A lotion making question... again!

[Tracy von Elling]

By the way, have you had any issues with keeping the lotion emulsified? Jane Barber recommends including disodium EDTA and xantham gum in the formulation (xantham gum to help the emulsifier and Edta I think it was to help the preservative?)
When I started making lotion, I wrote a blog post that included one of the first facial moisturizers for dry skin formulations I made based on that. It made a thick consistency cream, so I have reduced the butters to 2% now, but just in case you are curious about the percentages for the other ingredients:
https://soapsbyglenda.wordpress.com/2018/05/29/making-lotion-how-different-is-it-from-soap-making/

Thankfully, the two times I have made lotion it has stayed emulsified. I guess I can be thankful that has worked. I maybe thought it was oily because of how I made it but I follows Humbelbee and me's method with heat and hold and was careful so thankfully it worked. Just the oiliness and the draggy feeling when I apply it. Thank you for attaching this blog post. I'm going to go and read it when I have sent some of these replies. I appreciate the help!

 

[Tracy von Elling]

E-wax doesn't create an oily feel. I agree with the others -- it's the high % of butters and perhaps your choice of sweet almond oil. Those are the choices that are leading to an oily-feeling lotion.

One light feeling oil that's not too hard to find is the liquid coconut oil that some groceries and Walmart sell nowadays. It's a water-clear liquid at room temperature, not the coconut oil that's a solid at room temp. It might also be called MCT (medium chain triglycerides) oil. MCT oil feels light and silky. If you don't like it for lotion, you can cook with it.

Test each of your fats directly on the skin and see how they feel -- if a dab of, say, plain olive oil feels overly heavy and greasy, then maybe you don't want to use any or limit it to a small percentage of the total fat. Once you identify the fats that you like, then maybe blend a few drops of each of the fats in the proportions you want to try and test that fat blend directly on your skin. See how you like it.

To give you an example, I wanted to make a lotion with rosehip oil, but this oil feels heavy and greasy to me. I did some test batches and found if I limited it to 20% of the total fat and blended it with other oils that were light feeling, the lotion was very nice.

Also, the recipe you used has only 60% water, not counting the glycerin. That's closer to a heavy cream than a lotion. Raising the water content closer to 80% can also reduce the greasy skin feel. If your goal is to make a general purpose lotion, rather than a heavier "intensive care" cream, increasing the water content will also be helpful.

Okay - I am not using sweet almond oil with my next batch. I wish I could make batches smaller than 100mg but I suppose that is pretty small. Good to know E-wax won't make it oily. I have some liquid coconut oil I have used in soap making and to dilute my essential oils for my skin so yay - I have that and will try it in my next batch. I am thinking of making my next recipe just 15% oils and butters to maybe make it lighter so I guess then my water % would go up which is what you suggested. I will do this. And yes, it is more like a heavy cream - very heavy with no slide at all. I wanted to add dimithicone to get the slide. Would that be what I can add? I have so much to learn. I am going to add glycerin for my next batch too. I appreciate the wisdom and help I receive on here. Such an amazing thing. I was very despondent. I tend to get that way and forget how long it took me to perfect soap - which is easier!

 

[Tracy von Elling]

Pumpkin Oil, FCO, and CO butter with Glyceryl Stearate SE will make a really neat not oily lotion that you can vary thickness from a mousse type to a thinner lotion. Although I do not know how thin you can take it, I make it a tad thick. Pumpkin Oil is a dry oil easily found on Amazon for the best price I found.

I haven't heard of pumpkin oil! I will have a look on Amazon. I am in Canada and sometimes there is more available on Amazon.com but I'll find it. Thanks. May I ask what is glycerol stearate is? Is it in place of cetyl alcohol and a thickener. I can also google it. Thanks for the help!!

 

[Tracy von Elling]

Susan loves oily products and says so often on her blog. So she would lean towards olive over macadamia nut.

Hope

I know a few people who prefer oilier lotions. I'll keep that in mind. I know if I make it for gifts I may want to keep some of the lotion oilier. Canada Alberta right now is so dry. My home has 11% humidity. Oof - so dry compared to where I am from in South Africa where it was SO humid!

 

[Tracy von Elling]

Hi, I can't stand oily lotions. This is my recipe. It absorbs quickly and isn't oily at all. I never add fragrance to anything, so can't help if you want to do that
Water 75.0%
Polawax GP 200 5.0%
Almond 4.0%
Avocado 4.0%
Coconut 4.0%
Stearic Acid 4.0%
Eve Primrose 3.0%
Euxyl PE 9010 1.0% (Preserve)

Oh thank you. Going to add this to my book! Can I use E-wax with this recipe and my preservative (germall)? I know it's a broad spectrum preservative but because I'm so new at this I don't want to make a mistake with using the wrong preservative. Thank you for this!!

