Confused...

[crafty86]

I went to make a foot cream last night.

I used aloe - which I THOUGHT was water based...maybe I'm wrong on that but I'm pretty sure someone told me I would have to use a preservative because the Aloe is water based....I guess I'm confused on how that works as I was going to use it as my "water" part of the recipe. I mixed and mixed and it just looked like oil and the ewax was kinda on top...just like when I make my regular lotion...so I added just a little bit of water to see what would happen and wa la! I'm soooo confused...should I have still included water in my recipe?

I did -

50% Aloe
20% Shea
10% Cocoa
8% Almond Oil
6% Wheat Germ Oil - which smells SOOOO weird
5% Sunflower Oil
.5%Vit E
.5%Liquid Germall Plus

Any ideas? Or am I totally wrong about the aloe?

 

[Lindy]

When you say Aloe do you mean Aloe Extract premixed in water or glycerin? Or was it Aloe Gel?

 

[crafty86]

I ordered it from Wholesale Soap Supplies. It says Aloe Vera - Golden. It's not a gel...it's rather runny. But I'm pretty sure it's oil. I guess that means in my shea aloe I wouldn't need a preservative because there is no water.

 

[Earthchild]

Are you trying to make a water-based cream or an anhydrous balm? At what amount did you use e-wax, as I don't see it in your formula? At 50% Aloe/Water you are getting very close to a water-in-oil emulsion, which will not hold together well with e-wax. If it is a cream you are trying to make I would suggest increasing the water/aloe by 5-10% and using e-wax at a ratio of 25% of your oil phase. If you are trying to make an anhydrous balm skip the aloe unless you are sure it is an oil. Aloe oil is usually aloe in soybean oil, so check the INCI of your product. HTH!