[Dreamer77]

I work with penetration enhancers a long time and never had any particular problem ie skin irritation, rushes. 

Penetration enhancers could be divided into two groups. 

1. Synthetic 
2. Natural

1.Synthetic: DMI (dimethil isosorbide), Ethoxydiglycol, Ethanolic Compounds, Azone, DMSO, MSM, Isopropyl Myristate are among the best there are with DMI being the most expensive one followed by Azone. Azone is the most recent one and looks very promising as it was specifically designed to do just that: facilitate the entrance of actives (both hydro and lipophilic) into the skin. DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) is very strong and effective but avoid it for face-creams, only for topical use like pain relieve emulsions. Ethoxydiglycol works both as a penetration enhancer and as a solubiliser being capable to solubilise both lipo and hydrophilic actives. 

2. Naturals: here the list is very wide as there are many oils that have penetration enhancing capabilities along with essential oils and a few solids/dry extracts. Jojoba oil, Olive oil, Macadamia oil, Emu oil etc. Oils rich in Oleic and Palmitic Acid are good for both feeding the skin and carry along actives into the skin. Jojoba and Macadamia oils are the best for penetration enhancers. Also, essential oils are very good penetration enhancers as they are rich in terpenes. Most powerful ones are the essential oils of Black Cumin and Wintergreen. However they smell weird and as a result they cannot be used for face emulsions even at low concetrations (wintergreen gives a burning sensation as it contains high levels of camphor) . Other EO with good penetration enhancing capabilities include Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Lemongrass, Peppermint, and the list is quite big. The problem with EOs is that they smell and as a result they can be used only at low concentations. I have created and tested emulsions for face applications containing TeaTree oil with concentration up to 1%. No side effects were ever reported. The emulsions were for acne, the TeaTree oil worked as an antiseptic, an antibiotic, a penetration enhancer. 
 A-bisabolol  natural-derived (there is synthetic too but less potent) is known for being both good antinfiammatory and penetration enhancer. Urea also is good for penetration enhancer and humectant but in concentrations over 5%.Among the dry extracts that can work as a penetration enhancer is the dry extract from Sabinsa-Tetrahydropiperine, it is the dry extract of Black Pepper I think, purified. It contains at its purest form the substance that gives pepper its burning sensation, however Tetrahydtopiperine does not give any burning sensation as it is used at very low concentrations 0.1% and it enhances the entrance of hydrophilic actives. Capsacaine or Capsicum (dry extract of Red Pepper or Chilly) also is good for penetration enhancer but only for body applications as it is well known for how it burns. Finally, a-lipoic acid can be used as a penetration enhancer but at concentrations over 2%. The main problem would be that it has a bad smell and it would give yellow colouring on the emulsion. 

[Dreamer77]

I have used Pentavitin at 5% in many formulations with 0 issues. My clients love it. You can also use sorbitol additionally and avoid the stickiness of glycerine. Also, you can use a cationic type of humectant, Cola P200, that binds on the skin (being cationic) and has bigger humectant capacity compared to glycerine and no stickiness. 

[Dreamer77]

GabyD said:

@ngarayeva001 Thanks, that’s very kind of you to say. Is the formula really that bad 😮 ?

Sorry for my intervention but I saw your formula and to me it looks cheap, I saw later that you speak of loses around 100K. In order to make this formula I would need to spend about €2000,00 for every 100kg batch. The most expensive ingredient on your list is the Aloe Vera powder (I would imagine it is 200x). For “natural” and “green” preservatives I would use Spectrastat/Lexfeel GMCY by Inolex  or Dermosoft OMP / GMCY by Dr. Straetmans. There is one more that I cant recall the name of and is derived by the Japanese Honeysuckle and costs about €200,00/kg

[Dreamer77]

Problem solved… Raised the emulsifier level and it thickens very good. 

[Dreamer77]

Thanx for the input. I did replace the glyceryl stearate SE with the one you suggested. I did a couple of other modifications as well. First I removed completely cetearyl alcohol as I was using it for stabilizing the formula. Rheosol does the same job. I also raised the level of glyceryl stearate. Now I am going to try and see if the addition of cetyl alcohol will help. I have stabilized the formula, I am trying to thicken it up so as to fit it into a glass jar instead of an airless container. 

[Dreamer77]

Hello, I am a Pharmacist and Cosmetics Formulator, I specialize in formulating expensive custom formulas mainly for face and body care. I am trying to create the perfect formula for the face as I work mainly with high-end materials only. I am almost done with my formula and sometime within the next two months I am planning to throw it in the market.