Body lotion

[Victoryaaaa]

Hello! I’ve been making body products for a while, I’ve been trying to make body lotion and I’ve been having problems with it. Separation is a huge problem, I don’t know if I mix too much, my temperatures are not the same or my recipe has errors. Thank you so much!
I’m doing 65% water
7.8% btms 50
6.5 cetyl alcohol
5.2% butters
15% oils
0.3% ophiphen
0.5 essential oil
0.3% vitamin E

 

[MelissaG]

Consider adding a bit of emulsifier. It will combine the water and oils so you won't have separation.

 

[AliOop]

Your percentages exceed 100 so I’m not quite sure what is happening there.

I use ewax as my emulsifier instead of BTMS, so I can’t say if your ratio of BTMS to oils is correct.

For temperatures, you want the combination of water, oils and emulsifier to be at least 170F when you start mixing. To achieve that, I prefer to start with boiling water, and everything else at room temp. However, lots of folks prefer to heat and hold the water in one container, and the emulsifier and oils in another one.

 

[DeeAnna]

@MelissaG -- BTMS is the emulsifier and the cetyl alcohol is a thickener/co-emulsifier. This recipe looks fine -- it should make a stable emulsion with proper method.

OP -- Your recipe should work fine, so my guess is it's your technique. You haven't explained specifically how you made the lotion, so it's anybody's guess at this point about what went wrong. Tou'll need to go into detail about your method to get useful help.

I recommend Anne Watson's book Smart Lotionmaking to learn how to make lotion that is stable and sanitary. The cost of her book is very reasonable for the value you receive. http://www.annelwatson.com/books/Lotionmaking.html

 

[Saponificarian]

I agree with @DeeAnna, this looks like a technique problem. This recipe should make a thick body cream/conditioner. Get both oil and water to about 70 degree Celsius before blending. Optiphen is not very effective against fungi, so something to keep in mind.

 

[Victoryaaaa]

I agree with @DeeAnna, this looks like a technique problem. This recipe should make a thick body cream/conditioner. Get both oil and water to about 70 degree Celsius before blending. Optiphen is not very effective against fungi, so something to keep in mind.

Thank you for your response! I didn’t check temperatures at all, I just melted the ingredientes in a double boiler and heated the water in the same double boiler but didn’t make sure the temperatures where equal. I’ll try again today!

Your percentages exceed 100 so I’m not quite sure what is happening there.

I use ewax as my emulsifier instead of BTMS, so I can’t say if your ratio of BTMS to oils is correct.

For temperatures, you want the combination of water, oils and emulsifier to be at least 170F when you start mixing. To achieve that, I prefer to start with boiling water, and everything else at room temp. However, lots of folks prefer to heat and hold the water in one container, and the emulsifier and oils in another one.

Thank you so much for your answer! Is really helpful. I’ll try again today with this tip.

@MelissaG -- BTMS is the emulsifier and the cetyl alcohol is a thickener/co-emulsifier. This recipe looks fine -- it should make a stable emulsion with proper method.

OP -- Your recipe should work fine, so my guess is it's your technique. You haven't explained specifically how you made the lotion, so it's anybody's guess at this point about what went wrong. Tou'll need to go into detail about your method to get useful help.

I recommend Anne Watson's book Smart Lotionmaking to learn how to make lotion that is stable and sanitary. The cost of her book is very reasonable for the value you receive. http://www.annelwatson.com/books/Lotionmaking.html

Thank you so much for your response! I think my mistake was not checking temperatures at all. I just double boiled the oils and emulsifier in one container and the water in another one without making sure my temperatures where correct.
I’ll try today again! Thank you again.

 

[DeeAnna]

Lotion making isn't something I do casually -- temps and method are important for success.

I was also wondering if you were using a stick blender or using a less-intense mixing method. That can make a big difference.

And @Saponificarian is right -- Optiphen isn't a reliable broad-spectrum preservative. A beginner-friendly, reliable alternative is liquid Germall Plus.

 

[cmzaha]

I agree with DeeAnna and Saponificarian, with the Optiphen, I would never consider it as a singular preservative, and yes lotion making is nothing to take lightly when making. Ironically if you continue having separation problems try upping your liquid to 70% and be careful not to overheat your BTMS 50 or you will never get rid of the fishy odor from it. I would cut down the BTMS and or split it with another emulsifier. BTMS 50 and even 25 can be a funny animal to play with and more is not necessarily better. I usually used Stearic Acid with BTMS and Ewax. If you just made your lotion you could reheat it right up to the optiphen max temp add in more water ST and see if it comes together then add in another preservative. But do not do this if you do not have another preservative on hand since you want to preserve it as quickly as possible. Lotion just is not as easy to make as some think.

 

[Victoryaaaa]

Lotion making isn't something I do casually -- temps and method are important for success.

I was also wondering if you were using a stick blender or using a less-intense mixing method. That can make a big difference.

And @Saponificarian is right -- Optiphen isn't a reliable broad-spectrum preservative. A beginner-friendly, reliable alternative is liquid Germall Plus.

Yes! I use stick blender first and when is cooling I mis with a spatula.
Awesome, I’ll change to German plus. Thanks for evertything

I agree with DeeAnna and Saponificarian, with the Optiphen, I would never consider it as a singular preservative, and yes lotion making is nothing to take lightly when making. Ironically if you continue having separation problems try upping your liquid to 70% and be careful not to overheat your BTMS 50 or you will never get rid of the fishy odor from it. I would cut down the BTMS and or split it with another emulsifier. BTMS 50 and even 25 can be a funny animal to play with and more is not necessarily better. I usually used Stearic Acid with BTMS and Ewax. If you just made your lotion you could reheat it right up to the optiphen max temp add in more water ST and see if it comes together then add in another preservative. But do not do this if you do not have another preservative on hand since you want to preserve it as quickly as possible. Lotion just is not as easy to make as some think.

Thank you so much for your comment. Is really helpful!

 

[AliOop]

Yes! I use stick blender first and when is cooling I mis with a spatula.
Awesome, I’ll change to German plus. Thanks for evertything

I use the stickblender even as it cools. I really like to make sure my preservative is well-mixed, and that the emulsion holds.

Also, I do think you should double-check your percentages. They add up to 100.6 and should be an even 100.

 

[Maple_Street_Bath]

Also, I do think you should double-check your percentages. They add up to 100.6 and should be an even 100.

I think that may be the preservative and vit E oil. I've always calculated my recipes as ingredients - preservative = 100% and then calculate the preservative separately for the total batch. I've seen recipes that also do not include vit E oil as part of the "ingredients". Not saying that either way is right, just how I do it and how I have seen it done, so I wouldn't say the OP's recipe is not correct either.

 

[AliOop]

@Maple_Street_Bath thank you for clarifying. I've always done recipes as 100% including preservative - I wasn't aware that anyone did it differently. One positive of doing it your way is that it certainly makes the math easier, and I'm always all for that.

 

[MelissaG]

@MelissaG -- BTMS is the emulsifier and the cetyl alcohol is a thickener/co-emulsifier. This recipe looks fine -- it should make a stable emulsion with proper method.

OP -- Your recipe should work fine, so my guess is it's your technique. You haven't explained specifically how you made the lotion, so it's anybody's guess at this point about what went wrong. Tou'll need to go into detail about your method to get useful help.

I recommend Anne Watson's book Smart Lotionmaking to learn how to make lotion that is stable and sanitary. The cost of her book is very reasonable for the value you receive. http://www.annelwatson.com/books/Lotionmaking.html

Oops, I looked at this real quick at like 4 am last night lol. Guess my brain wasn't in full functioning mode. Sorry.