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How to whiten a lotion without Titanium dioxide?
I have a lotion that I am trying to finalize the formula on. A number of the PEG free emulsifiers I have sampled leave the lotion with a very natural (not white) color. Part of this is due to the CoQ10 and Rosehip oil in the formula.
I would like to whiten up the formula if possible, without my hand being forced on the emulsifier. (If you know any PEG-free emulsifiers that whiten….LET ME KNOW!) …and… (If you know of any PEG emulsifiers, that whiten and give awesome sensories…let me know.) …. (Heliofeel has decent sensories….but no whitening.)
I have read once or twice…in product descriptions….but not certainly every time….that Myristyl myristate will whiten a product. Would you say this is an accurate statement? I can certainly try it as my fatty alcohol…if it does not change the sensories too much, and whitens the formula.
Thank you in advance.
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8 Replies
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“Myristyl myristate will whiten a product” It’s a lovely thickener but I haven’t noticed such a property.
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Montanov 202 will make a nice white formula (Arachidyl Alcohol (and) Behenyl Alcohol (and) Arachidyl Glucoside ), if that’s something you can get your hands on. I think smaller emulsion size would also make the cream appear whiter
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EVchem said:Montanov 202 will make a nice white formula (Arachidyl Alcohol (and) Behenyl Alcohol (and) Arachidyl Glucoside ), if that’s something you can get your hands on. I think smaller emulsion size would also make the cream appear whiterI will request a sample from ULP.
Thank you for the tip.I did not understand….the concept of smaller emulsion size…would make a cream appear whiter?
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You might also add a drop of Violet #2 to offset the yellow color.
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Graillotion said:A: How to whiten a lotion without Titanium dioxide?B: I did not understand….the concept of smaller emulsion size…
A: The stupid answer: use zinc oxide ROFLMAO!B: The reason why an emulsion is white is due to light scattering in every direction caused by refraction. Light passing from medium X to medium Z will bend depending on the difference in refractive indices of the two media. It’s like holding a spoon in a glass of water and it will look as though it’s bent. This effect is also only possible if light doesn’t hit at a 90° angle, so you have to look at an inclined angle at your spoon/glass. If you were to fill your glass with mineral oil and put a diamond inside, the diamond will ‘disappear’ because glycerol and diamonds have similar refractory indices, light will pass straight through both and there’s no more ‘bling’ to be seen.In case of emulsions, gazillions of tiny blobs swim in a soup, each acts as if it were a tiny shard of mirror glass and turning and bending light into different directions. This ‘blurs’ the background picture to a homogeneous white. The smaller the particle, the larger the particles, the higher the chance that light actually passes through the droplets and you can actually see the colour they have. The smaller the particle more pronounced the reflection effect becomes and the whiter your product gets. That is, until the particles are smaller than light waves and your product turns first opalescent, translucent, and finally fully transparent (example: micellar water).Bottom line is, if you can’t remove the colour of the inner phase, you have to reduce particle size either by playing with the emulsifier (e.g. micro-/nanoemulsions) or by mechanically crushing larger particles (e.g. Ultra Turrax).Another approach is to increase the difference between the two refractive indices.Some indices:Vacuum: 1Air: 1,0003Ethanol: 1,001Water: 1,33320% glucose in water: 1,364Silicone oil: ~1,4Vegetable oils: ~1,46-1,47Glycerol: 1,473Paraffin oil: 1,48Diamond: 2,418Titanium dioxide: 2,614Hence, you can either reduce the amount of glycerol and other solutes in the water phase and/or add ethanol or you choose highly refractive oils.Either way, you’ll get better refraction and an apparently whiter product.The opposite would be to create an internal and external phase with identical indices: This turns your white emulsion into a transparent, seemingly homogeneous product. But it will look as if you just mixed the two colours of outer and inner phase like yellow and blue becoming green.Adding ‘whitening’ ingredients or opacifiers does do something but not that much. Also playing with the amount of liquid crystal builders may help depending on emulsion type. But again, the effect is minor and plays more with the hues/brightness than actual colour.Last thing to try is to add silica or the like to the oil phase hoping that it adsorbs and masks the colouring impurities. -
My motto in life has always been….Learn something new everyday. Hehheehe…. Pharma, I think I have my quota for the week.
I forgot to mention….emulsifier 165….actually creates a very white version of the lotion! I just don’t care that much for the sensory package that come along with 165. However, I have resigned myself to working on the sensory aspect through a vehicle other than the emulsifier. I am gonna give MONTANOV 202 a shot before I wrap this up…..supposed to give the sensory + great whitening. We’ll see!
Got a box coming from Floratech today….and hoping me sensory package will be upgraded. -
ngarayeva001 said:“Myristyl myristate will whiten a product” It’s a lovely thickener but I haven’t noticed such a property.
Tried the MM….did not have a noticeable effect on whitening.
My conclusion is….the emulsifier has the greatest input…. Other than simply adding whiteners. And 165 had the strongest influence of all that I tried. -
EVchem said:Montanov 202 will make a nice white formula (Arachidyl Alcohol (and) Behenyl Alcohol (and) Arachidyl Glucoside ), if that’s something you can get your hands on. I think smaller emulsion size would also make the cream appear whiter
Tried the 202…. enjoyed the finished product….but 165 has a pronounced whitening effect, much more than the 202. And I am guessing the 202 has a MUCH higher price…(they did not respond to pricing questions)… so looks like I will work with 165. 165 works in all my formulas, priced right, easy to work with….therefore….
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