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Fatty alcohol choices for a hand cream…
Sometime I overwhelm myself with information, and multiple versions of similar ingredients.
I guess part of just not wanting to leave something better on the table. I absolutely nit pic every aspect.I have been tasked with making a hand cream, and as I mapped out my thoughts in the note book…when I got to the fatty alcohol tab… my mind started to draw a blank!?
I regularly formulate with cetyl esters, cetyl alcohol, and myristyl myristate. However after reading old threads on the topic, I think I want to experiment with two new ones (for me): Behenyl and octyldodecanol.So working within the framework of a hand cream… what would be your go to fatty alcohol, and why. I love to blend…so if you have experiencing combining some of these pairings…I am all ears.
I know I have not given much info…but I have not even made the first prototype formula….(hehehe…just give me 4 hours). I dislike things that leave an oily feel. I love things that glide….(not saying the fatty alcohol delivers these aspects…but they can assist or take away). Texture is one of the most important aspect to me…and again…I don’t lean heavily on the FA’s for this…but every ingredient counts towards the end goal. Performance, and feel 1 hour after application is something I look at very strongly. So if something has a better skin feel….an hour after application…I want to be all over that.
Thanx!
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6 Replies
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Octyldodecanol is cheap, super stable, and therefore frequently used even at 10-20% inclusion rates. It’s okay for what it is, though I wouldn’t use it in a hand cream. I have it in stock but never really got to love/like it. It takes some time too absorb which is too long for hand creams IMHO. True, it does fully absorbe and doesn’t leave a greasy film though once absorbed, skin protection isn’t really that convincing especially in times of regular washing and disinfecting hands. It can be okay in a body lotion or in something you have to massage/rub in.Octyldodecanol is said to be a lamellar network builder… II don’t know for sure… theory just doesn’t quite add up. Unlike most other lamellar structuring agents, this one has branched chains and therefore is very liquid which translates into the product, like a liquid, dynamic lamellar network rather than a firm one which lends body to the product. If you have a too heavy, dense, and viscous cream, adding a few % of it can turn the cream smoother. But you could achieve that with more natural ingredients or changes in composition too
. It’s basically a filler…I never worked with behenyl alcohol. It’s likely less greasy than cetyl and stearyl alcohol but will not absorb as well either.Myristyl myristate is something I wouldn’t try in a hand cream, too glossy. Cetyl esters on the other hand… why not.I think that hand creams are one of the few products where stearic acid, though greatly outdated and non-trendy, might still shine (what a stupid word, it does exactly the opposite of shining LoL) due to its vanishing effect. Although it doesn’t strike me as offering not much protection and caring effects.Though, me, I’m more of a wax person when it comes to hand creams. Waxy
residues on skin protect better and feel better than an oily-smeary film on your hands
although no residue would be even better, at least hypothetically and at work (cause less fingerprints).
You’d have to consider where, when and why people would use your hand
cream. Summer, winter, beach, bureau, hospital, gardening, shopping…
adjust your ingredients to your requirements and select requirements according to your potential customer segment! -
Hand creams (as well as formulations for foot care) are quite challenging and in fact, they are harder to formulate than the regular products for the skin care. The principal challenge is a fact that you have to deal with two skin types - the skin of the palm is significantly different from the back of the hand both structurally, physiologically and histologically. The skin permeation of those two types is also different. Thus you have to balance the ingredients to match both skin types.
According to my experience, if you want to create the superb hand cream the type of the emulsifying system is crucial. The best one to choose is so called lamellar emulsions with two types of emulsifiers - the mixture of low HLB and high HLB emulsifiers. I have noticed that regretfully, major commercially available branded mixtures don’t work sufficiently well for hands and feet. Old good GMS (not a standard grade - you need 90-99% of monoesters) coupled with tiniest amount of SLS or SLES (I hope your marketing department won’t kill you for this inclusion 😉 ) makes the luxurious cream and nice stable structure of the emulsion. If SLS is a “no-no” ingredient the experiments with tricky Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate or something like this would be fine too.
Another approach is using modern polyglycerol surfactants. They can create very valuable w/o light emulsions with high water content and they can be considered as “protective” and highly moisturizing for the hand creams too.
Re: Alcohols.
Mixtures of cetyl/stearyl alcohols with behenyl alcohol would be excellent as @Pharma mentioned. Some hydrogenated oils (i.e. waxes) too.
Octyl Palmitate, Isopropyl Myristate/Palmitate, Squalane are the esters to choose from too for emolliency and skin feel.
