Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Water Based Moisturizer with Niacinamide and Retinol

  • Water Based Moisturizer with Niacinamide and Retinol

    Posted by DIY_Newbie on September 30, 2019 at 2:44 am

    Hello again,

    I was making a concept for a water based moisturizer with Niacinamide and retinol.  Below in the formula I came up with. I’ve tried my best to key word search this forum for information to make sure I’m not asking any repetitive questions.  Is this a decent formula in your expert opinion or am I trying to do to much?  The only ingredients I wanted in there would be the Niacinamide/N.A.G combo, retinol with the stabilizers, and moisturizers like glycerin and sodium lactate.  Any other feedback in greatly appreciated.

    Side Question: What is a good solvent for BHT?

    Ingredients (pH 5.5-6)
    Percentage
    Water
    50
    Propanediol 1,3
    12
    Glycerin
    6
    Niacinamide
    5
    N-Acetyl Glucosamine
    4
    MSM
    8
    Poly Suga Mulse D9
    4
    Vitamin E Oil (d-alpha Tropherol)
    1
    Vitamin A lipsomes (10% retinol)
    3
    BHT 
    0.3
    Sodium Ascorbate
    0.3
    Hyaluoric Acid (1000 kDa)
    0.5
    Glucono Delta Lactone
    0.3
    Cirtric Acid
    0.1
    Sodium Lactate
    5
    Germaben II
    0.5

    Thank you for reading.

    antmagn replied 5 years, 7 months ago 3 Members · 9 Replies
  • 9 Replies
  • ngarayeva001

    Member
    September 30, 2019 at 9:14 am

    It is a nice combination overall, but you have a bit too much of everything. 
    Regarding BHT, it’s oil soluble. I am not sure why you decided to make this formula water-based, but if it’s not an absolute must, I would suggest making an emulsion. You can still make it light and non-greasy if you use light esters and polymeric emulsifiers. It will be more aesthetically pleasing to use. You would need to exclude sodium lactate then. What materials do you have access to? Can you order from lotioncrafter or makingcosmetics?

  • DIY_Newbie

    Member
    October 1, 2019 at 2:00 am

    Thank you for the response @ngarayeva001.

    I have beeswax and sodium borate as an emulsifier currently (I haven’t made a lotion in awhile and used this one).  

    I can pickup most anything online since I live in the U.S.  

    Are you suggesting this to be a W/O formula? If so what would my base oil be (mineral oil?).  I do have rosehip oil and jojoba oil on hand.

    What would you suggest for an emulsifier and oil base?

    Thank you again for your response.

  • ngarayeva001

    Member
    October 1, 2019 at 8:13 pm

    No, there’s absolutely no need to make it w/o! I am talking about light o/w gel with light esters. I suggest emulsifier like Sepinov or aristoflex and something like caprylic capric triglycerides for the oil phase. I will find my formula and share it in a bit.

  • ngarayeva001

    Member
    October 1, 2019 at 8:42 pm

    Here you go:

    Phase INCI %
    A Aqua 71.30%
    A Tetrasodium EDTA 0.20%
    A Niacinamide 2.00%
    A Glycerine 2.00%
    A Ceramide and
    cholesterol
    2.00%
    A Betaine 2.00%
    A Butylene Glycol 3.00%
    B Octyldodecanol 5.00%
    B Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides 4.00%
    B Dimethicone fluid 3.00%
    B Tocopherol 0.50%
    B BHT 0.10%
    B Sepimax Zen 0.50%
    B Aristoflex AVC 1.25%
    B Bisabolol 0.20%
    B Germall Powder 0.20%
    C Retinol 2.50%

    - You can buy all of it either from lotioncrafter or makingcosmetics.
    - There is no need to have both Aristoflex AVC and Sepimax Zen, you can have just Aristoflex (but then keep oils at 5%) or just Zen, or you can use one of many other polymeric acrylic acid derived emulsifiers that are sold on lotioncrafter or makingcosmetics (Sepinov EMT 10 is very nice, many people like Sepiplus 400 (I don’t), GelMaker EMU, GelMaker Rheo, there are many).
    - The betaine is a humectant (it’s not CAPB)
    - You don’t need to use Octyldodecanol or Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides specifically, just choose something light (again plenty of esters on makingcosmetics)
    - Choice of preservative is due to the form of retinol. I use liposomes made of lecithin and I read that lecithin affects efficacy of paraben, so I used paraben free (but effective) preservative. 
    - You want to make sure you have antioxidants, because retinol oxidises.
    Feel free to use this as an example. 

  • antmagn

    Member
    October 2, 2019 at 6:38 am

    Here you go:

    Phase INCI %
    A Aqua 71.30%
    A Tetrasodium EDTA 0.20%
    A Niacinamide 2.00%
    A Glycerine 2.00%
    A Ceramide and
    cholesterol
    2.00%
    A Betaine 2.00%
    A Butylene Glycol 3.00%
    B Octyldodecanol 5.00%
    B Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides 4.00%
    B Dimethicone fluid 3.00%
    B Tocopherol 0.50%
    B BHT 0.10%
    B Sepimax Zen 0.50%
    B Aristoflex AVC 1.25%
    B Bisabolol 0.20%
    B Germall Powder 0.20%
    C Retinol 2.50%

    - You can buy all of it either from lotioncrafter or makingcosmetics.
    - There is no need to have both Aristoflex AVC and Sepimax Zen, you can have just Aristoflex (but then keep oils at 5%) or just Zen, or you can use one of many other polymeric acrylic acid derived emulsifiers that are sold on lotioncrafter or makingcosmetics (Sepinov EMT 10 is very nice, many people like Sepiplus 400 (I don’t), GelMaker EMU, GelMaker Rheo, there are many).
    - The betaine is a humectant (it’s not CAPB)
    - You don’t need to use Octyldodecanol or Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides specifically, just choose something light (again plenty of esters on makingcosmetics)
    - Choice of preservative is due to the form of retinol. I use liposomes made of lecithin and I read that lecithin affects efficacy of paraben, so I used paraben free (but effective) preservative. 
    - You want to make sure you have antioxidants, because retinol oxidises.
    Feel free to use this as an example. 

    It might be off topic but I saw that you did not use NAG, I’m having trouble find it (I’m from Greece), but I can easily find niacinamide. Do you think it’s necessary to pair NAG with niacinamide to get any skin benefits?

  • ngarayeva001

    Member
    October 2, 2019 at 9:30 am

    There’s a research saying that 4% of Niacinamide plus 2% of NAG lightens skin. I personally didn’t notice any difference and the research is not completely unbiased (I think it wasn’t conducted by the independent parties). So the answer is, no it’s not a must. I would also add that once you use something as potent as retinol you want to keep other ingredients simple. I added bisabolol as it reduces inflammation and ceramides (but there’s no legitimate research). 

  • ngarayeva001

    Member
    October 2, 2019 at 9:31 am

    By the way NAG is sold by lotioncrafter 

  • DIY_Newbie

    Member
    October 3, 2019 at 1:49 am

    Sorry for the late response.

    Thank you @ngarayeva001 for your feedback.  I will look in grabbing a few ingredients you suggested and make it up.  I appreciate your willingness to give feedback.

  • antmagn

    Member
    October 4, 2019 at 9:35 am

    By the way NAG is sold by lotioncrafter 

    Thank you, they do not send to my country…

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