# Optiphen plus



## Jarrah (Feb 24, 2016)

hi
I have made a rosewater toner and I am trying to use Optiphen plus as the preservative and it seems to go stringy/white/sticky when I add this to the toner. and makes it look like floaties are in it

my ingredients are:
80% rose water (purchased, not made by me)
10% wich hazel
2% Vit E
1% Rose geranium essential oil
6% vegetable glycerin
1% Optiphen plus

this may sound dumb but should I be using an oil or water soluble preservative in roswater? I assumed water soluble, however does it have rose oil in it from the steaming? 

The final product ends up being a mixture of oils and waters so not sure what kind of preservative is best?

thank you


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Feb 24, 2016)

I don't know about the preservative, but I was making an EdT and the essential oils kept coming out of the alcohol and it has to be shaken before use. I tried adding in some emulsifier but it didn't work completely.


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## Arimara (Feb 24, 2016)

I've only used it in creams so I'm horribly lacking in advice in this area.


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## lsg (Feb 24, 2016)

I thought that I remembered reading that Optiphen Plus shouldn't be used with polysorbates, so I looked in Susan's blog.  Susan states that Optiphen Plus can be deactivated by polysorbates .  
You should be able to use Liquid Germall Plus with no problem along with polysorbate 20.

http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=optiphen+plus


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## DeeAnna (Feb 24, 2016)

Your formulation is 96% water-phase, so you have a water-based product. Your preservative needs to be water soluble.

"...Optiphen is suitable for anhydrous formulations and emulsions... Optiphen is not very water soluble and is therefore NOT recommended for all-water products.... For all-water products ... we recommend Optiphen ND." http://www.theherbarie.com/Optiphen.html

The Gent is right -- you are going to need a solubilizer/emulsifier such as polysorbate 80 to get the essential oil and vitamin E to mix with the water phase. 

Properly made hydrosols may contain trace amounts of essential oil, but a true hydrosol should be 99.99% water phase if the distiller has done her job well. Any trace amount of EO in the rose water should not be a great concern. A lot of people think a hydrosol is a mixture of water + essential oil and that's how some makers fake a real hydrosol ... but this is NOT a hydrosol.

ETA -- is the witch hazel the drug store stuff that contains alcohol -- or is it a true hydrosol? If it contains alcohol, that could alter how your ingredients work together. Not saying the alcohol will cause trouble -- just saying it's something to keep in mind.


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## Jarrah (Feb 24, 2016)

thanks for all the input 
I wasn't going to use an emulsifier. I was happy to shake before using. or is this a no no?
optiphen *plus* is a water soluble preservative 
http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/preservatives-optiphen-plus.html
I didn't want to use germal plus because it produces formaldehyde unlike the optiphen plus
I have just read that it may solidify at temperatures below 77F  if this occurs gently heat at 104 to 122F and stir to ensure homogeneity
https://www.ingredientstodiefor.com/item/Optiphen_PLUS/87/
I'm going to heat the roswater and then add the optiphen plus and add the oils after the preservative

doesn't wich hazel naturally contain 14% alcohol?
http://www.whazel.com/content/witch_hazel_usp_specification


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## DeeAnna (Feb 24, 2016)

I missed the plus on the optiphen. My apologies.

Witch hazel can be an extract/infusion or a hydrosol. The extract is much more common and is the usual thing you find in drug stores. But you say you're using rose water which isn't a common item, so that raised the question in my mind whether you are also using witch hazel hydrosol, which does not necessarily contain any alcohol. http://www.naturesgift.com/product/witch-hazel-hydrosol-1-oz/

If you are going to use a water based spray with EOs but no emulsifier/solubilizer, yes, you can shake the mixture and quickly spray. The EO (and vitamin E) will separate out of the mix rather quickly however, so as you use more and more of the mixture, the concentration of the rose geranium EO is likely to increase in the remaining mixture to the point where it could be unpleasant to use. If you are using it yourself, by all means do what you think is best. If you think others may use the product, however, a solubilizer will ensure the product is consistent throughout its useful life.


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## Nanda (Mar 10, 2016)

I would check to see if the rose water and witch hazel already are preserved, they normally are when purchased from suppliers. If that's the case then no need to add any additional Optiphen. Also, try maybe adding a polysorbate (20 should be enough) to solibilize the oils and vit E


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