I also like Stearic acid in this type of formulation despite it looks outdated. When it is coupled with 90-99% GMS (monoglycerides) it works as waxes and provides the velvet feel. -
Ok @Pharma and @vitalys ..so I will admit…I have stearic acid on hand.
So without blowing up this prototype….how much of this should I add?
I typically formulate with the Montanov’s…. First Prototype was 202 and L plus some GSC. I also texturize all formulas with Aristoflex and Carbomer.
Currently the viscosity is about right….so If I add Stearic…do I reduce a fatty alcohol…the corresponding amount?
And yes…I use Octyl Palmitate in my non facial products, as I feel among my 5 or 6 lite emollients, it offers the most skin softening. I typically add 1% Squalane in everything I make…as it is the carrier for my vitamin mix.
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I have formulated with Eumulgin SG before (as a co-emulsifier)….and honestly hated what it did to texture in the facial cream I was working with, and I was using it at super low amounts. Went back to GSC.
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Correct, replace fatty alcohols and/or monoglycerides and/or cetyl esters 1:1 with fatty acids if it’s for the same purpose (see also last phrase in this post). Like you’re used from substituting cetyl alcohol with a cetyl esters, the outcome is similar but still noticeably different and you’ll have to adjust. The 1:1 switch is a good starting point, not necessarily the final solution. Question is, do you replace all fatty alcohol or just part of it? The full replacement will probably give you the best idea on what exactly stearic acid does and feels like. If fear you’re going to hate it :smiley: .If you want a softer version, use oleic acid or glyceryl monooleate instead or as a mix with stearic acid (I think such a mix feels nice and can be a useful replacement but is it really worth using that instead of staying with a good ol’ fatty alcohol?). Reason I mention it, such an ingredient (or blend) might be more in line with octyl palmitate, isoamyl laurate, and the feel of your entire product line. Stearic acid feels ‘hard’, ‘rough’, and ‘dry’ whilst oleic acid and glyceryl oleate feel ‘soft’, ‘smooth’ but also ‘oily’ (they’re on the other side of fatty alcohols, so to speak). They don’t have the vanishing effect of stearic acid but penetrate skin extremely well and deep (but rather slowly).I honestly don’t like low % stearic acid that much because I feel it’s inferior to the other structuring agents or at least doesn’t contribute anything new. Its unique feature shows at higher % and the resulting formulation is something entirely different. Hence, you may be better off formulating a completely new product instead of adjusting an old one if it’s not just for experimenting with stearic acid.Hmmm… now that I think about it: Maybe including or substituting part of the fatty alcohol with stearic acid in your latest night cream samples might give it back what I think they’ve lost compared to the older version… I can imagine that this won’t be really noticeable once applied but only during scooping out of the jar and the first seconds of application??? See, it all depends on what you want to achieve.If you think about using a quaternary ammonium compound as emulsifier, stearic acid (and several other ingredients) will be a no go but might be great if you plan to reduce/avoid GSC. Not saying you should, it’s just an example.
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Pharma said:Correct, replace fatty alcohols and/or monoglycerides and/or cetyl esters 1:1 with fatty acids if it’s for the same purpose (see also last phrase in this post). Like you’re used from substituting cetyl alcohol with a cetyl esters, the outcome is similar but still noticeably different and you’ll have to adjust. The 1:1 switch is a good starting point, not necessarily the final solution. Question is, do you replace all fatty alcohol or just part of it? The full replacement will probably give you the best idea on what exactly stearic acid does and feels like. If fear you’re going to hate it :smiley: .If you want a softer version, use oleic acid or glyceryl monooleate instead or as a mix with stearic acid (I think such a mix feels nice and can be a useful replacement but is it really worth using that instead of staying with a good ol’ fatty alcohol?). Reason I mention it, such an ingredient (or blend) might be more in line with octyl palmitate, isoamyl laurate, and the feel of your entire product line. Stearic acid feels ‘hard’, ‘rough’, and ‘dry’ whilst oleic acid and glyceryl oleate feel ‘soft’, ‘smooth’ but also ‘oily’ (they’re on the other side of fatty alcohols, so to speak). They don’t have the vanishing effect of stearic acid but penetrate skin extremely well and deep (but rather slowly).
Ok….went to the bench…and sure enough…some Glyceryl Oleate sitting there….from a failed foray into body wash.
So tried it neat…and it has some interesting, albeit shiny aspects. Yes it softens hands wonderfully…given enough time. So granted I was applying it 100% neat… how would you take this into formulation??? Would .5% be too little? 2% too much? I would appreciate some guidance. I also decided to run it through incidecoder…and found VERY FEW hand creams using this ‘secret’ ingredient??? So are you saying use this in lieu of stearic….or both?
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