-
Thickening Silicone & Other Oils
Hi All
Hoping to get some ideas here - or be shot down in flames….. as the title says I would like to thicken oils, but I would like to know if this can be done to produce a crystal clear Anhydrous gel or jelly type end result. What I want to do is achieve a cross between say a ‘baby oil’ gel type consistancy and a heavier lip gloss type product. As usual it has to be all about shine - like patent type shine.I have had lots of playing around making lovely thick buttery goop with oils and waxes, but I dont know if I’m barking up the wrong tree hoping for a crystal clear result. A fair while back I tried using some very high melt point “Gelled Mineral Oil” , for the life of me I cant remember the name sorry - think it was a RITA product. From memory it didnt incorporate well with silicones.I’m open to using different products to get the end result, I have quite a few different silicones on hand to tinker with, polybutene etc But from my limited knowledge I cant see how I can get the clear gel. I did try some pre-thickened silicone gel but it had a mattifying effect.The product I want has to be blindingly shiny, have enough slip to be easy to apply, be able to handle heat and some sweat without beading, not turn into a runny mess on a 40 degree day…. and still be clear.I’m sorry I cant be more specific, I know what I need in a tube but no idea what you would call it or if its possible to do.Any thoughts would be appreciated.CheersPaula -
6 Replies
-
Paula, you likley used Versagel from Calumet-Penreco before? You are right, the polysioxane gums will thicken but always present a matte finish - OK for make-up primers, not so much for glossers. I seem to recall Seppic was recently peddling a silicone thickener; perhaps check their repertoire?.
-
In no particular order:
Check out Zenitech products: http://www.zenitech.com/index.html
Also Ajinomoto GP-1 http://www.ajichem.com/en/products/gelling-agents.aspxAnd Siltech waxes: http://www.siltech.com/index.php/alkylated-silicones-silwax -
Sensient has wonderful ingredients you need:
-
I have used the GP-1 and EB-21 gelling agents (Bobzchemist’s link above) to get crystal clear gel/silicone sticks (according to their literature, you must use a combination of both GP-1 and EB-21 to get clarity).You could try adjusting the use levels to get gels, although I do not know what would happen during stability testing.
-
@Bati The use of these 2 items (which have to be used in conjunction and as communicated to me by Ajinomoto) would shoot up the formulation cost. For a high end product it can be absorbed but for medium to low-priced products I guess other thickeners would be more handy (of course after optimization).
-
Hi all. Thought I should give an update for anyone looking at previous posts for Oil Thickeners. I havent yet finished all formulations as there are still several ingredients to try.
But most successful so far (for my purposes) has been using a combo mix of Polyamides with a solvent and vegetable oils or hydrocarbons and or silicones. I have read elsewhere that these give a rather stiff/crumbly and not so elegant clear gel/stick, but loaded up with organo silicones it gave me a lovely feel with the clarity and structure close to what I need.Thanks everyone for your input and comments! very helpful and appreciated
Log in to reply.