 

[cmzaha]

I haven't heard of pumpkin oil! I will have a look on Amazon. I am in Canada and sometimes there is more available on Amazon.com but I'll find it. Thanks. May I ask what is glycerol stearate is? Is it in place of cetyl alcohol and a thickener? I can also google it. Thanks for the help!!

Glyceryl Stearate SE is an Emulsifier that is available from New Directions Aromatics, and Glyceryl Stearate SE Blend All Sizes, it will make a nice thick lotion. As for CO DeeAnna mentions MCT from Walmart which is Fractionated Coconut Oil and some grocery stores also carry it, it is not the coconut oils we make so with. FCO is a much lighter oil. Avocado Oil is a heavy oil that is a tad more oily. Sunflower Oil is lighter and absorbs nicely. I do not find Cocoa Butter to be as oily in lotion as Shea Butter, if you want a butter Illipe, or Kokum in small percentages are also nice. Keep in mind it can be nice to use dual preservatives. Optiphen Plus and Germall Plus have always worked out well for me.

 

[Arimara]

This is such a good idea about trying it on my skin first! I will do this. I am thinking, wouldn't all butters feel oily though. I know I would be checking to see if my skin likes it or if it absorbs well. Thank you for this and for the oil suggestions. I did use sweet almond oil so maybe it was the butter or maybe my skin didn't absorb the sweet almond oil well. I will try some others. Thanks again!

Not necessarily. Different butters feel different on skin. Mango butter absorbs very well and does not feel as greasy as shea butter can. It even beats cocoa butter in that regard. I have not had a chance to play around with other butters though.

 

[cmzaha]

Testing is why I recommend small batches until you find what you like. I was never fond of Mango butter in most products because of graininess so really never purchased it. It really should be nice in lotion and no graininess issues.

 

[Hope Ann]

I would suggest subscribing to Swift Crafty Monkey blog. There is a wealth of information in there and you'll learn how to select the right ingredients because you'll learn what each brings to the table. For example, some emulsifiers are more dragging that others. Some preservatives don't play well with some emulsifiers. There are TONS of different butters and carrier oils and they all bring different qualities. Lots of additives you can put in lotion, and SCM blog will explain many of them.


My fave butter is shorea (sal) but I haven't used it in a lotion yet. Very dry and even crumbly.

Hope

 

[cmzaha]

This is another great resource for making lotions that is easier to follow than Swift Crafty Monkey's blog
Learn to Make Natural Lotion, Cream, Moisturiser & Body Butter

 

[AyurLife]

Hello, Regarding lotion making formula for Oily skin type, can I use equal quantity of Jojoba, grapeseed and coconut oil or either any of two oils in my 20% portion of oils? Thank you in advance.

 

[glendam]

Hello, Regarding lotion making formula for Oily skin type, can I use equal quantity of Jojoba, grapeseed and coconut oil or either any of two oils in my 20% portion of oils? Thank you in advance.

Are you doing a body lotion or face lotion?
Either way, I would not use grapeseed oil because of its short shelf life, only oils with a shelf life of one year at least are recommended for lotions.
Coconut oil is not advised for oily skin either.
jojoba would work. Other oils that would work for oily skin are macadamia or hazelnut (this was from an online class I saw from Jane Barber).

 

[AyurLife]

Are you doing a body lotion or face lotion?
Either way, I would not use grapeseed oil because of its short shelf life, only oils with a shelf life of one year at least are recommended for lotions.
Coconut oil is not advised for oily skin either.
jojoba would work. Other oils that would work for oily skin are macadamia or hazelnut (this was from an online class I saw from Jane Barber).

I really appreciate your quick and satisfactory reply glendam, more focus is on Facial Lotion only. Two reasons why I am asking is bcoz:
1. The Lotion I made giving all excellent intended benefits but causing sweating especially around lips area.
2. Lotion with Grapeseed oil even if used with Preservative has less shelf life? wht abt rosehip oil, anyway your Jojoba oil suggestion will also work for me.
Thank u once again .

 

[glendam]

I asked because for face lotion for oily skin, Jane recommended the oil percentage to be 6%. The 20% was recommended for dry skin or body lotion.
The shelf life has to do with oxidation of the oils, not necessarily bacteria or fungi growing on it, which is what the preservative prevents. I have had lotions oxidize, they smell odd.

