Lotion is a pain

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Mazi -- I stand corrected. I don't know how many times I read the optiphen % and saw it incorrectly as 3.5 grams. I apologize!

Dahlia -- Yes, I agree that 84% water phase in this recipe is higher than what I have made. That is one concern I have about this recipe. I think a higher % of e-wax will be needed to make a stable emulsion, compared with the usual rate of 25% based on the oil-phase ingredients.

When I make a lotion that has 80% water phase, the result is a very light lotion that is good for the face, but too light for the body.
 
Deeanna I had made 80 water only with Bmts-50, and it is an awesome emulsifier, My lotion is very light like mouse , very nice though:)) with addition of Silk Amino acids, simply wonderful:))
I am not even sure Ewax will emulsify it, even if is more. ............it is something I must make to know for sure, next project will be 80 %water with ewax. :)) With that much water it could be also Optiphen destabilizing it..
I agree for face it would be awesome, but body not so much. Especially now when the winter came. Skin tend to dry a lot.:)
I wonder what is this dark color?
 
I was wondering about the color too.

Anyways, i really believe xanthan gum will make a difference if you are making high water lotion, try it and report back :)
 
Since cosmetology is my field, I can assure you that most literature about cosmetic formulation states that water phase needs a stabilizer. If you put the lotion we are talking about through stability testing, it would probably fail. Xanthan is not only thickener, but also stabilizer, its probably the most natural and harmless one. Lotions require a couple of ingredients that dont have any benefit for the skin, they need to be there to make the product usable and safe - think emulsifier, preservative...
 
I use emulsifier (Bmts-50 brings a lot of conditioning to skin) othewise how would you mix oil and water, it does not mix:)) I do not question your knowledge but I had never use xanthan gum, and really I probably have done more than 100 lotions.
 
Dahlia, I have never used xanthan gum either, but I use BTMS-50 which works as an emulsifier. It also acts as an thickener. Or I use e-wax and (cetyl alcohol or stearic acid), either of these work as a thickener.
 
This is probably a "different strokes for different folks" kind of situation.

I think the recommendation for using the xanthan gum might be in response to the very high water content in this recipe. Xanthan gum is a water soluble thickener, so it's going to act somewhat differently and maybe more effectively in this type of recipe than an oil-soluble thickener such as cetyl alcohol and stearic acid and an emulsifier which is also oil-soluble.

I know some liquid soap makers use xanthan gum and other water-soluble thickeners to make their liquid soap thicker. Liquid soap is often pretty high in water, and an oil soluble thickener wouldn't work very well. Perhaps this concept applies to this particular lotion as well.

Just thinking out loud about this.....
 
Oh, I wasn't very clear about the percentages used. I use it about 0,5%, this doesn't really make may lotion thicker (like 4% of cetyl alcohol ar stearic acid does) or slimier (like A LOT of xanthan can do) but it just keeps sensitive emulsion from separating. The skin feel is still the same, the thickness of en product also. But it is a pain to mix it in the water phase though, I only use it when making batches large enough to be thoroughly mixed with stick blender.
 
Ok, finally got to make the stripped lotion and it set up beautifully. Should I try lowering the rose water percentage and making up for it with plain distilled water?
 
I would not use all rose water. My hydrosol usually is 40% of water phase. There go protein, panthenol, SL or glycerin. If you use Honeyquat (love it) use is in cool down phase,:)
I wonder my son complains that the aftershave lotion goes into skin so fast :( jeez he does not know what he talking about. He wants something which stays on skin, some occluding agent. Then butters are not good idea for face, what do you recommend ladies and gentlemen?
I thought it suppose to go into skin:)) my hubby loves that aftershave
 
Thanks Dahilia! I cut it down to just under 40% and only had a tiny bit of separation. I'm going to make it again and try 30%
 
i wonder if we can use lotion on our face. i mean, we make it by ourselves and we do know what kind of ingredients are in it. body butter might be a little bit heavy for face compared with lotion?hmmmm
 
That's actually what I've been making this lotion for mymy :) so far, everyone that has tried it has really liked it
 
okay, I'm the only one left behind. hehe. when i read the word 'lotion' my head automatically translates it as 'body lotion'. thank you hmlove1218 :)
 
i wonder if we can use lotion on our face. i mean, we make it by ourselves and we do know what kind of ingredients are in it. body butter might be a little bit heavy for face compared with lotion?hmmmm
I make face creams it is different a bit than body butter, it is lighter, and I mostly use "dry oils" Macademia, Abyssinian, hazelnut..........
If you want to check it; https://www.facebook.com/danabathandbodycare/
I make my facial products for a very long time, in a month it will be 3 years, and my skin is really good:))
 
Last edited:
I make face creams it is different a bit than body butter, it is lighter, and I mostly use "dry oils" Macademia, Abyssinian, hazelnut..........
If you want to check it; https://www.facebook.com/danabathandbodycare/
I make my facial products for a very long time, in a months it will be 3 years, and my skin is really good:))

your products are gorgeous! i keep scrolling more and more :p
 

Latest posts

Back
Top