Lotion Questions

[beachgurl]

After reading through the boards, I've followed everyone's advice and started out making proven recipes for lotion. However, I'd like to start experimenting with my own recipes and was wondering if there were any proportions or guidelines of which I should be aware. How do I make it runnier .. how do I make it thicker ?? I understand that the e-wax (and several other similar ingredients) pull the oil and the water together, but how do you know the amounts of each ingredient to use? Any advice is very welcome Also, phenonip ... can I use that in any lotion which contains water or is it for certain types of lotion? Same question for Germaben. :?

 

[Deda]

You can use an HLB calculator. HLB = hydrophilic-lipophilic balance.
It's similar to using a SAP value calc, like soapcalc when you make CP soap.


I find it takes most of the guesswork out of lotions and creams and lets me play around more with the properties I want the end product to have. I can be sure that my products will stay emulsified, even a couple years later. Before I started using an HLB calc I had several batches of 'surefire' lotions coming undone less than a year after I made them. Not a pretty site when they start to separate on you.

Snowdrift Farm has some good info on the HLB. It's a good place to start, has lots of basic information on the 'how-to's" of lotionmaking.

I get most of my "part and pieces" for lotion making at Lotion Crafters. They are a great source for emulsifiers, I never let myself run out of their BTMS and Glyceryl Stearate - they are my most used emulsifiers.

 

[beachgurl]

Thanx Deda. There's just so much out there with lotions that it's hard to know exactly where to start :? Very confusing. Thank you so much for the information

 

[beachgurl]

Do you think that this is a decent calculator ??

http://www.lotioncrafter.com/store/HLB- ... 16505.html

 

[garland68]

Do you think that this is a decent calculator ??

http://www.lotioncrafter.com/store/HLB- ... 16505.html

This is the one that I use and it is good. It really takes the guess work out of the emulsion so you can play with the extra goodies you add in.

 

[Deda]

Do you think that this is a decent calculator ??

http://www.lotioncrafter.com/store/HLB- ... 16505.html

This is the one that I use and it is good. It really takes the guess work out of the emulsion so you can play with the extra goodies you add in.

That's it, the very same one. It's so great because you can expand the ingredient list, add different emulsifiers, oil, and any number of other additives. I love that it's in Excel, I can save all my recipes, make notes and keep a testing log for each batch. I played around with the cell values and got mine to give me the INCI ingredient list. All you have to do is add a few commas and the names of your fragrance.

You can also customize it to account for differences in HLB values between brands.

 

[boopie]

Does this calculator account for newer preservatives? I mean, does it do updates?

 

[garland68]

Does this calculator account for newer preservatives? I mean, does it do updates?

It is a spread sheet that you can customise. It is not a program or anything. You can use any oil, any preservative, you just have to update the lists yourself.