Rose hip would be nice, I would think, because it absorbs quickly into the skin. It is pricey but it also helps mature skin.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

@AyurLife , though this is not exactly what you asked, I have been using information from the Holistic Health Herbalist, The Complete List of Comedogenic Oils.

Per the information there AND the oils that I use,
the following have a comedogenic rating of 0 and should not clog pores:
Argan Oil
Green Tea Seed Oil
Shea Butter
Shea Oil

The following have a comedogenic rating of 1, have a very slight chance of clogging pores:
Rosehip Seed Oil
Raspberry Seed Oil

The following have a comedogenic rating of 2, and may clog pores for some people:
Jojoba Oil
Mango Butter
Olive Oil
Sweet Almond Oil
Tamanu Oil

The following have a comedogenic rating of 5, and will clog pores:
Cocoa Butter
Coconut Oil (note that Fractionated Coconut Oil is rated 2-3)
Palm Oils

There are many other oils on the list. I only wrote down the oils that I tend to buy.

This may help you in making decisions about what oils to include in a facial lotion.

 

[Purple heather natural sk]

20% oil is more of a cream consistency.
I was taught to make a lotion you want to stay around 7% oils.
I always do a blend, and I never use grapeseed.
My highest % is always coconut, be it frac. Or 76..... this will give long shelf life. Calendula oil is another part of my face lotions, as it is gentle but healing. Jojoba and avocado are in my mix, but a very low %.
Look at your waters to bring in some balance, if you are targeting oily skin ...consider adding some lavender hydrosol to your water %...
Lavender is great for balancing.

 

[AyurLife]

I asked because for face lotion for oily skin, Jane recommended the oil percentage to be 6%. The 20% was recommended for dry skin or body lotion.
The shelf life has to do with oxidation of the oils, not necessarily bacteria or fungi growing on it, which is what the preservative prevents. I have had lotions oxidize, they smell odd.

Rose hip would be nice, I would think, because it absorbs quickly into the skin. It is pricey but it also helps mature skin.

Hello glendam,

Thank u for warning me about the health issue of the lotion, also the modified version of my lotion is now much more better than my previous version with JOJOBA oil and I also added very lil clove and basil oil considering astringent properties. Will further improvise it with only 7% of oils and no butter.

Also can i ask here, Is the oil based gels is the better option for face lotions? Or this is the another topic to discuss?

Thank u again.

 

[AyurLife]

@AyurLife , though this is not exactly what you asked, I have been using information from the Holistic Health Herbalist, The Complete List of Comedogenic Oils.

Per the information there AND the oils that I use,
the following have a comedogenic rating of 0 and should not clog pores:
Argan Oil
Green Tea Seed Oil
Shea Butter
Shea Oil

The following have a comedogenic rating of 1, have a very slight chance of clogging pores:
Rosehip Seed Oil
Raspberry Seed Oil

The following have a comedogenic rating of 2, and may clog pores for some people:
Jojoba Oil
Mango Butter
Olive Oil
Sweet Almond Oil
Tamanu Oil

The following have a comedogenic rating of 5, and will clog pores:
Cocoa Butter
Coconut Oil (note that Fractionated Coconut Oil is rated 2-3)
Palm Oils

There are many other oils on the list. I only wrote down the oils that I tend to buy.

This may help you in making decisions about what oils to include in a facial lotion.

Hello Nona'sFarm,

That is indeed very helpful chart and to learn more about 'Comedogenic Oils'.

thank u for ur time and sharing.

 

[AyurLife]

20% oil is more of a cream consistency.
I was taught to make a lotion you want to stay around 7% oils.
I always do a blend, and I never use grapeseed.
My highest % is always coconut, be it frac. Or 76..... this will give long shelf life. Calendula oil is another part of my face lotions, as it is gentle but healing. Jojoba and avocado are in my mix, but a very low %.
Look at your waters to bring in some balance, if you are targeting oily skin ...consider adding some lavender hydrosol to your water %...
Lavender is great for balancing.

Thank u dear for the information, learning a lot from this forum.

 

[AliOop]

Hello glendam,

Thank u for altering me about the health issue of the lotion, also the modified version of my lotion is now much more better than my previous version with JOJOBA oil and I also added very lil clove and basil oil considering astringent properties. Will further improvise it with only 7% of oils and no butter.

Also can i ask here, Is the oil based gels is the better option for face lotions? Or this is the another topic to discuss?

Thank u again.

I would be very careful adding any clove oil or basil oil to a face lotion. Assuming you added them in the form of essential oils, both of these can be very irritating to skin, even when greatly diluted.