Oil Free Lotion, Take 2

Yesterday I tried crafting an oil free lotion. I browsed our catalog and found all the ingredients that could qualify as oil free and created a formula.

Unfortunately, I overdid it on the emulsifying ingredients, so the mixture failed to properly emulsify.

Today I’m backing off the emulsifying ingredients and sticking with only Emulsifying Wax. I removed Sunflower Lecithin and Cetyl Alcohol from the formula.

Our Technical Support Team gave me a ratio to use as a rule of thumb when creating emulsions: 1 part emulsifiers to 3 parts oil-like ingredients with the water being 60+%.

My failed formula was 14% oil-like ingredients, 9% emulsifiers.

Continue on with me to see what I changed and how the second attempt came out.

What You’ll Need

Formula

70% Water
8.5% Cyclomethicone
8.5% Dimethicone
2% Isopropyl Myristate
2% Liquid Silk
4% Emulsifying Wax
4% Hydrovance
0.5% Liquid Germall Plus
0.5% Honey Almond Fragrance Oil

Instructions

Weigh all ingredients but the preservative and fragrance into a microwave-safe container. Heat gently, using short time bursts and stirring after each heating, until ingredients are melted.

Use a stick blender to mix the lotion into an emulsion. Check the temperature; cool mixture below 120ºF before adding the preservative and fragrance.

Once everything is mixed well, pour the lotion into bottles. Allow it to cool completely in the bottle before adding a lid. Label and enjoy.

Ingredients before melting.

Mixing the emulsion.

Notes

This lotion formula worked out beautifully. The finished product is creamy and light and non-greasy. It spreads easily and has a nice cushiony feel as it rubs into the skin. My hands and arms feel dewy and well-moisturized after using it. After a few minutes, there was a powdery feeling to my skin.

The Honey Almond Fragrance is really nice! It’s not overly sweet like some almond fragrances can be. It smells warm and made me think of cookies.