Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Mixing 2 different types of oils together

  • Mixing 2 different types of oils together

    Posted by Michaelv03 on September 13, 2016 at 8:44 am

    Hello,
    I am a novice but have been experimenting with oils for quite some time now.
    I am wondering if there is a way to mix an Essential oil (such as D-Limonene) with a ‘filler’ oil such as Canola oil.
    I have previously tried using alcohol or soaps to get the 2 oils to mix but it did not work (In any case, using soap would not be such a good idea as soap are know to break oily substances apart, correct?). I am not sure why it is suggested on various websites that alcohol can help mix oils together…I never got it to work (or maybe I was doing something wrong).

    I have also tried a product called Sucragel to get the 2 to mix.
    While it did create an emulsion, it was not a good fit for my purposes as the mix needs to remain stable when in contact with water (Sucragel will ‘fall apart’ in water).

    The idea is to create a stable mix of these 2 oils that won’t need shaking, but will remain mixed at normal room temperature. 

    Thank you in advance for any and all help regarding this.

    Michaelv03 replied 8 years, 1 month ago 3 Members · 6 Replies
  • 6 Replies
  • johnb

    Member
    September 13, 2016 at 12:42 pm

    You have two posts asking the same question.

    What is the purpose of the product containing two oils?

    If you just want to make a dilute essential oil then diproplylene glycol works for most. Alternatively, a cosmetic ester such as isopropyl myristate.

    In the main, glyceride oils such as canola are not miscible with essential oils. An exception is castor oil which has a unique composition which renders it soluble in many essential oils and high proof alcohol. Castor oil is quite viscous which may be advantageous in your product to retard evaporation.

  • Michaelv03

    Member
    September 13, 2016 at 11:55 pm

    Thank you john, I appreciate the advice very much.

  • Bobzchemist

    Member
    September 14, 2016 at 4:11 pm

    You might also want to look into PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil

  • Michaelv03

    Member
    September 16, 2016 at 6:35 am

    Hi Bobzchemist,
    Thanks! I actually just bought some standard Castor Oil at CVS to try it. It seems to work well. It mixes well with D-Limonene for example. Is the type you mentioned (‘PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil’) the same as the ‘normal’ castor oil you can buy at most drug stores or is there a difference?

  • Bobzchemist

    Member
    September 16, 2016 at 5:32 pm

    PEG-40 HCO is Castor Oil that has first been hydrogenated, making it a wax, and then reacted with PEG-40, which turns it into a powerful solubilizer and surfactant. 

    If you want your mixture to go into water, you’ll need something like this. Otherwise, like all oils, it will not mix with water at all.

  • Michaelv03

    Member
    September 19, 2016 at 7:04 am

    Thanks very much once again, Bobzchemist!

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