I have been making soap and lotion for nearly 20 years but suddenly my last two batches of lotion have been like water. I can not get them to thicken no matter what I do. Can Stearic Acid go bad? I cant think of anything else that could have happened.
thin lotion
- Thread starter svbcaz
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Without more information, we can't help. YOU know what you did, but all we know at this point is that your recipe probably has stearic acid in it. That's not much to go on, so give more details about your recipe and your method, please. And why do you think the stearic acid is the problem?
Dahila
Well-Known Member
Stearic acid has a long shelf life, There is a thousand things that can go wrong in lotion. I make them for so many years and had a fail not long ago
There are certainly many reasons a lotion can fail. Without more information and whether you changed even one ingredient or percentage no one can help troubleshoot.
I cant think of anything that I have changed. I am always tweaking the oils I use a tiny bit but have never had 2 fails in a row. Its the stearic acid that thickens it all, right??
I may have to try another brand. I think the one I have is new and I have only used it in these last two batches.
I may have to try another brand. I think the one I have is new and I have only used it in these last two batches.
kchaystack
Supporting Member
IT is both the stearic acid and the emulsifier that thickens the lotion. Also solid oils like cocoa butter or shea butter can help thicken.
Like Deeanna said, if you don't tell us the ingredients and go thru your process step by step there is no way for us to point out what happened.
Do you heat and hold? If so for how long? Do you use an immersion blender to mix everything? How long do you mix? How old are your ingredients?
Did you change your emulsifier or oil percentage, cut out a butter etc? on. As for your stearic acid it has a very long shelf life if kept in a cool dry location. I recently used some stearic that is over, at least, 8 yrs old and it was just fine. It was included a a batch of destash supplies. Sorry none of use can blindly help, we need all the details including temps.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
??? Recipe please. :neutral:
Hellloooo??? You've had several polite requests for your method and recipe. You gotta work with us here.
Trust me when I say no one here is going to copy your recipe, especially a troublesome one. We all have our own working recipes and do not need to copy someone else's, but we simply cannot help when blinded from having no information
Dahila
Well-Known Member
This is crazy there is not recipe someone else is not making, There is only so much you can do with lotion 
) I find it naive to ask for help and not to give the complete formula, maybe next lotion will not fail. BTW I had never tried nice lotion with stearic acid, except thick foot lotion
:evil:
) I find it naive to ask for help and not to give the complete formula, maybe next lotion will not fail. BTW I had never tried nice lotion with stearic acid, except thick foot lotion:evil:
kchaystack
Supporting Member
Guys, we need to calm down - this is a new person - and they might not be sitting online waiting to receive our collected wisdom. Give them 24 hours or so to respond again.
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I will agree here.
This is crazy there is not recipe someone else is not making, There is only so much you can do with lotion
:evil:
I want to give stearic acid one more shot. I need light oils and I'm thinking 80% water. Nut oils are still not an option.
I have to agree with Dahila, I only use and like Stearic Acid in my very thick lotions, not in any of my light lotions
Do you use any butters in your recipes? I only ask because even my spray on lotion has cetyl alcohol. For a thin lotion I find the emulsifier makes a big difference, and butters make a difference between a thin and thick lotion. My lotions never get butters only my emulsified butter type lotions contain any butters.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
I agree with Carolyn and Dahila. I only use stearic acid in creams -- and lotion for the feet. My basic HLB lotion formula contains 2% butter, 10% oils. The Ewax NF I use contains cetyl alcohol, so I don't add any to that.
It's all good!
ETA: Oopsie. I got cornfused. My Ewax NF from Lotion Crafter - INCI: Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Polysorbate 60
Dahila
Well-Known Member
Cmzaha, try cetyl esters for your spray on lotion, You going to tell me that it works perfectly, For spray on I would use Lotionpro 165 and cetyl esters, I use stearic in syndet shampoo bar
Most of my lotions at lest the facial ones, do not contain butters
I am with Cmzaha all the way :bunny:
I use stearic in syndet shampoo barMost of my lotions at lest the facial ones, do not contain butters
I am with Cmzaha all the way :bunny:
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I will definetly try cetyl esters in my spray lotion. As for Lotionpro the emulsifiers I used were the same as Lotionpro 165 which I later found out. I have a shelf full of different emulsifiers and it was a combo I tried and like. Later I discovered it was the same ingredients as the Lotionpro 165. I am not trying to say my percentages were the same but it worked out very nice. I also use stearic acid in my shampoo bar (syndet), because it was the only way I could keep them from mushing upCmzaha, try cetyl esters for your spray on lotion, You going to tell me that it works perfectly, For spray on I would use Lotionpro 165 and cetyl esters,
Most of my lotions at lest the facial ones, do not contain any butters
I am with Cmzaha all the way :bunny:
