DIY Creams 101 Part 1- Basics of Cream Formulation

Many has requested me to make videos and blogs on basics, like how I make different products and how do I calculate percentage of each ingredients. So, I have planned this series where we would discuss what a product contains in Part 1, how to make a basic one in Part 2 and how to add actives or more ingredients in Part 3 which is a little advanced topic. All of these would be from my experience and point of view. There can be different versions from different formulators. 

If you like to watch the video, here it is link

The first one that I have decided to make is creams since I am working on few creams from last few weeks. I would like to add them in Part 2 and Part 3.

Cream is a thicker emulsion consisting of oils(lipids) and water. We all know that oils and water doesn't mix and we need an emulsifier to form an emulsion. Often beeswax is confused as an emulsifier but it isn't an emulsifier alone. Beeswax is combined with Borax and Lye to form an emulsion before the invention of new emulsifiers. We now have access to wide range of emulsifiers varying from natural to non-palm to synthetic with anionic, non-ionic and cationic properties. Also, the feel differs with each. It is much easier to use these emulsifiers.

I also want to highlight on preservatives because the word preservatives and the search in google about cosmetic preservatives seems scary. But what's more scary is the growth of bacteria, mold in a product which doesn't appear to eyes and can cause damage to skin if applied. There are different preservatives for different kind of products like leave on, rinse off and also for products with different pH . It preserves products for a good period of time, then why not use it. 

Let's see the basic structure of a cream formulation.

This can be used as a template to make your own cream or a lotion.

There are three phases

1) Heated Oil Phase

2) Heated Water Phase

3) Cool Down Phase

The usage rates mentioned are in general. It can vary with ingredients and suppliers.

Heated Oil Phase: We say it as heated oil phase since most ingredients need to be melted. Also, for emulsification, both the phases need to be heated. Oil soluble heat stable ingredients are added in this phase.

Heated water phase: Water soluble heat stable ingredients are added in this phase.

Cool down phase: Ingredients which are sensitive to heat are added in this phase.

1) Oils: Oils can be natural ones or synthetic ones like dimethicone or cyclomethicone. There are few oils which have light feel on skin while few have heavy feel. Different oils result in different texture, appearance in end product. They are available in refined and un-refined form.

• Some of the light feel oils are Grape seed oil, Almond oil, Jojoba oil.
• Some of the heavy feel oils are Pomegranate seed oil, castor oil.
• There are few oils which are rich in anti-oxidants like sea buckthorn oil and rosehip oil.
• Some oils are healing like Tamanu oil and black seed oil.
• Silicone oils like dimethicone and cyclomethicone improve the overall feel of the product. It has non-greasy and smooth feel.

Usage rates: 2-10% and can be higher up to 30%

2) Butters: Butters are also available in refined and un-refined form. Refined ones are deodorized one which doesn't have strong smell as natural ones. But I prefer un-refined ones specially cocoa butter since the smell is amazing.

• Examples of natural butters are ,mango butter, shea butter, kokum butter and cocoa butter.
• There are few modified butters which are not true butters but are modified to be solid. Examples are Green tea butter, almond butter

Usage rates: 2-10%

3) Waxes: Waxes are kind of oil thickeners which can increase the viscosity of oil phase. These are often used in balms.

• Examples are beeswax, candelilla wax (vegan), carnauba wax (vegan), berry wax.
• There are floral waxes which are by-phase products in distilling aroma chemicals. Examples are Jasmine wax, rose wax etc.

Usage rates: 2-10%

4) Emulsifiers: Oil and water doesn't mix. Emulsifiers help in emulsification of oil and water phases. Different emulsifiers result in different texture. They have different charges like non-ionic, cationic and anionic.

• Cationic emulsifiers have positive charge. Examples: BTMS 50, Behentrimonium chloride.
• Non-ionic emulsifiers have neutral charge. Example: Olivem 1000
• Anionic emulsifiers have negative charge. Example: GMS
• There are natural emulsifiers which are approved by natural bodies like ecocert. Examples: 
• Olivem 1000 (non ionic)
• Montanov 68 (non ionic)
• Oleamuls (non ionic)
• Verisoft EQ 65 (Cationic)
• Emulsense HC (Cationic)
• Synthetic emulsifiers are used from a long time. Examples:
• Emulsifying Wax NF (non ionic)
• Polawax (non ionic)
• BTMS 50 (cationic)

5) Co-Emulsifiers/ Thickener: Co-emulsifiers increase the viscosity of the formula and also stabilize the formula.

Examples are Cetyl alcohol, Cetearyl alcohol, Cetyl Palmitate

Examples of thickener: Stearic acid

Usage rates: Emulsifier: 2-10%, Co-emulsifer: 1-5% (depending on type)

6) Distilled water: Water is the vehicle and solvent for many formulations. Distilled or de-mineralized water should be used to make products stable and less prone to contamination.

7) Hydrosols: Hydrosols add some nice fragrance and also soothing properties to the creams.

        Examples: Turmeric hydrosol, Calendula hydrosol, Rose hydrosol, witch hazel.

Usage rates: Water/Hydrosols: 30-85%

8) Gum: Gums are water thickeners, they also change viscosity of creams. They make it smoother and few like sepimax can make a jelly kind of consistency.

