# Emulsion woes



## Butterbaby (May 8, 2014)

Hi everyone, 

I have been working on a non greasy type body butter/emulsion. Basically I am trying to make the type you 'buy' that's not really a butter but an emulsion.
First real batch was great, almost non greasy but i would like to cut the greasy feeling altogether if I can??? The trouble was with the soy lecithin. I found I had to use 25%, 5% over the recommended high in order to cope with the amount of water I used which was approx 40% of the mix, is this normal?. I decided given the ratio and the expense that I would try carnauba wax for the second batch and stumbled upon more problems, firstly, it's more greasy that lecithin, secondly even the highest recommended amount didn't even come close to binding the ingredients and I have found water seeping out as soon as I stop mixing....yet the more carnauba I add the oilier it gets.

I was wondering if I would have the same troubles with E-Wax? At least with the soy lecithin it stretches the mass without making it greasier? Tapioca doesn't even come close to taking out the level of grease that I want to remove.I am using Cocoa butter, shea, jojoba, hemp, argan oil, vit E, aloe, EO and glycerine, way more solid butters than liquid oils.

The other trouble I had was with the second batch the aloe vera separated and went into slimey pieces through the emulsion which I could not even strain out, it literally looked like snot in my butter that refused to blend in even with more than the recommended carnauba.....pardon the graphic.I think I added the aloe too early when the mix was too hot? as I recalled adding the aloe in the first batch when it was already whipped cool.

I really would like some help with the emulsifier and also trying to make this non greasy, like a heavy cream, rather than an oily butter, I think i'm using the entirely wrong things given the outcome I want. Put it this way, when I see photos of body butter it appears to be the consistency that i want,all nice and thick but I want it to go on like the 'popular' brands which i will not mention. and not leave an oily residue.


Thanks in advance for anyone that can help me stop throwing money out the window because i can't even think about how much I have spent experimenting and cannot get it right.


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## lsg (May 8, 2014)

Have you seen this?

http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=body+butter+and+greasiness


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## Butterbaby (May 8, 2014)

Hi, yes I have seen it thanks..

I should probably have mentioned that I make a natural mostly organic emulsion which used to be water free but I can't stand anything oily.


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## Butterbaby (May 21, 2014)

Hi everyone just wondering if anyone can still help me with this.
I made a new batch yesterday, I am still making an emulsion butter. I have used 39% water, 37% cocoa butter&oils and 11.25% olivem emulsifier along with a little guar gum.

I am still getting seepage, either water droplets or oil droplets which are not visible right away but appear to sweat after I am done and the lid is on.I would think that because I am using over the recommended amount of Olivem1000, this would be enough emulsifier?

I have been combining/whipping well until cool.

Also, can anyone recommend a product that can hep me get that lotion/cream feel, i need something natural or organic. My butter is the consistency of Nivea Cream, it's lovely however i don't quite like the 'after feel', I have counteracted any oiliness with tapioca however I feel it hasn't got a nice slip and leave a little bit of oily residue and doesn't give me that moisturized feel.


I started my original recipe with 65% water, 32% butters and oils and 7% Olivem100 emulsifier 2% guar gum  however this was very runny and as soon as I added more butters etc it was again too ily so i added more emulsifier and now I have no slip ( my cream doesn't glide on or leave a soft moisturized feel).:?:

please please help, thank you


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## steliyana (Jan 10, 2015)

How do you dissolve the guar, in oil or water?


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## Dahila (Jan 10, 2015)

You can not make emulsion without the water.  To cut down on greasy feeling chose dry oils or use IPM , it helps.  I use ewax, polawax ,bmts 50, and emulsimulse which is dry feeling emulsifier, and I love body butter with it.  I think ewax is a bit  too greasy for me. 
Aloe vera must be liquid not gel to properly incorporate into lotion 
The droplets of water is separation or maybe condensation if you use proper emulsifier 
.


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## Dorymae (Jan 10, 2015)

For an emulsifier I recommend trying btms50 and ewax.  The btms50 has a soft feeling to it which should counteract some of the greasiness. 

For the second, I would recommend btms50 again BUT it is not what I would consider natural- although it is perfectly safe.


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## IrishLass (Jan 12, 2015)

Have you seen this recipe from LotioCrafter's formulary?:

http://www.lotioncrafter.com/formulary/Body_Butter_Bliss.pdf

It's an emulsified butter based on the Body Shop's 'Body Butter Bliss'. It makes for an awesome emulsified butter and has become my go-to recipe to use whenever feel like making an emulsified butter. If you don't want to invest in buying all the individual ingredients for it, LotionCrafter's sells all the ingredients for it in kit form to make a single batch at a very reasonable price (which is how I became hooked on it).

IrishLass


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## PuddinAndPeanuts (Jan 14, 2015)

If you go to the swiftcraftmonkey site, you'll see that she sells an ebook called Lotion Making 101.  It kicks but.


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## seven (Jan 17, 2015)

IrishLass said:


> Have you seen this recipe from LotioCrafter's formulary?:
> 
> http://www.lotioncrafter.com/formulary/Body_Butter_Bliss.pdf
> 
> ...



i loooveee this recipe! it's also my go to with a lil tweak here and there  it makes an awesome body butter.


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## Dahila (Jan 19, 2015)

seven said:


> i loooveee this recipe! it's also my go to with a lil tweak here and there  it makes an awesome body butter.


Maybe it does but I would never make something with so much ingredients.   Half of that should go.  I find Swiftmonkey ways of making body butters are much safer at least for me


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## seven (Jan 19, 2015)

Dahila said:


> Maybe it does but I would never make something with so much ingredients.   Half of that should go.  I find Swiftmonkey ways of making body butters are much safer at least for me



yes, i agree, a few ingredients are not needed. but the basic formulation is a good one.


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## Butterbaby (Jan 26, 2015)

Dahila said:


> You can not make emulsion without the water.  To cut down on greasy feeling chose dry oils or use IPM , it helps.  I use ewax, polawax ,bmts 50, and emulsimulse which is dry talk feeling emulsifier and I love body butter with it.  I think ewax is a bit greasy for me.
> Aloe vera must be liquid not gel to properly incorporate into lotion
> The droplets of water is separation.



Hi Dahila,

I have ironed out all of the problems with my body butter, organic and natural, nothing synthetic and very proud of it, it's not oily, it's very light and I am getting fabulous feedback from customers, especially in regards to healing skin problems.

You mention the aloe vera...I am not using that in the body butter but I am in the midst of designing an organic body wash for which I want to use aloe.All liquid aloes in Australia look quite expensive and usually have other additives. Is it possible to purchase it 'not full of junk'?


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## Dahila (Jan 26, 2015)

I use organic powdered aloe 1 g makes 199 g of liquid.  It is easy to incorporate into body butter or anything else.  I am always experimenting with body butters due family skin problems.  I noticed that using a few ingredients makes easier to control the effect on skin.  
Congratulation on job well done ) 
I am sorry for the spelling


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