Homemade face cream leaves waxy gunky layer on skin

[seventh77]

I made a thick face cream, but after I massage it into my skin for a while, it can start to "pill," but in a gunky, gooey, waxy sort of way, not a dry flakey sort of way, and creates a gunky/waxy mess that can't be massaged in and has to be wiped off. This also happens when I put a layer of some other cream over or under it and try to massage it in. Why is this happening? Which ingredient of mine is creating a waxy layer on top of my skin that can't be massaged in, and that forms into a gunky waxy mess if I try to rub it in?

My face cream recipe:

Water phase:
Water: 65.4%
Aloe concentrate (40:1 ratio): 0.5%
Panthenol (powder): 5%
Caffeine (powder): 0.5%

Oil phase:
Jojoba oil: 5.5%
Virgin coconut oil: 5%
BTMS-50: 6.5%
Cetyl alcohol: 6.5%

Cool down phase:
Honeyquat: 2%
Lecithin: 1.5%
Vitamin E: 1%
Cosmocil CQ: 0.5%
Potassium sorbate: 0.1%

The oil and water phases are held at 70C for 20 minutes, and then added together and mixed almost continuously until the cream reaches 45C, at which point I add the cool down phase ingredients. The cream is always smooth and has no texture problems during this entire process. I also made a hair conditioner that is very similar, except without the lecithin, coconut oil, vitamin E, and caffeine, and with different amounts of the other ingredients. I used the hair conditioner as a face cream to see if it turned into a gunky-waxy mess like my face cream, and it did, so that rules out lecithin, coconut oil, vitamine E, and caffeine. Any assistance or advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you,
~Toby

 

[krissy]

perhaps it is the jojoba since that is a wax technically?

 

[Soapy Gurl]

I have used jojoba straight on my skin and it absorbs wonderfully, but mixing it, who knows. What is BTMS-50? I haven't heard of it, but I don't make my own lotions.

 

[seventh77]

It's not the jojoba oil. It may technically be a wax, but in order for it to solidify enough to create a waxy layer on my skin, my body temperature would have to be closer to fridge temp.

BTMS-50 is a cationic emulsifier.

I just made a lotion with only water, shea butter, BTMS-50, and cetyl alcohol, and so far there's none of the weird waxy layer gunkiness, so I'm pretty sure the issue is the honeyquat—it is, after all, a humectant that creates a barrier on the skin that resists wash off unless soap is used.

 

[Sanguine]

Could it be you used to much btms?
You use 25% emulsifier on the amount of oils you have. That's the common thing that I read, I'm not sure if that incluids the thickener. But even if it does you have to much. With the thickener you should have used 4.25% btms. But I'm just a beginner in the lotion making world so I'm not so sure, but I have read a lot from swiftcraftymonkey's blog.

If the btms isn't the reason; I still have another idea:
Years ago, I fell a sleep on the beach (40 degree celcius) in tenerife. My back had 2nd degree burns, the locals adviced to use aloe vera (just take of a piece from the plant and slice it in 2). It did Miracles! Now the point to this story is: when I used it it was very, very gooey and when it dried it became flakey (and it smelled...), also I never worked with a concentrate, or rdad much about it, but this might be the problem.
Try making your cream without it and see what happens?