[Graillotion]

Question is a bit vague….

I’ll toss this out …. as a purveyor of emollients.

Some will leave pronounced skin shine…while others will leave a matte finish or no shine at all.

Hence if shine = glow …. simply switch things up to shine leaving emollients. You don’t need to use more emollients….just those that leave a shine …. if I understand you correctly.

As an example… I had to decide between two awesome emollients …. Dicaprylyl carbonate and Ethylhexyl Isononanoate. They are very similar, but the latter leaves less of a gloss….which is my preference….hence I selected it as the one I keep in the lab.

[Graillotion]

Aloe is water soluble, butters are not.

I think we need a little more detail. How are you combining them?

Aloe, as you know….is magnificent bug food.

[Graillotion]

Well first answer would be …. cationics and silicones. ????

Second answer would be…ingredients with ‘brassica’ in the name. If I recall…..Inolex has some of these tools.

Good luck….you will need it.

[Graillotion]

Note: Most beginner and mid-level (Facebook type) deos….antagonize/conflict with TEC. Not to says there are not 100’s of garbage brands that unknowingly make this mistake….as for the most part, their research involves looking at other folk’s INCI’s.

TEC is a compliment to low pH products, not the high pH products. It only works as an emollient, for products that when combined with skin and sweat, result in neutral and above pH’s.

[Graillotion]

Regarding humectants…you are using them at too high a rate, when you have no emollients to remove the stickiness.

When you add the esters….all of a sudden…the sticky ingredients are no longer sticky. ????

I never use Glycerin about 3% when it is part of a blend.

There is a concept called cascading emollience…. you might even be able to find it…using the search bar here. You can create something greater than the sum of the parts…. using a cascade of different spreadabilities…. going from the super lite…to the heavy veggie oils. Each little break you put in the formula….generally will enhance it. The CCC you mentioned is lighter than veggie oil, but heavier than a number of the emollient esters. In cosmetics…we ask so much of the emollients….(double duty… as they have lots of side jobs they do…solvents…polarity linkers…etc…etc…) it is hard to just say….buy this one or that one. There is also a lot of personal opinion involved as well….since they drive the haptics. Maybe buy something simple…like the IPM…and use that 50/50 with the CCC you already have…for a total of 6% of your formula +/- 1%….and I think the difference will blow your mind. Should feel better….and absorb WAY better. ????

Regarding tocopherol: Really all you need is 100 parts per million….but that is too hard to measure. Use .1% and call it a day. BTW….unless you have oils that really want to go rancid…. you can probably get by with one or the other. I tend to lean more towards ROE more than E. If you look at the industry greats… like ICSC….they choose ROE over E.

[Graillotion]

1) Cannot answer Vit E question…as you did not specify either form….or intent. As you know…one purportedly does something for skin…and another one protects lipids. You would need to clarify.

1b) I don’t like ANY butter in face products. At least for me….face products should me magically light. Butters….not so much. ???? Now if you specified night cream….then maybe so. Butters will increase occlusiveness…as mentioned. As you know…many face products are completely plant oil free….and these are often the ones….that take your breath away when applied. Note: You seem to be missing the whole category of esters….you know….the stuff that makes it feel good…..and the stuff that makes people buy it again!

2) Next question is purely haptic based. No right or wrong answers….only opinion. To me… OM 1000 is a close tie for grossest feeling emulsifier on the market….It feels like a ton of bricks (heavy…in comparison). If you make the same formula with OM 1000 and Mont 202…. you should find that the M202 will make a far lighter feeling result. Granted the M 202 will need some added viscosity builders (fatty alcohols, cetyl esters Myristyl Myristate etc) to give the same viscosity. Sometimes brands will use OM 1000….to balance a formula, but use as the entire structure of an emulsion is rare amongst commercial brands.

