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Lotion consistency and texture
I make a body lotion but I’m a newbie. I am looking for consistency in texture each time I make it. I would also like it to be very white and very smooth. I find that my consistency is not consistent.
I found that it looks thicker and whiter when I add microwax. Using an overhead lab stirrer and an immersion blender produce different consistencies.
What are the tricks and methodologies you all use to ensure a cohesive, smooth texture in your emulsions? Are there any tricks? Procedures - order of manufacturing process? Timing and speed of stirring? Ingredients? Do you stir for a standard amount of time? I will appreciate input on this. -
4 Replies
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Yes… process can make a huge difference in the end product…even when the ingredients are identical.
Here is a video a friend sent me recently, that demonstrates this:
Making an Emulsion // Hand Stir VS Homogenizer - YouTube
I guess…the first rule of consistency…would be…..Be consistent. Once you get your process down, time everything, and make that part of your instructions. This would also include….what settings your machines were at during each interval.
As far as whitening, many things contribute….from what emulsifier, what fatty alcohol…how yellow you oils/butters are….and of course….process. So yes…in your last paragraph….all of those are factors will contribute.
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lwere said:I make a body lotion but I’m a newbie. I am looking for consistency in texture each time I make it. I would also like it to be very white and very smooth. I find that my consistency is not consistent.
I found that it looks thicker and whiter when I add microwax. Using an overhead lab stirrer and an immersion blender produce different consistencies.
What are the tricks and methodologies you all use to ensure a cohesive, smooth texture in your emulsions? Are there any tricks? Procedures - order of manufacturing process? Timing and speed of stirring? Ingredients? Do you stir for a standard amount of time? I will appreciate input on this.What’s microwax?
In my experience the emulsifier makes a huge difference in how white the emulsion turns out. I love super white emulsions so I use Montanov L and Glyceryl Stearate PEG 100 Stearate a lot. High shear creates whiter emulsions as well.
You should always use an immersion blender, followed by slow stirring either by hand or with the overhead stirrer.
Some emulsifiers don’t like a lot of shear so adjust as needed.
My biggest thing when I was new was air bubbles.
I’ve found that limiting turbulence as much as possible reduces air bubbles and creates smooth emulsions.
In practice, this means using my immersion blender on low speed when I first combine phases before the emulsion has started gaining viscosity. Then as the emulsion thickens, increase the speed.
On the flip side, you don’t want to blend too much when the product is at full viscosity either, because that also can introduce pockets of air. This is why I use an overhead stirrer at this stage. I think overhead stirrer works better than hand stirring at this stage.
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Graillotion said:Yes… process can make a huge difference in the end product…even when the ingredients are identical.
Here is a video a friend sent me recently, that demonstrates this:
Making an Emulsion // Hand Stir VS Homogenizer - YouTube
I guess…the first rule of consistency…would be…..Be consistent. Once you get your process down, time everything, and make that part of your instructions. This would also include….what settings your machines were at during each interval.
As far as whitening, many things contribute….from what emulsifier, what fatty alcohol…how yellow you oils/butters are….and of course….process. So yes…in your last paragraph….all of those are factors will contribute.
Thanks for this and for the link.
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emma1985 said:lwere said:I make a body lotion but I’m a newbie. I am looking for consistency in texture each time I make it. I would also like it to be very white and very smooth. I find that my consistency is not consistent.
I found that it looks thicker and whiter when I add microwax. Using an overhead lab stirrer and an immersion blender produce different consistencies.
What are the tricks and methodologies you all use to ensure a cohesive, smooth texture in your emulsions? Are there any tricks? Procedures - order of manufacturing process? Timing and speed of stirring? Ingredients? Do you stir for a standard amount of time? I will appreciate input on this.What’s microwax?
In my experience the emulsifier makes a huge difference in how white the emulsion turns out. I love super white emulsions so I use Montanov L and Glyceryl Stearate PEG 100 Stearate a lot. High shear creates whiter emulsions as well.
You should always use an immersion blender, followed by slow stirring either by hand or with the overhead stirrer.
Some emulsifiers don’t like a lot of shear so adjust as needed.
My biggest thing when I was new was air bubbles.
I’ve found that limiting turbulence as much as possible reduces air bubbles and creates smooth emulsions.
In practice, this means using my immersion blender on low speed when I first combine phases before the emulsion has started gaining viscosity. Then as the emulsion thickens, increase the speed.
On the flip side, you don’t want to blend too much when the product is at full viscosity either, because that also can introduce pockets of air. This is why I use an overhead stirrer at this stage. I think overhead stirrer works better than hand stirring at this stage.
Thanks for this. Microwax is microcrystalline wax.
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