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Thickening agent vs salts
First of all i am not a chemist and I apologies if I lack of basic knowledge. Also, english is not my first language.
I am formulating a face cream and I am looking to
How To Incorporate in a face cream formula a non tacky thickening agent + salicylic acid.I know carbomer+salt=water. And I need Gel+salicylic acid=Gel(preferably clear) Any suggestions how can I create a gel resistant to salts and active ingredients.
I am looking to mix Emulsifier+Fatty Acids+Oil with Water Gel. I would prefer not to use Xanthan Gum because of the stickiness.
At the moment I have created a good texture but when I add active ingredients my formula is affected by salicylic acid=watery.
Has anyone tried Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone Crosspolymer or Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
At the moment I am using (EasyMix) Sodium Polyacrylate AND Dicaprylyl Carbonate AND Polyglyceryl-3 Caprate and it becomes unstable.
Many thanks
______FormulaCetearyl Alcohol 2 GMS+Peg 3 Butylene glycol dicaprylate/dicaprate 0 Alkyl Benzoate C12-15 2 Caprylic Capric Triglycerides 0.5 Isopropyl Myristate 1.5 Cetyl Alcohol 2 Q10 Squalane 1 Dimethicone 1 Ciclomethicone 4 Gosulin IL 5 Water 58.73 Easymix 0.25 Witch Haz 3 B3 1 Pro B5 Panthenol 0.9 Hyaluronic Acid 0.02 Ingredient 0 AHA 1 Vit E 0.7 Inulin 1 Water 2 Q10 1.5 Syn-Coll 1.5 Liquid Silk 4 Prezervativ POG 0.7 Prezervativ PCG 0.7 Salycilic Acid In Glycerin 1 ______
Possible options I was thinking to mix Xanthan Gum + Tapioca/Rice Start
I found a product Emulsigel Inci:Lysolecithin, Sclerotium gum, Xanthan gum, Pullalan, SilicaPotassium Cetyl Phosphate Which is salt tolerant but I find it hard to source. -
4 Replies
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I’ve just done a quick market search of new skin cream releases which include salicylic acid, and by far the most common thickener is xanthan gum! Hopefully you’ll have more success with that. However, there are still some skin cream formulations which use both salicylic acid and carbomer, so I’m sure there is a way to combine them and end up with a stable formula.
Perhaps it’s another ingredient that’s causing the problem? Try making a batch without any active ingredients, split it up into much smaller (say 10-20 gram) batches, and then add one of each of the active ingredients to each one. If the thinning effect is immediate, you will know which active ingredient is incompatible with the cream.
Cyclopentasiloxane will thin the formulation a little bit, but will make it more spreadable and improve absorption. If you want to add it, mix it in after any heating processes as it is volatile. Dimethicone crosspolymer would also want adding at the end and will have a slight thickening effect, but not enough without another thickener as it is purely a powder and will not swell like thickeners do. Its most noticeable effects will be a slightly dryer, more powdery feel and reducing shine.
I’m not too familiar with Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer but you could try adding it as a second thickener to change the texture of the formula. Balancing a few different thickeners rather than relying on one alone might produce a more unique, luxurious texture.
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I have added more of current thickener EasyMix 0.5% and the lotion regained the texture. Unfortunately when I use it on skin it creates small balls like dead skin.
I have tested base + thickener and water + I have added only salicylic acid and the lotion suddenly lost consistency.
Also, I have change Salicylic Acid to Sodium salicylate with citric acid and sodium bicarbonate and the effect is similar.
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Sodium Polyacrylate is not electrolye-tolerant at all. the Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer can actually be several different grades of material, commonly its Carbopol Ultrez 21- it can still be affected by electrolytes/actives but my guess is not as bad as your ‘easymix’. I would definitely start with a much simpler base and then build in actives so you can see what causes trouble easily. For instance if you’ve really got 1.5% Coenzyme Q 10 (Ubiquinone) your stability issues are just beginning
Sepimax Zen (INCI Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6) is very resistant to salts, I’d recommend it here. It can handle alcohol if you decide to dissolve you salicylic acid that way, though a glycol would probably also work. Gums like xanthan will work but they can feel pretty gross in high amounts. Sclerotium has an okay feel but difficult to process and get consistent results each time. Those are my
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@EVchem I will try to find Sepimax Zen. Thank you
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