• Formulating

  Ritamulse Questions Need Help

  Posted by carplgrower on January 27, 2019 at 6:47 pm

  Hello friends;
  First sorry for my poor English. I hope you understand what I mean.
  I am trying to prepare hand cream just for experiment. I have only sodium stearoyl lactylate, glyceryl stearate and cetearyl alcohol as emulsifier.

  There is a emulsifying wax with name Ritamulse/Ecomulse.
  It’s INCI:
  60% Glyceryl stearate
  25% Cetearyl alcohol
  15% Sodium stearoyl lactylate
  And recommended dosage of Ritamulse 8% for creams.
  So if you apply as suggested 8%, amount of the ingredients in cream:
  4.8% glyceryl stearate
  2% cetearyl alcohol
  1.2% sodium stearoyl lactylate

  By the way in UK, they are sold seperately as MF Emulsifier (sodium stearoyl lactylate) and VE Emulsifier (glyceryl stearate) and cetearyl alcohol and suggested use for creams:
  3% Glyceryl stearate (in oil phase) + 2% cetearyl alcohol (in oil phase)+ 5% sodium stearoyl lactylate (in water phase)

  Unfortunately Ritamulse/Ecomulse, MF Emulsifier and VE Emulsifier for cosmetic use, is not available in my country. My sodium stearoyl lactylate and glyceryl stearate is produced for food industry.

  Anyway I tried to prepare hand creams with this two formula:

  One as copy of Ritamulse, other one is according to UK web pages suggestions:

  INCI:
  Oil Phase:
  8% Sweet Almond oil
  2% Grapeseed oil
  2% Shea Butter
  2% Coconut butter
  3% Glyceryl stearate
  2% Cetearyl alcohol
  Water Phase:
  3% Glycerine
  5% Sodium stearoyl lactylate
  71.5% Water
  Cool Down Phase:
  1% Preservative
  0.5% Esential oil

  Result: Failed. One day later emulsion is seperated.

  Also I tried Ritamulse ratios:
  INCI:
  Oil Phase:
  8% Sweet Almond oil
  2% Grapeseed oil
  2% Shea Butter
  2% Coconut butter
  4.8% Glyceryl stearate
  2% Cetearyl alcohol
  1.2% Sodium stearoyl lactylate
  Water Phase:
  3% Glycerine
  73.5 Water
  Coold Down Phase:
  1% Preservative
  0.5% Esential oil

  Result: Failed again. 1-2 hours later emulsion is seperated.

  I mixed two phases between 75-80 celcius degree and stir at least for 5 minutes at that temperature and continue stirring intermittent till room temperature. I tried both with stick blender, electric hand whish and kitchen whisk.

  Why my emulsions is not stable. Any ideas? Thank you for your helps.

  carplgrower replied 6 years, 1 month ago 4 Members · 7 Replies
• 7 Replies

• 

  belassi

  Member

  January 27, 2019 at 7:18 pm

  Why my emulsions is not stable. 
  These emulsifiers will work fine but you are not using sufficient quantity. The ratio of oils to emulsifier is too high. You could also use a stabiliser such as Xanthan gum.

• 

  carplgrower

  Member

  January 27, 2019 at 7:24 pm

  Thank you for your reply @Belassi;
  My total oil content is 14%.
  How much SSL and GS I need to use? Btw I will add xanthan gum too. I already have it. Do you think that 0.3% is enough?

  Thank you again.

• 

  ngarayeva001

  Member

  January 27, 2019 at 9:34 pm

  0.3% of xantham is enough. Do you have access to glyceryl stearate/PEG-100 stearate emulsifiers blend? It works like a charm.

• 

  belassi

  Member

  January 27, 2019 at 10:01 pm

  How much SSL and GS I need to use?
  Has to be determined experimentally.

• 

  MarkBroussard

  Professional Chemist / Formulator

  January 28, 2019 at 1:31 am

  @carplgrower:

  I would recommend that you drop your total oils/fats/butters to 10%.  RitaMulse emulsions tend to soap upon application to the skin.  I would perhaps increase your Glyceryl Stearate to 6% and as noted above, add Xanthan Gum as a stabilizer.

• 

  belassi

  Member

  January 28, 2019 at 1:43 am

  1. Calculate the HLB of the lipids combo.
  2. Calculate the correct ratio of the two emulsifiers to get a similar HLB. You could also include a third emulsifer, say PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate or Tween-20.
  3. Because this emulsifier combo soaps readily, you could include say 0.2% silicone, eg Polytrap 6500 to improve the sensorials and limit soaping.
  4. Prepare sufficient of the pre-mixed emulsifier combo and bring it to 75C and mix well.
  5. Bring the lipids and the water phase also, up to the same temperature.
  6. Run all three in together while using high shear.
  7. Allow to cool and add actives at <40C with stirring.

  Begin with say 7%:14% which is 1:2, and if you get separation, heat again and add more emulsifier and re-test, and so on. When you get a stable emulsion you can then add 0.2% xanthan gum as a stabiliser. 

• 

  carplgrower

  Member

  January 28, 2019 at 4:41 pm

  @ngarayeva001 unfortunately I don’t have any access to PEG-100 stearate.
  @MarkBroussard thank you for your comment. What is the sign of a soaping? Whitening effect on the skin?

  @Belassi I don’t have any access to silicones too.

  In my country no one interest with prepare a cosmetics at home. Because of this cosmetic ingredients available for only professional use in a big quantity.

  Anyway I noticed that 5% Sodium stearoyl lactylate drop ph too much. I prepare 5% suspension of it with water and checked the ph level. The pH meter says it is 2.5. I think this happened due to lactic acid/lactylate.

  And according to Ritamulse formulating guidelines it says “Ritamulse should be used in products with an intended final pH of 5 - 7.5.”
  
  Then I prepare experimental formula with adding KOH for buffer a ph drops due to SSL.

  Experimental Formula:
  INCI:
  Oil Phase:
  8% Sweet Almond oil
  2% Grapeseed oil
  2% Shea Butter
  2% Coconut butter
  3% Glyceryl stearate
  2% Cetearyl alcohol

  Water Phase:
  3% Glycerine
  5% Sodium stearoyl lactylate
  0.3% Potassium hydroxide
  72.7% Water

  Result: Excellent. It emulsified within few minutes with nice cream viscosity. And final pH is 5.65.

  My questions:
  
  1- Is it normal to 5% sodium stearoyl lactylate drops pH to 2.5?

  2- Is it safe to use KOH in my formula? Is there any more suitable pH buffer for cosmetics?

  Thank you.
  

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