The home of SwiftCraftyMonkey Formulating Inc.! Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys). Often strange, occasionally useful, and always worth a stop as a point of interest on your journey through the Intertron.
Optiphen – INCI: Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol – is, unfortunately, a bit of a pain in the bum when it comes to lotion making. Yep, it’s another reason your lotion could fail. As a note, I’m hearing that Optiphen Plus (INCI: Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol (and) Sorbic Acid) and Optiphen ND (INCI: Phenoxyethanol, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid) are curdling...
I see recipes all over the web for lotions that forget something very very important: Heating and holding. This process is not optional: It’s essential. And it’s the other major reason lotions fail. The summary of heating and holding is this…We heat and hold our separate heated water phase and heated oil phase for 20...
One of the main reasons lotions will fail is due to improper use of emulsifiers. As I mentioned yesterday, you want to make sure you are using a suitable, all-in-one emulsifier that fits the requirements of your lotion. For instance, if you wanted to make a body lotion with a 30% oil phase, and you...
When you are making a lotion, it is essential that you choose a good emulsifier that will work with the recipe you want and use it in quantities that will guarantee a great emulsification. In general, the lotion fails I see that relate to emulsifiers are all about not using enough or using the wrong...
The most common question I’m asked is “why did my lotion fail?” I thought we’d take a few days to look at the various ways a lotion could fail and how to fix it. What is a lotion? (From Back to to the very basics: Lotion making!) A lotion is an emulsified product. It can...