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Is Panthenol going to be sticky (beyond 1%) no matter how much water is in the product?
I recently saw a recipe for a very basic serum with 91% water, 5% Panthenol, 1% Hyaluronic Acid, and 3% Preservative.
I’ve read countless times that any percentage of Panthenol beyond 1% gives a formula a “sticky” feel.
But I am just wondering, does the amount of water affect the stickiness - where a higher water-to-Panthenol ratio would result in a less sticky product?
Or should I pretty much “nope” out on this recipe, and assume it will be sticky if I add anything more than 1% Panthenol?
Thanks for your time.
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4 Replies
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Two things.
First, I think you may misunderstand percentages in this particular formula.
Water is the primary solvent so the amount in the formula is = 100 - (sum of all other ingredients). In this case 91%.
If you reduced the water, that would automatically increase the percentages of all the other ingredients.
Panthenol - 5 (% = 5/99 = 5.05%)
HA = 1
Preservative = 3
Water = 90Total = 99
So, you can’t reduce the water without also increase the percentages of all the other ingredients. Similarly, you can’t increase the water without affecting the percentages of the other ingredients.
Second, yes, I’d assume 5% panthenol will feel sticky. What exactly is this formula supposed to do?
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@Perry Thank you for your comment! I do understand that changing the amount of water (increasing or reducing) affects the concentration of all other ingredients in the formula, and thus any changes would mean the ingredients would no longer be at the concentrations in this example.
I guess what I mean to ask is that, in a formula with so much water (91%) and relatively few other ingredients, does the high water content have any affect on how well the Panthenol will incorporate and thusly how sticky it will be?
Does that question make sense, or is my logic still broken here?
I do apologize if I am awfully ill-informed! I’m still learning.
P.S. The formula is meant to create a hydrating serum. It’s apparently supposed to hold moisture in the surface of the skin. The brand “SkinCeuticals” makes a very popular and expensive version of this with only a few extra ingredients, which apparently people rave about.
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@MJL:
Panthenol in a water-based serum is going to be sticky at anything above 1% … it will absorb into the skin fairly quickly, but you will have a sticky residual sensorial for a couple of minutes or so before it fully absorbs.
The question you should ask yourself is: Does 5% Panthenol provide any substantial benefits over 1% Panthenol relative to the additional cost and sticky sensorial?
In this particular formula, the 1% hyaluronic acid will give a “slippery” feel that may mute the sticky feel of the Panthenol somewhat. It is also a function of the type of hyaluronic acid you are using. If it is a mid-range molecular weight hyaluronic acid (800-1200 kDa) or greater, this will be a very viscous serum at 1% hyaluronic acid.
I think you would get substantially the same results as your reference formula using 1% Panthenol and 0.5% hyaluronic acid.
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@MarkBroussard Thank you so much for your comment, for all of the information provided, and for your suggestions! This is very helpful!
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