Grahams contains Vanilla tincture. Your logical jump may be flawed.
Ingredients
Water (Aqua), Theobroma oil (cocoa butter), Olea europaea fruit oil (olive oil), Butyrospermum parkii seed oil (shea butter), Simmondsia Chinensis seed oil (jojoba oil), D-alpha tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), vanilla planifolia tincture, allantoin, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, cetyl alcohol, caprylic/capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Glucoside, cetostearyl alcohol, bisabolol, sclerotium gum.
You would need to list the full ingredients in your current product. Many other actives can cause flushing.
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@Doreen81:
You may have allergy to Bisabolol … although it is not that common, anyone can be allergic to anything. That would be my best guess on your reaction to Bisabolol.
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SOunds like contact dermatitis or allergenic reaction as Mark said.Does not seem like irritation.
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@Microformulation
I know, I’ve used vanilla extracts before, no problems.@DRBOB@VERDIENT.BIZ @MarkBroussard
I’m not allergic to chamomile, or other Compositae which makes it strange. The flushing disappears within half an hour and doesn’t itch, leave any redness or other irritation. It’s just an overall warm glow with redness. It doesn’t happen every time that I apply it, a few days/applications later, my face seems to get used to it? Paradoxically, Grahams has helped my skin during a contact dermatitis with apple cider vinegar. I have very long hair and have rinsed it once with an acv dilution. Accidently some of it got on my skin, I rinsed it immediately, but after about half a day, I obviously got a contact dermatitis. Apart from the flushing (which was very different than the itchy dermatitis symptoms and starts within minutes after application), the cream seemed to help my skin recover.
The flushing couldn’t be due to that dermatitis (only), because I have this same sensation when my skin is healthy too, like right now.I’ll make another batch and leave out the bisabolol, see what happens then.
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@MarkBroussard , @DRBOB@VERDIENT.BIZ
Yesterday I put a few drops of pure bisabolol on my inner arm (underneath the wrist). I put the drops under occlusion of a transparant adhesive wound film.
I let it sit for quite a while. No reaction. Now, a day later, still no reaction, no redness, no irritation, nothing.Can I rule out an allergy?
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We are still not privy to your formulation.
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Yep, you can pretty much rule out a Bisabolol allergy … if that were the case, you would have had a reaction fairly quickly.
The flushing must be coming from elsewhere … Is there Potassium Sorbate in your formulation?
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@johnb
You’re right, I’ll first give the formula that I made:Water phase
q.s. Deionized water
0.5% Allantoin
1.0% Glycerin
2.0% Sodium Lactate 60%
0.2% Disodium EDTAOil phase
8.0% Glyceryl Stearate + PEG100 Stearate (±70/30) (E-wax)
3.0% Cetyl alcohol
2.0% Shea butter
1.0% Petrolatum
3.0% Sunflower seed oil
0.2% Xanthan gumCooling down
3.0% D-panthenol
2.0% Cyclopentasiloxane
0.5% α-tocopherol
0.3% α-bisabolol (natural)
4.0% Avena Sativa kernel oil
2.5% Oatmeal
q.s. Citric acid 40% solution (-> pH 4.8-5.0)
0.3% Potassium Sorbate
0.5% Benzyl Alcohol + DHA (± 90/10)All utensils and stickblender disinfected with 70% alcohol. Wearing latex gloves, disinfected.
Put water (incl. large excess) at >80° C for about 20 minutes. Take needed water from this beaker, 2% for dissolving K sorbate, 3% for dissolving D-panthenol. Rest of total water (- 5% ) for water phase.1. Dissolving allantoin, glycerin, sodium lactate, disodium EDTA in ‘rest of total water’. -> 70° C
2. Disperse xanthan gum in sunflower seed oil.
3. Oil phase ingredients + xanthan/oil mixture. -> 70° C.
Water phase in oil phase.
Stick blender at low speed.
4. When 45° C add D-panthenol solution, cyclo D5, tocopherol, bisabolol, oat oail, BA+DHA.
5. Citric acid -> pH 4.8 - 5.0
6. Add K sorbate solution.
7. Disperse sifted oatmeal with bits of emulsion in a mortar in equal quantities.
Homogeneous? -> disinfected airless dispenser.The emulsion before adding the cool down ingredients was already a nice, creamy consistency (way different than the bodymilk-thin one I mentioned earlier when I added too much oat oil in the cool down phase.)
I added panthenol at cooling down because I want to prevent too much racemization.The result: a nice cream with the right consistency and an off white, creamy colour. Thickening occured already when mixing at low speed. Within the last days it has thickened only a bit further. Spreads fantastic. Great soft and smooth skin feel, not sticky.
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@MarkBroussard
Yes there is, in Grahams cream too… -
Well, there is nothing that jumps out me as being responsible for the adverse effects you are experiencing.
There is the point about the preservatives but this has been covered.
The only other thing I can envisage at the moment is the oat kernel oil - of which I know very little except (I have just found out) is produced by two methods: either extracted with ethanol or expressed from oat kernels. The alcohol extracted material is likely to contain materials not often found in expressed oils so that may be a possible culprit.
Do you know how your oil is produced? Either way, it may be worthwhile carrying out a test.
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It is not uncommon to get a flushing reaction to Potassium Sorbate for some people … pretty sure that’s your culprit.
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@johnb
It is ethanol extracted… I have used the oat oil pure aswell, on my face. No problems…As I mentioned earlier, I don’t get this flushing response every time that I use it. I now have come to the conclusion that it obviously only happens when the skin is more or less (visible or not) irritated already. When I used Grahams, I had a contact allergy because of the apple cider vinegar dilution, which I rinsed my hair with. My hair is very long, so I had to stand in a position where it was difficult to keep it from my face completely. The spots where it had been in contact with were red, itchy, swollen and eventually a slight lichenification. Grahams eczema cream gave flushing then, which wasn’t surprising.
Now with my own cream, the first time I used it and had flushing, my skin had a thorough ‘night-out make up’ cleanse. Mild cleanser though, but still. Skin looked calm, but maybe there was invisible irritation?
Days after that, no problems. No flushing. -
@MarkBroussard @johnb
After I did some testing it seems that potassium sorbate is the culprit indeed!
Obviously its peripheral vasodilating effect is especially noticeable when the skin is already irritated. If the skin isn’t (at least not visible) irritated, I now and then just sense a slight warm glow.
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