Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Lipsticks breaking at the base

  • Lipsticks breaking at the base

    Posted by caro on June 27, 2019 at 6:08 pm

    I am having issues with my slimline lipsticks frequently breaking at the base. I cannot afford resistance testing so any advice/feedback as far as what might be the issue would be greatly appreciated! 

    Two example formulas below, one is a sheer lipstick formula and one is an opaque lipstick formula. I have researched this extensively online and the two possibilities that I have found are it being cooled improperly (after pouring, I place the lipstick mold in a freezer for 15 minutes, which seems to be standard) or that it is a formulating issue and the ratio of hard to soft waxes is off, causing the bullet to cool with an unstable core. 

    Opaque lipstick:

    CASTOR OIL: 55.5%

    JOJOBA OIL: 6.8% 
    TOCOPHEROL: .04%
    ROSEMARY EXTRACT: .4%
    ESSENTIAL OILS: .5%
    SILICA MICROSPHERES: 11.2%
    PIGMENT: 4.2%
    DOUBLE REFINED CANDELILLA WAX: 8.5%
    CARNAUBA WAX: 1.9%
    BEESWAX: 2.8%

    Sheer lipstick:

    CASTOR OIL: 42.8%
    JOJOBA OIL: 25.6%
    TOCOPHEROL: .04%
    ROSEMARY EXTRACT: .4%
    ESSENTIAL OILS: .4%

    SILICA MICROSPHERES: 6.4%
    PIGMENT: 1%
    DOUBLE REFINED CANDELILLA WAX: 14%
    CARNAUBA WAX: 1.9%
    BEESWAX: 3.8%
    chickenskin replied 5 years, 3 months ago 2 Members · 3 Replies
  • 3 Replies
  • chickenskin

    Member
    June 27, 2019 at 6:16 pm

    let them sit at room temp while they cool.  if you flash freeze them you get a different crystal formation.  also i would up the waxes a little bit and see how well that helps.  but first start cooling at room temp, and if that doesn’t help start messing with the wax ratios.  write everything that you are doing down so you know what works and what doesn’t

  • caro

    Member
    June 28, 2019 at 12:01 pm

    Thank you so much for your advice!!!

  • chickenskin

    Member
    June 28, 2019 at 10:06 pm

    @caro  let us know how it goes

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