Looking for some advice on my first lotion formula.

JarJar Member
edited June 2019 in Formulating
Hi there, 

I am a beginner here, and have been lurking for a little while. I have been working on a "Rice lotion" that is actually doing quite well at making my hands softer and smoother. But, I want to refine it further. There are a few qualities I would like to change. One, I would like to thicken it up a bit, I want a slightly firmer feeling to the cream. Second, it currently feels a bit sticky after application for about 1-3 minutes before subsiding. My original formula used honey, and thinking that might be causing the stickiness, I switched to Glycerin, however, that did not help, so it must be something else. Lastly, I would like to consider using rice water instead of distilled water. This would be distilled water soaked with rice for about 10 minutes. I am not sure if this can be properly preserved, though, and I worry about shelf life.

I want to post my formula here, with the full list of ingredients and percentages, in case some more experienced eyes might have some helpful feedback.

Distilled Water - 75%
Rice Bran Oil - 11% 
Emulsifying Wax NF - 4%
Glycerin - 2%
Lactobacillus Ferment - 2%
Ginger Root Extract - 2% (Glycerin & Water & Zingiber Officinate Root Extract)
Silk Amino Acids - 2%
Ascorbic Acid - 1%
Tocopheryl Acetate - 1%

After some further research, I have a few more ingredients on the way, that I will be adding in my next formulation. This is what I am thinking I will try, but any advice is appreciated!

Rice Water - 75%
Rice Bran Oil - 6%
Emulsifying Wax NF - 4.5%
Oat Oil - 3%
Cetly Alcohol - 2%
Ginger Root Extract - 2%
Glycerin - 2%
Lactobacillus Ferment - 2%
Silk Amino Acids - 2%
Seaweed Extract  - 1.1% (Capric Triglycerides, Palmaria Palmata Extract)
Ascorbic Acid - 1%
Xanthan Gum - 0.4%

Thank you in advance!

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Comments

  • micheleZmicheleZ Member
    Try adding a little alkyl esters or cetyl ester for more slip.  Just 1% can make a difference. 
  • erindleaerindlea Member
    I would add stearic acid to thicken and phenoxyethanol/ethylhexylglycerin or phenoxyethanol/caprylyl glycol to preserve it.
  • crillzcrillz Member
    I was going to recommend adding xanthan gum but you've got that in 2nd version
  • paoloferinopaoloferino Member
    I'm curious with your formulation. In using Ginger Root Extract, does it add color to your emulsion? Or does the extract have any color? :) I think the wax is making it sticky. 
  • MicroformulationMicroformulation Member, Professional Chemist
    Your preservative needs to be stronger. That particular one has some gaps in coverage.

    Ascorbic Acid will not be stable in that product also. It will oxidize (likely evident by a color change) fairly quickly.
    markfuller@microformulation.com Microformulation.com Microformulation Cosmetic Consulting provides Custom Formulations for both large Commercial accounts as well as smaller entrepreneurs. We can provide Naturally compliant Formulations under the NSF, NPA, Whole Foods and USDA Organic Certifications. BS.Pharm Albany College of Pharmacy, Union University.
  • JarJar Member
    paoloferino said:
    I'm curious with your formulation. In using Ginger Root Extract, does it add color to your emulsion? Or does the extract have any color? :) I think the wax is making it sticky. 
    Actually, the extract has a dark orange coloration, but it doesn’t seem to effect the color of the emulsion. It still comes out very white.

    Microformulation said:
    Your preservative needs to be stronger. That particular one has some gaps in coverage.

    Ascorbic Acid will not be stable in that product also. It will oxidize (likely evident by a color change) fairly quickly.
    Oh, interesting. Thank you for pointing that out. I will try omitting the ascorbic acid in my next batch. 

    Do you recommend a particular preservative in this case?
  • ngarayeva001ngarayeva001 Member
    When you have bug food in your formula and make it in your kitchen you should use very strong preservation system: Germaben II, Germall Plus, or Phenonip + EDTA.
    When you use vegetable oil you need an antioxidant: BHA, BHT or at least tocopherol (not the acetate form).
  • JarJar Member
    Thanks for all the feedback. I've taken a lot if it into consideration and I think I will be switching the preservative to phenoxyethanol/ethylhexylglycerin, using Ferulic Acid as an antioxidant (derived from rice), and I think I will try Montonov L as an emulsifier with rice bran wax as a thickener.
  • MicroformulationMicroformulation Member, Professional Chemist
    I would not select Ferulic acid as my primary anti-oxidant for simple marketing reasons (derived from rice). It is much more expensive than Tocopherol and really adds nothing additional. You must balance efficacy and cost with marketing. 
    markfuller@microformulation.com Microformulation.com Microformulation Cosmetic Consulting provides Custom Formulations for both large Commercial accounts as well as smaller entrepreneurs. We can provide Naturally compliant Formulations under the NSF, NPA, Whole Foods and USDA Organic Certifications. BS.Pharm Albany College of Pharmacy, Union University.
  • paoloferinopaoloferino Member
    Jar said:
    paoloferino said:
    I'm curious with your formulation. In using Ginger Root Extract, does it add color to your emulsion? Or does the extract have any color? :) I think the wax is making it sticky. 
    Actually, the extract has a dark orange coloration, but it doesn’t seem to effect the color of the emulsion. It still comes out very white.

    Thank you for your response. For your preservative I agree with @ng@ngarayeva001. You can use Phenonip as your preservative. That's what I'm using as my preservative. 

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