Creams/ lotions Calculator????

[dixiedragon]

I think the sticking point of a lotion calculator would be the e-wax. I see sellers call it e-wax, conditioning e-wax, Polawax (which is a specific brand) but there is no recipe or list of ingredients or any type of numerical values on the package that I see. I suppose you could figure out an average of how much oil + water 1 ounce (or 1 gram or whatever) would be emulsified by (some unit of measure) of e-wax.

But then other ingredients do factor in, I think. It's my understanding (and I could be totally wrong here) that solid waxes (beeswax, soy wax), stearic acid and cetyl alcohol contribute to / support emulsification. So I think that if you have a recipe that has stearic and e-wax, and you totally remove the stearic, you would need more e-wax.

 

[Dahila]

Saponificarian, you are bit too low on Ewax you should have 4.7 % to be exact, You probably do not count essential oils, then butters are not good in facial lotion. Maybe babassu a bit of babassu would help to keep it stable, Mango is good for other things, it would clog my pores I do know that Pretty nice lotion BTW
People who make lotion for few years start to know exactly how much to add, what is working what does not.
Dixie I tried and had my first epic lotion fail. I removed cetyl because using BMTS-50 it still should be stable light water lotion, It never thickened at all. I had wasted 500 g of lotions, Now when I make some changes I go with percentage and make juz 100 g to check it for stability and to test it .
It is like DeeAnna said, everything needs different percentage and there is not rule like stable rule.
I have so many to test, right now I am testing with my best friend gel with Fruit aminoacids and it is very light and good, but expensive to make
Nothing exites me more than making lotions

 

[Saponificarian]

Hi Dahila. It goes to show how forgiving Polawax is. I have never figured in fragrance oil or essential oils into my calculations and I have never had a lotion fail. Except the one time I got cheap Polawax from a dodgy website. I don't use E-wax sorry. I love Mango butter in face lotions, face scrub etc. Guess you just have to find out what your skin likes.

ETA: I don't use Cetyl or Stearic acid in my body butter anymore. My oil phase is like 45% with Polawax and I use at least 10% butter so I get my stearic acid from my butters. You just have to experiment to find out what works for you.

 

[Dahila]

Yes polawax is forgiving, I make lotions for a long time, actually started from lotions then went to soap. I use Ewax only in deos or sugar scrubs it is too greasy for me. try to make one lotion with cetyl esters and no butters, you could be surprised how well it works
I stopped using Polawax when used first time BMTS-50, the best of the best and Lotion pro 165 I really know what my face , skin likes

You did not get me at all it must be my English :twisted:

 

[Saponificarian]

Of course Dahila, I totally understand you. What I meant when I said that you have to experiment to know what your skin likes is that each person that wants to make lotion needs to experiment with different oils and butters to know which ones their skin likes.

I have used and still use Cetyl alcohol if my oil phase is 20% or below because it helps with Stability, thickening and glide but because my body butters have all those butters( Like 4) I have found I don't need Cetyl because the butters help thicken, stabilize and help with glide. Especially Illipe and Kokum.

I am actually eyeing Lotion pro and Simulgreen right now.