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Grainy Beard Balm?? Do I need Emusifier or stabilizer…or both?
Hello all,Just a new guy here. I’ve just started experimenting in the last year with balms and oils.
I’ve been developing my own beard balms.32% Beeswax (cosmetic grade pellets)
21% Carrier oils (1.5:1:1:1 Hemp seed, Jojoba, Argan, Sweet Almond)
19% Shea Butter
25% Coconut Oil (solid at room temp)
3% Fragrance Oil
I prepare it by double boiling the wax with the butters and oils then off heat stir in fragrance and then jar.At first the balm is the perfect hardness. It’s not too hard to scoop with your fingertip, it feels silky, and liquifies quickly. Has a good amount of hold due to the wax and goes on easy but…After a few weeks to a month it hardens up, not too much at first, but as time goes on when you grab some it feels grainy, like little beads??
I feel like its separating…but they are all oils so…? I contacted the fragrance oil manufacturer as well to ensure the ingredients were all oil soluble…they are.How do I stabilize this stuff?
I did read in another thread that the Shea butter might be the culprit.
Do I need an emulsifier? or Stabilizer? or both? And what would you guys suggest? There’s so many…Thank-you
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10 Replies
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@Kanuck you did not need emulsifier however the level of perfume is too high so try to make lower.
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I agree with @Fekher .
You should lower fragrance oils to something closer to 0.5%.
I would also avoid using so much beeswax since it tends to become problematic at high levels. I usually use a maximum of 20-25% beeswax in oil-based products.
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natzam44 said:I agree with @Fekher .
You should lower fragrance oils to something closer to 0.5%.
I would also avoid using so much beeswax since it tends to become problematic at high levels. I usually use a maximum of 20-25% beeswax in oil-based products.
I forgot to clarify that the high amount of beeswax was likely the culprit. At high percentages, it tends to leave small beads in the hands when warming up.
I believe this is due to crystallization but I could be wrong.
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Is the coconut oil you’re using a refined grade? I’ve had problems in the past with unrefined coconut oil. Shea can also be nightmare in these sort of products.
As above, I’d probably drop your beeswax down and add maybe 2-3% Carnauba wax to regain that firmness.
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Thanks everyone
@natzam44 @Fekher I’ll try lowering the fragrance oil level as suggested. I do find though that at lower levels the scents don’t tend to stay around long…like they’re evaporating. I guess it’s the same as deodorant…when you first open the bar it’s stronger than at the end.
I never would have thought the beeswax was the problem though.@LincsChemist the coconut oil I was using is unrefined organic. Would you suggest using refined? The shea butter is also unrefined…perhaps this is contributing to the problem I’m having.
I’ll definitely try the carnauba wax approach. Looks like I put in half the amount of carnauba that I would take out of beeswax. I suppose that’s because of its super hard qualities, makes sense.
…gotta go shopping now
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All of these lipids have very different triglyceride proportions and so they like to crystallize differently. A low HLB emulsifier might help, I’ve seen chocolatiers often use sorbitan tristearate to help combat this, there may be other cosmetic ‘bloom inhibitors’. Otherwise you could try changing the ratios of the coconut oil and shea, though this will change the feel
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Shea butter is notorious for forming grains in balms. Try replacing it with something else or at least reducing it.Coconut oil is not a great idea in balms as it melts at temperatures close to room temperature so will be melting/solidifying regularly especially in summer.There are several products such as Cera bellina (INCI: Polyglycerol-3 Beeswax) and Softisan 378 that are reported to help reduce grain formation in balms. -
@EVchem Thanks. I did change the ratio of the shea and coconut oil on my last batch, reducing the shea, and increasing the coconut oil. In hindsight I probably should have reduced both and see what happens there.
@ozgirl What would you replace shea with? I see some replacing with mango or avocado, do you have a suggestion?
I’ll look into the Cera Bellina, Would you replace the whole portion with this? or just cut the regular beeswax with it like 50/50.
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@Kanuck if you use refined shea butter the crystallisation problem can be severely reduced/eliminated
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Thank you @Bill_Toge that’s an easy fix. I’ll try that first.
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