2b) The first three you mentioned are all somewhat weak emulsifiers (will get the job done, but will do it better with some help). Montanov’s….which I work with some of the time….benefit greatly with a small kiss of an anionic. Something like SSG, SSL, PCP, GSC, etc. I mostly use SSG (Sodium stearoyl glutamate)…since it can handle a wider window of pH, and a small inclusion rate goes a long way….like .25% (point two five percent) does a lot of good. Marketing BS will always say….they are fine by themselves…but that is the job of the marketing department. (They don’t live with your results.)

Good luck.

For bonus points…. All humectants work a little differently….even at what humidity they work best at. To cover more bases…. consider dividing the humectant duties amongst two different players. Hard to imagine leaving glycerin out of the party. ???? Maybe for a fun rabbit hole to dive down….study which humectants are the best at stimulating aquaporins in your skin?

[Graillotion]

Make sure you realize, T Acetate….does not protect your oils….if that was your goal? Acetate form is used for purported skin benefit. MT-E is for oil protection. They are very different in what they do.

.1% of MT-E …. should be plenty!

For the question you will ask in a few months….. Swap the shea for murumuru…and it will assure your product never becomes grainy. ???? (Check stearic acid levels in Muru…. vs Shea.)

[Graillotion]

If you can get Murumuru that was sourced out of ICSC of Denmark …. you’ll even be further miles ahead. For that matter….all their oils are world class! (I almost don’t use any oil…that is not sourced from them! They are not even playing the same game…as other oil suppliers. I have an odd-ball pain cream that has some oils they don’t carry.)

[Graillotion]

If you can tolerate honesty…. keep reading….otherwise stop now!

I would suggest you take some course work on the topic. It almost appears as though you do not understand the pH of either skin or ingredients. (Even an anhydrous formula will create a pH once it is applied to skin…where it meets up with water.)

If you are bound and determined to sell/produce a product you do not understand….then hire a chemist. You can focus on branding and marketing.

Real chemists do not work for free….they will be an investment. If you are interested….this site has a link to chemists for hire. The free formulas you find on the net….are charging you their correct value. Hint…hint.

Good Luck

[Graillotion]

Leave out the middle two ingredients.

I doubt we can help much. Last time we tackled an internet ‘recipe’ like this….we got called: “guffawing henrys”. You know…the internet knows way more about science, than say….. a scientist.

Read the second of the comments by ‘Pharma’ very carefully…and make sure you understand it!

We’ll see yah next time around…with your new formula. 🙂

You can read the thread here: mixing magnesium Hydroxide and bicarb of soda - Chemists Corner

chemistscorner.com

mixing magnesium Hydroxide and bicarb of soda - Chemists Corner

HelloI am trying to mix the above products but the mag keeps chrystallising, anyone any ideas to stop this happening please?thanks

[Graillotion]

I have heard (not ever used) the benchmark brand will begin to discolor once opened. I would suspect the imposter….will discolor at a slower rate. ????

[Graillotion]

So, in your example….where they are fragrance free….they had no way to hide it. 🙂

[Graillotion]

BTW….this ingredient gets used more often than you can begin to imagine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just most folks will list it on the inci….as…. wait for it…. Fragrance. ????

What do you think is sold to beginners…to keep their vanilla (vanillin) scented products from browning????? (And it always has the inci: fragrance.) One of those little loopholes…. Shhhhhh.

[Graillotion]

Are you fully understanding the aspects of how antioxidants work in emulsions?

Rule # 1 … Day one of cosmetic training. Rule number 1 is….. antioxidants only work in the phase they are soluble in! Hence all the E and ROE in the world….will not touch something that is oxidizing in the water phase (yes this still holds true, when the phases are combined…..they only look combined to your eye…and why they are still referred to as inner and outer phase….even once combined).

So, the ingredients you mentioned….will work wonders…. for ingredients that are water soluble, and thinking about oxidizing.

Take-away….is this does NOT replace E or ROE….but works along side it….in the opposite phase.

Good luck.

[Graillotion]

What is the name of the company, product, and are samples available through UL Prospector?

[Graillotion]

Love the stuff…but it is cationic in an acidic environment.

Are you saying use a loophole…and keep the pH up…where it might not be considered….cationic?

