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Cleansing Balm crystallisation
Hello, I make a face cleansing balm that I love. I developed it years ago and can’t remember how I decided on this formula but it works. The trouble is it crystallizes to varying degrees every time I make it. Its lovely when first made but then crystallizes within a few days. I know that shea butter crystallizes and therefore has to be cooled quickly but even cooling this in the fridge has not helped. Perhaps i need a piece of equipment or an ingredient change? The formula is 70 % jojoba oil, 20% olivem 1000 emulsifier and 10 % raw shea butter. Thankyou
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5 Replies
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For an anhydrous product like yours, you don’t need an emulsifier. In fact, it might be the emulsifier the responsible for the crystallization since it’s mainly waxy.
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Thanks very much for your reply. I will try to formulate it without the emulsifier and see how it goes.
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Olivem 1000 as an emulsifier was probably added to improve the removal of the product from the face - which I fully understand. I have created and continue to create similar recipes 🙂 and unfortunately, Shea butter has a tendency to crystallize. My advice:
1. reduce the amount of Shea butter to a maximum of 5-6% percent, you can replace it with mango butter or make a mixture of them if you do not want to lose the “butteryness” of the product.
2. To what temperature do you heat this mixture to dissolve and combine? 80 degrees Celsius for a few minutes would be ok.
3. Do you cool the product by stirring? Once melted, do you pour it into a container and leave it to set? Stirring while cooling also helps, especially when the recipe includes Olivem 1000 (it will create a different structure).
4. If possible, I also recommend homogenizing the mass while cooling (below 40 degrees Celsius)
good luck and best regards
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Thanks so much for your reply. I thought maybe the emulsifier helped with the removal of product from the skin. Thanks for confirming that. When I made a batch without the emulsifier, it seemed to stay on the skin and not feel quite as nice. Currently I do not check the temperature of the product when I’m making it. I just melt all the ingredients and then pour into the tub. With varying degrees of crystallisation every time. I will follow your guidelines and see how it goes. May I ask what you suggest mixing the mixture with when it’s cooling? I use a stick mixer for my moisturiser but I think that would create lots of air in this mixture. Best regards thankyou
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I don’t know on what scale you would like to do it, we use anchor and paddle mixers in the laboratory and in production. On a smaller scale - I suggest trying mixing it by hand with a spoon first, haha, maybe it will work 😀
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