         Examples:

            Natural gum/ Polymer:

             Xanthan gum (anionic)

             Solagum AX (anionic)

             Hydroxy ethyl cellulose (non-ionic)

           Synthetic gum/ Polymer:

             Sepimax zen

             Sepinov EMT 10

 

Usage rates: Gum: 0.2-0.5%, Thickener: 1-5%

9) Humectants: Ingredients which bring moisture from deeper layers of skin or from environment are humectants. It makes skin soft and hydrated.

    Examples:

• Glycerin
• Sodium Lactate
• Propanediol 1,3
• Hydrovance (Hydroxy ethyl urea)
• Sorbitol

Usage rates: Humectants: 2-5%

10) *Preservative: Preservatives are must whenever water is used in the formulation. Without preservative, product will not be safe for more than 3 days(stored in fridge). Preservatives can be natural or synthetic.

Preservative needs to be chosen depending on various parameters like pH, temperature stability, ingredients used, compliance (natural or non-natural).

Examples:

Synthetic:

• Euxyl PE 9010
• Optiphen
• Iscaguard PEG
• DMDM Hydantoin
• Liquid Germall Plus

Natural:

• Euxyl K 712
• Preservative Eco/ Geogard ECT
• Spectrastat G2
• Geogard Ultra

Usage rates: 0.2-2% (depending on type)

 11) Actives: Actives are used to impart certain properties to skin. Depending on the active used, the end results can vary.

Note: Brightening actives and AHA/BHA should not be used by beginner or without proper understanding of the ingredients and how to use them since it can cause adverse reactions.

Moisturising and soothing actives:

•  Hyaluronic acid
•  Aquaxyl
•  Pentavitin
•  Panthenol or Pro-Vitamin B5
•  Allantoin

Brightening actives:

•  Niacinamide
•  Vitamin C & its derivatives (MAP, SAP etc.)
•  Kojic Acid Dipalmitate

Anti-oxidant actives:

 Vitamin E Tocopherol/ Acetate

AHA/ BHA actives: Exfoliate skin resulting in brightening of skin.

•  Lactic acid
•  Glycolic acid
•  Salicylic acid

Usage rates: 0.1-5% (depending on type)

12) Extracts: Natural extracts are derived from plant material which have soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. These are relatively safe but few can be sensitive to certain plants like oats.

Soothing extracts:

•  Colloidal Oats
•  Chamomile extract
•  Calendula extract
•  Tamarindus indica
•  Aloevera extract
•  Green tea extract 

Brightening extracts:

•  Licorice extract
•  Turmeric extract
•  ACB Fruit Mix
•  Kakadu plum extract

Usage rates for extracts: 0.5-5% 

13) F.O/ E.O: Fragrance oils are added to have a good smell. Essential oils not only add good smell but also aromatherapy properties.

Fragrance Oils:

•  Floral
•  Fruity
•  Aloevera
•  Green tea
•  Exotic

Essential Oils:

•  Ylang-Ylang E.O
•  Lavender E.O
•  Rose geranium E.O
•  Tea tree E.O
•  Frankincense E.O
•  Sandalwood E.O
•  Rosewood E.O

Usage rates for E.O/F.O: 0.1-0.5% (face) , 0.1-2% (body)

14) Chelating agent: Chelating agents are added to prevent the formulation going rancid and also to stabilize product. Metal ions in a product can cause stability issues which would result in product going bad quickly. Chelating agents prevent from going bad.

Examples:

•  EDTA (Synthetic)
•  Sodium Gluconate (Natural)
•  Dermofeel PA3 (Natural)

Usage rates: Chelating agents: 0.1-0.2%

15) Anti-oxidant: Oils are sensitive to heat and temperature. They can go rancid when exposed to sunlight and heat. To make the products stable by reducing the chance of rancidity, anti-oxidants agents are used.

There are anti-oxidants(Mixed Tocopherol) which protect product from oxidation. Similarly there are anti-oxidants like Tocopherol acetate, Vitamin C which protect skin from oxidation.

Examples:

•  Vitamin E Tocopherol (product)
•  Mixed Tocopherols (product)
•  Tocopherol Acetate (skin)
•  Rosemary Oleoresin (natural)

16) Color: Color added can make product more desirable. There are natural colorants from plant powders, oils and extracts. Synthetic FD&C , D&C approved lakes and iron oxides are also often used in cosmetics.

Natural:

 Through Oils, Butters and extracts used

 Iron Oxides

 Alkanet, Annatto infusion

 Oleoresins

Synthetic:

 Mica

 D&C skin safe colours

 Skin safe liquid colours

Usage rates of colors: 0.01-0.1%

17) pH adjusters: Skin pH range is typically between 4.5-5.5. Adjusting the pH of a product is absolute must for preservative and active efficacy. Also, to have optimum results and less irritation.

Examples:

 Citric acid, lactic acid to reduce the pH

 TEA, L-arginine to raise the pH

Usage rates: 0.05-2%

That's the overview of ingredients. These ingredients and usage rates can vary but this is a basic template that can be used to make a product.

Thank you for reading!

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