Welcome to the home of SwiftCraftyMonkey Formulating Inc.! Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys)! Here you’ll find over 5,000 posts and formulas written over the past 16 years for everything from lotions, creams, and body butters to hair care products to fancy facial products filled with actives and cosmeceuticals! Enjoy the site without distractions – no ads, pop ups, sponsored posts, affiliate links, “one weird tricks” – all supported by readers like you.
I thought I’d try the light lotion with ceteareth-20 and glycol distearate as the emulsifiers. (I’m using this recipe for my upcoming experiment with Olivem 800, so it made sense to stick with the same recipe!) When made with Polawax or BTMS, this is a very light lotion – almost sprayable – that feels cool...
I figured now that you’ve seen the HLB system in action, it’s time for a summary. The HLB system is designed to make it easier to figure out what emulsifier goes with what lotion. Your oil phase will have a required HLB value, meaning this is the number you need to match with an emulsification...
Mich brings up a very good point that I think needs addressing! Here you have the HLB requirement for dimethicone as either 9 or 10, depending on c.s. It is listed as 5 on both LabRat’s PDF and the Herbarie’s list. (Neither of those specify the c.s.)In the texts I’ve been reading, I keep seeing...
We can, in theory, combine any low HLB and high HLB emulsifiers to create an emulsification system. But there are reasons you might not want to use certain combinations. Perhaps you’re avoiding certain emulsifiers because they contain elements of something you don’t like. Or you can’t get your ingredients reliably or locally. Or you might...
All right, so we did a kinda basic recipe yesterday, let’s look at something more complicated…a body butter filled with various oils and esters and silicones.OUR MODIFIED BODY BUTTER RECIPEWATER PHASE42% water10% aloe vera liquid10% lavender or rose hydrosol2% sodium lactate OIL PHASE10% oils – 5% macadamia nut and 5% safflower oil15% butter of choice...