Making Emulsified Body Butter. Help!!!

[TheClassicModern]

Newbie here:
I've been doing some research on making a body butter that has water. But I'm a bit confused on how to calculate the formula. When using "emulsifying wax" should the percentage be included in the total weight of the recipe or do I add the recommended percentage after I have my desired total weight?

Ex: If my recipe is 8 oz, should the emulsifying wax be a part of the 8 oz or once I have the my 8 oz of water, butters & oils then add the calculated percentage of the wax?

I hope this makes sense...

Thank you

 

[DeeAnna]

The e-wax weight should be included in the total. It adds bulk and weight to the batch, so you wouldn't want to not include it.

You calculate the emulsifier weight based on the weight of the fats, thickeners, and other fat-soluble ingredients, not the total weight. You wouldn't want to include the water-soluble ingredients.

 

[TheClassicModern]

Thank you for helping.

So, based off of 8 oz, if 70% is water (5.6 oz) and 20% is butter & oil (1.6 0z) the weight of the emulsifier is calculated off of the butter/oil 20% (1.6 oz)?

 

[dixiedragon]

Check out this tutorial from brambleberry:
https://www.brambleberry.com/articles/how-to/art0002-create-homemade-lotion-recipes.html

You'll notice it's all about ranges:
70-80% Distilled Water
3-6% Emulsifier
3-5% Co-Emulsifier (such as stearic)
8-23% Oils and Butters
1% Preservative

My thick lotion/cream (probably not as thick as body butter)

The dimethicone is to give it a certain silky texture that I like, it's not required. Even more so than soap, lotion is as much art as science. Also, the temperature and humidity where you live makes a big difference. I think of body butter as being more of a winter/cold weather item, so mine would get melting/mushy in hot weather, because I want it to be soft enough to be easy to use in cold weather. If I wanted something thicker than my thick lotion, I'd gradually subsitute liquid oils for thick/solid oils. I like meadowfoam and/or hemp oil a lot for their fast absorption which helps give a less greasy feeling...but everything else is up for grabs.

 

[TheClassicModern]

Thank you. I'm going to follow Brambleberry's method until I'm familiar with the entire process before I try to branch out and create my own.

 

[DeeAnna]

...if 20% is butter & oil (1.6 0z) the weight of the emulsifier is calculated off of the butter/oil 20% (1.6 oz)?

Yes, that's how I would do it, if the butters and oils were the only fat-soluble ingredients. The rough rule of thumb often used is to calculate the emulsifier at about 25% of the fat soluble ingredients.

I often use the emulsifier based on 20% of the fat soluble weight. That works well, especially if I have a thickener in the recipe. If you do use a thickener such as cetyl alcohol or stearic acid, then the % for the thickener also needs to be included in the weight of fat soluble ingredients. Silicones should probably be included as well, because they are also fat soluble ingredients.

Looking at Dixie's recipe --

coconut 92 g
apricot 34.5
avocado 34.5
shea 46
stearic 46
dimethicone 23
total fat soluble ingredients = sum of above = 274 g

Using the rule of thumb I mentioned above, what is the emulsifier weight at 25% of the total fat soluble ingredients?

Emulsifier = 25 / 100 X 274 = 69 g

Dixie is only using 46 g of emulsifier, which is about 17% of the fat soluble ingredient weight. That jives close enough with my experience that about 20% emulsifier works well.

Obviously Bramble Berry does it differently, and that's okay. Diffr'nt strokes for diffr'nt folks.

 

[Andujarbeautyswag]

Hello newbie here, I’ve been trying to create my own formula and have been having so many issues with doing so. Does anyone have tips and pointers on how to create your own formula, could anyone possibly walk me through the steps on how to do so?

 

[AliOop]

Thi

Hello newbie here, I’ve been trying to create my own formula and have been having so many issues with doing so. Does anyone have tips and pointers on how to create your own formula, could anyone possibly walk me through the steps on how to do so?

Hi there, this thread is almost two years old, so you will probably get a better response if you start a new thread to ask your question. It’s also helpful if you post the full recipe(s) that you have tried, with results, so folks can help you troubleshoot.