Beginner's guide to formulating a cream/lotion (+ how to fix soaping effect!)

In this video I aim to show you:
✺ What ingredients are in a typical cream or lotion
✺ How to change the consistency of an emulsion
✺ How to fix the soaping effect experienced with some emulsifiers such as Olivem 1000
I used Olivem 1000 as an example because it is the most popular natural emulsifier out there.

[@missx966]

I have tried many emulsifiers and concluded that the best one for me is Protelan Ens. A perfect silky feeling when you touch your face, and it's also very easy to process because I don't have to heat the water phase

[@OrganicAlchemist]

ooh I haven't tried that one yet! Sounds lovely and will be ordering next. Thanks for sharing :)

[@missx966]

@@OrganicAlchemist try it, i think you will like the feeling on your skin. Protelan ens for face and body and eye cream gel made with PolyAquol 2w is a perfect combination for me. I use only light oils with both, and the skin is perfectly hydrated. I put 1% jojoba oil and 5% green tea extract in PolyAquol and the gel is perfect.

[@rajameenanagappan1180]

Wonderful info. Thank you for sharing

[@OrganicAlchemist]

Glad it was helpful! 😊

[@bea3336]

Very clear information. Thank you for sharing 🥰

[@OrganicAlchemist]

Glad it was helpful to you

[@nirvanaelements]

Really enjoying your videos, great information and clear instructions with a happy outlook, keep going, watching from Australia. Subscribed 😃

[@OrganicAlchemist]

What a lovely message to wake up to! Thank you very much :)

[@emiliedsouza6363]

thank you for such an informative video... very scientific... thank you❤ i would also like to see a video on how to fix air bubbles in a cream... thank you again ... I love the way you explain in detail... ❤

[@OrganicAlchemist]

Hey Emilie, thanks for your comment

[@emiliedsouza6363]

@@OrganicAlchemist oh that's a great help... Thank you so much... I just love the way you explain and make it so easy .... Thank you dear....God bless you....🤩

[@OrganicAlchemist]

​@@emiliedsouza6363 Aww thanks and you're very welcome 🤗♥

[@44DHernandez]

You are making wonderful videos. I hope you keep going.

[@OrganicAlchemist]

Thank you for your comment, it is really encouraging! New videos are in the making ;)

[@joydavey6971]

what do you think of lecithin? So far its the best emulsifier I have used and I just started making emulsions. so far i have not experienced soaping effect with lecithin even when i use a tiny amount of xanthan gum. in terms of fatty alcohol like cetyl, i have used it with btms50 and no soaping effect with that but i am trying to use naturals as much as possible so im using lecithin instead.

[@OrganicAlchemist]

That makes total sense because lecithin is a phospholipid which is super compatible with the skin and it's got a really low HLB! My only issue with lecithin is the smell and instability on it's own sometimes. That's why I like to combine it with emulsifiers like olivem 1000 or montanov 202 What type of lecithin do you use? Hydrogenated or the brown sticky type?

[@joydavey6971]

@@OrganicAlchemist I am using liquid sunflower lecithin supposedly organic. I cant find the super dark sticky version. I love your videos by the way. They are very helpful You are very smart and I am glad i found your youtube.

[@OrganicAlchemist]

​@@joydavey6971 Thank you so much! Working on new videos now :)

[@aasiyaalmas1128]

Why does th moisturizer I made feel oily in the skin? How to fix it?

[@OrganicAlchemist]

This would be because of the Olivem 900 It is good for dry skin and to remove the soaping effect but it can feel a bit heavy. You can try lowering the amount of Olivem 900 to 0.25% or remove it completely.

[@mariehuana5683]

hi thank you for your video, does the emulsion remain stable without gums? because you said reducing soaping effect we can leave the gums....Because I read everywhere that gums are used to stabilize, and all of good products on the market are with gums....

[@OrganicAlchemist]

Good question. I was also skeptical at first but I've had the cream for many months and didn't have any stability issues. However, I cannot 100% guarantee that this will be the case for EVERY formulation combination. If you are worried about instability you can also add hyaluronic acid or colloidal oat powder. These hydrocolloids with large molecules will act in the same way as gums namely by blocking water molecules / oil molecules from getting too close to each other and pooling together which causes the separation.

