-
Eumulgin SG (Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate) - any general tips?
I finally got hold of some Eumulgin SG after seeing it on Dragonspice.de. But now it has opened up another level of infinite permutations of experiments that I could try.
Background: For body creams, I currently like lamellar-forming and polyglyceryl emulsifiers e.g. Dermofeel NC, Tego Care 450, Tego Care PBS 6, and Behenyl Alcohol as the main fatty alcohol. In general, I find these emulsifiers not the best for glide and body but they are moisturising (or at least less drying) than other emulsifiers I’ve tried.
I haven’t really got any specific questions… just asking if anyone has any general tips on using it to help my narrow down my focus on experimenting with it. But for example, some questions currently swimming around my head are:
1) What does Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate bring to a formulation other than stability? Does it have any inherent moisturisation capabilities? Is it drying when used at too high a level (e.g. more than required to emulsify)?
2) What is the application and afterfeel of it like? Or is it quite “naked” feeling?
3) When using it as a stabiliser rather than primary emulsifier, what percentage do you like using it at? Sometimes I see formulations online that use it at as low as 0.1 - 0.2%.
4) Do you ever reduce the level of primary emulsifier when you add Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate as a stabiliser or do you in general add it on top just to add some extra strength to the emulsion? Just as a side, when I add 0.5% Glyceryl Stearate Citrate on top of a “works for my skin” level of polyglyceryl emulsifier, the result is drying, with a “wash-out” effect. I haven’t had the chance yet to see if this happens with Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate.
5) What happens if you reduce the level of primary lamellar-forming emulsifier (to a level that either only *just* emulsifies your oil and water phases, or even may be slightly less than needed if used as the sole emulsifier) and add Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate as a secondary emulsifier/stabiliser? Are the benefits of a lamellar-based emulsion negated? @Pharma ?
6) Do you prefer adding it to the oil or water phase?
Thank you for reading this far! Would love to hear from anyone with any tips.
-
3 Replies
-
Just remembered another thing I was wondering:
7) If it *is* quite a naked-feeling emulsifier, could it be used to reduce the level of primary, polyglyceryl emulsifier and allow more space for fatty alcohol and/or heavier ingredients? I’m guessing there is a fine balance between the three components to get a stable but nice-feeling and moisturising emulsion with no wash-out effect… which I will just need to experiment with…
-
Hi, I’m a hobbyist, but I’ve been using Eumulgin SG for the past few months and it’s become one of my favourite emulsifiers.
2) It’s “naked” feeling, I’ve made thin serum emulsions to thick body butters with it.
3/4) I find it very efficient, even at 0.25% + Cetearyl alcohol can make a nice cream, I’ve only gone as low at 0.25% but I can see it working at 0.1 or 0.2%. Worked really well with Montanov 68 or Olivem 1000. Yes, I find a “wash-out” effect if used too much.
6) I add to oil phase, but it never seems to completely melt - does that happen to you too?
7) I don’t have any experience with polyglyceryl emulsifiers, but yes, I use it alongside other emulsifiers like Montanov 68, Olivem 1000, or Glyceryl Stearate SE and it allows for more space for fatty alcohol which is one of the reasons I like this for body butters. Though it took me a few tries to get it right
-
Sincityfire said:Hi, I’m a hobbyist, but I’ve been using Eumulgin SG for the past few months and it’s become one of my favourite emulsifiers.
2) It’s “naked” feeling, I’ve made thin serum emulsions to thick body butters with it.
3/4) I find it very efficient, even at 0.25% + Cetearyl alcohol can make a nice cream, I’ve only gone as low at 0.25% but I can see it working at 0.1 or 0.2%. Worked really well with Montanov 68 or Olivem 1000. Yes, I find a “wash-out” effect if used too much.
6) I add to oil phase, but it never seems to completely melt - does that happen to you too?
7) I don’t have any experience with polyglyceryl emulsifiers, but yes, I use it alongside other emulsifiers like Montanov 68, Olivem 1000, or Glyceryl Stearate SE and it allows for more space for fatty alcohol which is one of the reasons I like this for body butters. Though it took me a few tries to get it right
Thanks for putting down your thoughts!
I’ll have to keep an eye out for the wash-out effect then. I tried it at 0.2% on top of two different levels of primary emulsifier and am still waiting for the creams to ripen so I can try them out properly. I find they need at least 3 days.
I’m not sure whether it melted in the oil phase when I tried it either. I heat the oil phase to at least 80°C and didn’t notice any non-melted parts but any Eumulgin SG (especially at that low level) would have just looked like the polymer powder that is also undissolved in the oil phase.
Log in to reply.
