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Formulating a skin whitening lotion
Hi,
I am a self taught formulator and I have been to a soap making class in London where I was given the basics of making creams and lotions nothing as scientific as you guys do. I am here open and willing to learn. I have been formulating from home since 2015
My formulationEmulsifying wax 24g
Stearic Acid 18g
Broad spectrum preservative 8g
Baobab oil 50g
Shea/Mango butter 50g
sunflower oil 50g
Allantoin 3g
Vitamin B3 8g
Kojic Acid 9g
Glutathione 12g
water 330g
I think it is 100% I hope it will be effective to lighten afro African skin and not be irritating any suggestion on how I can make this lotion more effective thanks Shireen -
22 Replies
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It adds up to 562g… I really don’t have time to calculate all the percentages, sorry.
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If you could put the formula into percentages, people would be far more willing to help.
When you formulate, instead of using grams, put your formula into percentages (which can then be translated into grams when you make your product).
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Belassi,
I added the water wrong I have added 360g of water and 8g of essential oil. I want my end weight to be 600g which I think is correct now. What do you think of the skin whitening ingredients could I add more or less and any other ingredients to enhance the lotion?
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How do I neutralize Stearic acid?
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hi @shireen make your Lol in percentage to have more suggestions and for stearic acid i see it used not at high level so check ph of your product if it is good then no need to neutralisation unless you can use NaOh to do it.
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@shireen, agree with above comments. Percentages are crucial. As well as INCI of ewax, preservative (B3’s INCI is Niacinamide).
Why do you need to neutralise stearic acid?
Just curious, was it Naturallythinking soap making class that you took? -
600g lotion
Water 62.5%
Oils 25%
Emulsifying wax 4%
Stearic Acid 3%
Broad spectrum preservative 1%
Allantoin 0.5%
Niacinamide 1%
Glutathione 2%
Kojic Acid 1%@Fekher I have done it in percentages I have made the lotion already and it seems fine. I haven’t used it as my skin does not like Kojic acid.
ngarayeva001 No I did my soap making class at Regent Park College African soap making course. -
There is a research saying that niacinamide works better with N-Acetyl Glucosamine for skin lightening. 4% of Niacinamide 2% of NAG, as per the research. You can have a look here: https://www.activeformulas.com/collections/powder
Other than that from the point of view of active ingredients your formula seems ok.
General comments:add 0.2% of tocopherol to prevent oils from oxidation;
add EDTA as part of your preservative system.
Points to consider:Your oil phase is very high. What emulsifier do you use? Did you calculate HLB of the system (will it separate in a month)?
Stearic acid is very draggy. Consider cetyl alcohol instead.
What oils do you use? Are they commedogenic? What is iodine value (will they go rancid in 3 months?) -
Alpha-Arbutin is also good for lightning lotion. It inhibits melanin process
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@Dtdang I agree but it’s better for caucasian skin.
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And I’m curious what preservative you are using.
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I am questioning sunflower oil. You really don’t want to use polyunsaturated oils in a lotion for a day wear that might oxidize and damage lipids in the skin.
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@Lady_B, could you explain why polyunsaturated oil oxidize and damage lipids in the skin?
Thanks in advance -
@Dtdang here is a detailed article for instance: https://www.alifeadjacent.com/skin-aging-causes/
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Thanks @Lady_B, this article is big marketing hype. Omega 6 is essential oil because our body can’t produce it. Omega 9 can be produced by our body
if omega 9 is more than omega 6, acne developed…..lacking of omega 6 can be big problems to skin.
usually adding vitamin E can improve the life of omega 6
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@Dtdang I didn’t validate the quality of the article, tbh. Just searched for a quick reference to give you more details. I did learn about oxodization of polyunsaturated oils from cosmetic chemists working with at large manufacturers and then struggled myself to find more details about it, until I found a German book translation online with in deph details and methods to calculate the balance between oleic and linoleic acids in oils used in your formulation.
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Well, not science just my experience: grape seed oil and rosehip oil both mostly polyunsaturated with high iodine value. Both go rancid in months and reduce stability of the emulsion. Not personal experience but an observation: most of commercial products are made of: squalane, jojoba oil, shea butter. Other oils added as claim ingredient at less that 1%.
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ngarayeva001 said:Well, not science just my experience: grape seed oil and rosehip oil both mostly polyunsaturated with high iodine value. Both go rancid in months and reduce stability of the emulsion. Not personal experience but an observation: most of commercial products are made of: squalane, jojoba oil, shea butter. Other oils added as claim ingredient at less that 1%.
Yep, and tryglycerides to ensure there is enough fatty content for surfactants to work.
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@Lady_B, I use caprylic/capric triglycerides when making oil free product. I will appreciate if you can share more details on that dependency.
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Lady_B said:Yep, and tryglycerides to ensure there is enough fatty content for surfactants to work.
??
Lady_B said:
I didn’t validate the quality of the article, tbh. Just searched for a quick reference to give you more details.Why did you share it, if you don’t even know if it’s BS?
What use is there to share something you maybe wouldn’t even agree with if you’d read it properly? -
@Doreen they explained the mechanism of polyunsaturated oils oxidization pretty accurately. The article is long, I didn’t evaluate every statement in it. I was hoping it provided enough context for dtdang to continue his exploration on the subject on his own.
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@ngarayeva001 if you read in Russian here is more information: http://vitazone.ru/forum/showthread.php?t=2413
Based on what I have read so far in order for surfactant to form stable micelles in o/w emulsions it needs at least 15% of oil phase content. Therefore if you don’t want to use natural oils for whatever reason, you need to substitute with tryglycerides and squalane.
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