Sprayable lotion - Is there such a thing????

Tagged: blending, emulsifier, emulsion, formula help, formulation

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Sprayable lotion - Is there such a thing????

Posted by raveena on August 16, 2020 at 2:12 pm

Hi
I am just experimenting and was wondering if we can make a sprayable clear lotion. Can it be clear and with oil as a continuous phase? Just an idea lurking in my head and would love some help.
What would I need for a stable formula? I don’t need the formulation.
w/o Or o/w
Squalene
Caprylic capric t
glycerin
green tea extract
essential oils 2-3%

Totally stuck here. Do I need anything else here?

ngarayeva001 replied 4 years, 4 months ago 5 Members · 12 Replies
12 Replies

Pharma

Member
August 16, 2020 at 2:52 pm

If it should be a clear lotion, you need either a water and an oil phase with fairly identical optical density, a micellar solution (which wouldn’t be a lotion in the proper sense), or a microemulsion.
raveena

Member
August 16, 2020 at 3:04 pm

Pharma said:

If it should be a clear lotion, you need either a water and an oil phase with fairly identical optical density, a micellar solution (which wouldn’t be a lotion in the proper sense), or a microemulsion.

Hi Pharma
Thanks for your reply. You have just solved a part of this puzzle for me.
As it is a foot lotion I would like oil as the main phase.
raveena

Member
August 16, 2020 at 3:09 pm

@Pharma
I just looked up microemulsion on Prospector. The functionality of all the ingredients is for hair care products. Is there a specific one you can recommend for skin? Thanks in advance.
Pharma

Member
August 16, 2020 at 3:31 pm

A more or less transparent/opalescent microemulsion (Winsor type IV) has an extremely low surface tension, requires a relatively high amount of emulsifiers, and is likely to separate quickly but spontaneously re-emulsify when shaken. This wouldn’t be an issue with a spray and a low surface tension is a huge advantage for easy spraying, a fine mist, and good skin deposition.

Using a w/o emulsion has the advantage that you could use a high % of polyols in the water phase to increase optical density of water matching that of the oil phase. Disadvantages are high viscosity and, if you use high spreading oils, instability during storage and certainly when the emulsion passes through the spray nozzle.

Another emulsion type which can easily be made transparent are HIPE gels. However, these can not be sprayed, either due to high viscosity or breaking during spraying. Again, separation during storage can be an issue with lower viscosities.
raveena

Member
August 16, 2020 at 3:41 pm

Great advice as always. There is a bit of homework here for me in the morning lol. Thank you as this has helped a lot.
Bill_Toge

Member
August 16, 2020 at 10:23 pm

just out of curiosity, why does it have to be clear?
ngarayeva001

Member
August 16, 2020 at 11:27 pm

I have never seen a transparent product that’s called lotion. I guess most equate lotion with emulsion although it’s not a scientific term anyway
raveena

Member
August 18, 2020 at 6:19 am

ngarayeva001 said:

I have never seen a transparent product that’s called lotion. I guess most equate lotion with emulsion although it’s not a scientific term anyway

Sorry for my mistake, not a lotion. I agree:). It’s like a general term I used for something I am trying to formulate.
ngarayeva001

Member
August 18, 2020 at 5:57 pm

I am still confused. Do you have a benchmark that is sold or it’s just a concept? What is it supposed to do? There are plenty of products in sprayable format, from oils that turn into emulsion on wet skin and low viscosity emulsions to mists with humectants.
LuisJavier

Member
August 18, 2020 at 9:30 pm

Is it possible to have a milky coloured solution of essential oils and water with additives, whilst being relatively sure that a separation won’t occur for over a year?
raveena

Member
August 18, 2020 at 10:19 pm

ngarayeva001 said:

I am still confused. Do you have a benchmark that is sold or it’s just a concept? What is it supposed to do? There are plenty of products in sprayable format, from oils that turn into emulsion on wet skin and low viscosity emulsions to mists with humectants.

@ngarayeva001- What I am after is a sprayable product for feet that will provide hydration and certain actives I like to include. It is for something that can deliver quick hydration and moisture after having a shower or just before bedtime.
ngarayeva001

Member
August 19, 2020 at 12:23 pm

Just a blend of oils and a surfactant. It will stay transparent, sprayable (but you would need to consider viscosity of those oils), and emollient enough which is important for such a product. Get Cithrol 10 GTIS by Croda because although you can even make something like polysorbate 80 work, Cithrol is compatible with a wider range of oils. It will turn into emulsion upon contact with wet skin (something as simple as 90% of Isopropyl Myristate and 10% of Cithrol). But speaking of foot cream in general, I would say there is nothing better than a plain moisturiser with high enough concentration of urea (but it’s a pain to formulate)