[@mariehuana5683]

@@OrganicAlchemist thank you for your reply… Montanov68 works super without gum… Avoid soapiness with low HLB emulsifiers works only with creams, because they give a consistency, too…? (exception Lecithin) But Lotions? I never use oat powder before, but I will try it… Have you tried with Siligel instead of xanthan? its great… I use an anionic 1-2% together with a non ionoc emulsif 3-5% and no soapiness with siligel 🥰😀😊

[@OrganicAlchemist]

@@mariehuana5683 thanks for the great tips!! I’ll keep that in mind with the anionic / non- ionic mix! I’ve always wanted to try Siligel so I will definitely add that to my list! :) In lotions I can add a very very small amount of low hlb (0.20-0.50) emulsifier and it doesn’t influence the consistency so much but it does make the lotion a bit heavier…

[@carolinejames8897]

where would I add jojoba ester in this formula .Thank You

[@OrganicAlchemist]

I love Jojoba Esters! Add them in the cool down phase of your cream. It is oil soluble so if you have any other cool down oily actives you can mix these together :)

[@carolinejames8897]

@@OrganicAlchemist Thank you for replying x

[@carolinejames8897]

@@OrganicAlchemist Can Jojoba ester be added to oil face serum .

[@OrganicAlchemist]

​@@carolinejames8897 I'm sorry! I had contradicting information here. If you are talking about Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters then it is soluble in alcohols, glycols and water in certain pH ranges. It's a special kind of emollient. You would still incorporate it in your cool down phase but with some glycerin or pentylene glycol.

[@valbakke]

What is your favorite emulsifier? Currently mine is ecomulse etc.

[@OrganicAlchemist]

I haven't tried Ecomulse yet but I am intrigued now :) It really depends for which type of product but I would say Montanov 202 because it's skin friendly, palm oil free and has a nice skin feel :) Also I recently made more tests with Olivem 1000 and it doesn't suck as much as I thought. New videos about that coming soon ;)

[@kenita8]

Hi 👋 what equipment is best use when making emulsified product?

[@OrganicAlchemist]

Hello! for small batches (50-100g batches) I often simply use a whisk but for bigger batches a stick blender is sometimes necessary (depends a bit on the emulsifier) Regarding stick blenders for home usage, one with a small head is handy (This is the one I have: gastroback.co.uk/products/kitchen-cook-wine/hand-blender/1617/design-hand-blender-advanced-pro-e) Professionally though, formulators use homogenisers like Dynamix or Misceo

[@joydavey6971]

nice video. does the hydrosol need to be heated or added on cool down phase?

[@OrganicAlchemist]

Thanks! :) Good question. I heat my water phase with normal water and then add hydrosol later so I actually have two water phases. I like to add slowly hydrosol after the heated phases are combined and pre-emulsified so right before the cooling stage. This also helps the emulsion cool down faster. I don't like heating hydrosols because I feel it changes the smell slightly.

[@joydavey6971]

@@OrganicAlchemist it’s what i thought that the hydrosol should not be heated especially when it has heat sensitive preservative. Im just playing around with hydrosol but i think DI water should be sustainable.

[@anithaprakash8898]

How about with emulsifying wax Nf? 🤔 could you please do one video with this

[@OrganicAlchemist]

Hey Anita. I don't use emulsifying wax NF because it contains Polysorbates made with ethylene oxide (aka Gas) which does not fit my personal ethos. Thanks for your request though and please let me know if there are any other ingredients you are interested in! :)

[@keinohrtini]

great video! My issue was not the soaping with olivem 1000 but that my cream was like a fluffy mousse that separated after 1 day. Any suggestions?

[@OrganicAlchemist]

Thank you! Oo interesting...I can't be 100% sure without seeing the formula and the method you used but my guess would be stirring too vigorously and incorporating too much air into the formula. Air bubbles can actually destabilise a cream over time. Do you think that could be the case for you? :)

[@keinohrtini]

@@OrganicAlchemist Hi! No, I am pretty sure it;s not from overmixing because I made a different cream before and it was fine. I would guess it was the water/oil/olivem ratio that was off. I used a recipe that used 4% e-wax which I replaced with 4% of Olivem 1000. I am not sure if it works to replace the reg e-wax 1:1 with Olivem. What is your experience?

[@OrganicAlchemist]

​@@keinohrtini Ahh then it makes sense! I think 4% was too low. I would start with 5% if you want a lotion/serum and 6-8% if you want a cream. Try to keep the oil ratio between 10-25%. You could go higher by using stabilisers and a co-emulsifier but I prefer lower oil amounts as I have more oily acne prone skin ;) Hope your new trial will go well!

[@keinohrtini]

@@OrganicAlchemist Thank you so much for your quick reply and help! I will try your suggestions for sure and I wanna give your oat vanilla cream a shot. It sounds amazing! I am currently still waiting for my siligel - would you think that xantham gum alone would work instead?

[@OrganicAlchemist]

@@keinohrtini Sure, happy to help! Yes! Please do give it a try and let me know what you think :) Xanthan Gum would technically work too but the soaping will be a bit worse. However, if you are just using it on your face, 0.20% Gum should not be too annoying.

[@lesanimauxetlesoiseaux6912]

Nice Channel... like university u teach... Thx

[@OrganicAlchemist]

Merci pour ton commentaire 😊