Emulsions

Why are we adding some ingredients to the cool down phase? Why do my emulsions lose viscosity when I add some preservatives? How do I make it not lose viscosity? (Part two)

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A close up diagram of a micelle. The oil is in yellow, the emulsifier has a red head, and the OH is the hydroxyl group sticking out into the blue water.

Welcome back to part of two of this short series in which we’re looking at why we might add some ingredients to the cool down phase of a formula. In part one, we looked at why we added hydrolyzed proteins, mixed tocopherols, actives & cosmeceuticals, fragrance oils, and essential oils to the cool down phase...

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Why are we adding some ingredients, like hydrolyzed proteins or preservatives, to the cool down phase? (Part one)

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Three bottles with brown, clear liquid sit on a counter top. These are hydrolyzed proteins.

This is a super great question and one that I don’t think I’ve ever answered all in one post, so let’s look at this now!  Sometimes adding ingredients to the “cool down phase” isn’t just about the temperature! Some of our ingredients are heat sensitive – those that are volatile, like isododecane, fragrance oils, or essential...

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Tips & techniques: Why do we need to add water back to the water phase of an emulsion if it evaporates?

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I was on a Facebook group this weekend where this question was posed, “Do you need to add the evaporated water back to the lotion?”, referring to the water that was lost as we heated and held the heated water phase when making an emulsion. The short answer is heck, yes! The longer answer is...

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Cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, and stearic acid are not emulsifiers! Let’s demonstrate this by looking at molecules and the HLB system

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A diagram showing the molecules for stearic acid, cetyl alcohol, and stearyl alcohol. These have an 18 carbon chain with an acid or alcohol group on the end. Please read the post for more information.

I’ve been asked quite a few times in over the last year or two if Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, and stearic acid are emulsifiers, and the answer is no, they’re structuring agents, oil soluble ingredients that have a required HLB. They are not emulsifiers. They aren’t surfactants. They can’t bring oil and water together to...

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All kinds of information on making cationic (positively charged) emulsions! 

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We touched on this topic a titch in this post – Let’s create a gorgeous dry hair & scalp hydrating conditioner using BTMS-50 with loads of botanicals and actives (includes formula) – but I thought I should share more information here so it’s not lost! The short answer is that cationic (positively charged) emulsions are...

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