Would it still have the desired properties, in a higher pH range? I have never explored that….as all my work falls on the acidic side of life. ????

[Graillotion]

Many of your countryfolk (as do I), get ingredients here:

Polyglyceryl-3 Distearate (myskinrecipes.com)

myskinrecipes.com

Polyglyceryl-3 Distearate

Use as a water-in-oil emulsifier in various make-up recipes

[Graillotion]

I see you never got around to using the good stuff…in all those years! ????

I learned about a month in….where the good stuff came from. ????

Just went to the lab fridge…and ate some ICSC Murumuru….absolutely delicious….well absolutely flavorless…and completely devoid of scent.

There is a REASON….I always quantify my comments….with the source being the best in the world (ICSC out of Denmark). ???? Wouldn’t let a filthy butter….touch me, from any other company.

[Graillotion]

This forum also has a message board. See top right of your screen….

I will send you a recommendation…. in private. (Of course this is not me!)

[Graillotion]

This is the nature of the beast….when working with natural ingredients….you cannot guarantee you are getting the same thing…batch to batch. Now you know why professional formulas try to stick with synthetic…as you can almost guarantee consistency….decade to decade.

That aside… tempering butters is simply mommy blogger blather…to keep the masses coming back for more…since it solves NOTHING. You can control one melt and set cycle …. but your very next melt cycle….intended or otherwise….allows the stearic particles to reassemble in a new order….maybe good…maybe bad.

So, if you look at your butters…..you have two very VERY high stearic butters (your enemy). So, there are add-ins….to help with this issue but guessing by your INCI…you probably don’t want polyglycerols on the label.

What are your other options? First I would suggest only using the best butters on the planet. This will also give you the most consistent butters (batch to batch) on the market as well. Look into refined butters from ICSC out of Denmark. These folks will bend over backwards to help you. If you cannot buy their MOQ….contact your supplier, and pressure them to buy these better butters.

Secondly….let’s look at stearic levels in butters…. (Note: The cocoa butter bar is wrong…..they have the stearic wrongly marked….so just ignore the cocoa.)

So the purple part of the bar is your problem…..so if you look for alternatives….maybe your eye might drift towards Murumuru…. dang…. almost no stearic….No wonder if feels like magic….instead of stearic gross. A simple swap….will reduce your stearic inputs….and should go miles in alleviating your issue.

Bottom line….1) reduce your stearic levels….and you don’t have to do the ingredient add-ins…for fixing stearic issues. 2) Use the best butters in the world….you will get better consistency (within what nature can offer).

Good Luck

[Graillotion]

Yes….a 6% combined total….as you work through them…start with 3% and 3%…then try 4 and 2…then 2 and 4. 🙂

[Graillotion]

Shea is always one melt cycle away from grainy. You can’t change what it is made of. (You can control how it assembles…when you make it….but out of your hands….next time it melts. Just unbelievable better options…without the stank…and greasiness.

Refined vs unrefined…should make no difference as that process should not change the fatty acid profile. Simply one is gross…and the other is very gross! ????

[Graillotion]

Please understand my comment on branch chained ester….I guess could have a twofold meaning. My primary intent was….they help to ’emulsify’ silicones. However…the concept of replacing them…also fits. Albeit…I am one of those, firmly in the camp of….there are no replacements for silicones (yet). Just good marketing stories for the gullible to consume.

[Graillotion]

Just for bonus points…. You can do something very similar….with just using SSG (Sodium stearoyl glutamate) as a co-emulsifier for any non-ionic primary emulsifier.

Since I really like to root around in the lower pH’s…. it is the darling of the anionics….as pH drops!

My go to anionic supporting leg.

[Graillotion]

Should not be an issue. The ’emulsifiers’ that tend to have issues with moderate electrolytes….are your polymerics……you know… Zen, many carbomers, and Aristoflex AVC.

Aloe is typically only used at trace amounts for claim….as it doesn’t do that much…and is awesome bug food.

Assuming you are adding your HA, post emulsification.

Good Luck.