Question on Vitamin B3 and Lotion Seperation

[phoenixL]

Hi,

I have been making lotion using the same recipe for a few times already. I did every now and then add additives such as myristyl myristate, silk amino acids etc and also use different butters and oils with no problem (provided that I use oils at 35%). I use naturemulse as my emulsifier and had no problem previously.

The last time I tried, I did three things I haven't done before.
1. I used babassu oil for the first time and add to other oils I have used before.
2. I also used lime water instead of distilled water. Now I have done this before in lotions with no problem but not in this specific formula.
3. I also added vitamin B3 (niacinamide) as an additive for the first time and added during the water phase as instructed.

Now, no matter how I tried, it just didn't emulsify. I made sure that the water and oil have the same temperature. What would have caused this? Vitamin B3? If so, how can I add niacinamide in my lotions.

I also have two additional questions.

1. I noticed that when I make cream/lotion, it has air holes in it and it doesn't look good in the container since it doesn't have complete smooth appearance.
2. I add gold mica but somehow it doesn't show the sparkles much though I thought i put enough. For 6 oz of cream, how many oz of gold mica to have the sparkles show up? Can temperature or PH change the sparkle properties?

 

[MychelleC]

Natramulse (Glyceryl Stearate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate) is sensitive to ph. It can exhibit ph drift and can become unstable in an alkaline or overly acidic environment. It is also best used with a water phase stabilizer, such as xanthan gum, and can be sensitive to cationic ingredients. It's possible the inclusion of lime water and niacinimide created a ph environment that the Natramulse can't function well in. Just an idea!

As for air bubbles, try stick blending only briefly at emulsion and then very breifly at cool down, or even hand stirring at cool down (if your emulsion isn't stable by then it won't be). I know, I hate the air bubbles! Not sure about the mica.