All about EmulsifiersUpdated 4 months ago
Emulsifiers are ingredients that hold other ingredients together, preventing separation.
Below are a list of Emulsifiers that is used to keep the oil and water from separating in your creams, lotions, scrubs, hair and beard formulations. It is supplied in white waxy pellets or flakes and has a low odor. The E-wax is made from a vegetable source fatty alcohol.
| Products | Typical pH (Measures acidity) |
| Moisturizers - Creams & Lotions | 5 - 7 |
| Emuslified Scrubs | less than 6 |
| Hair Conditioners | 3.5 - 5.5 |
EmulsifyingWax -Traditional
Used to binds oils and water together in recipes for lotions, creams, scrubs and hair conditioner. Provides a powdery, soft, silky feel to lotion formulas. It can be used to make thick or thin emulsions, depending upon the concentration used. Lotions tend to have a heavy, cream-like appearance with this emulsifying wax.
Ingredients
Cetearyl Alcohol -A mixture of cetyl and stearyl alcohols that come from vegetable sources- (i.e. Coconut Oil). Used as a emollient and thickening agent, foam booster, stable emulsifier.
Polysorbate 60-a sorbitol-based emulsifier and thickening agent
- Similar to Emulsifying Wax NF (carried on MYOB as Emulsifying Wax NF)
- A non-ionic surfactant
- Creams: 10-15% by weight
- Lotions: 3-5% by weight
- Recommended to add at a rate of approx 25% of your oil phase
Emulsifying Wax -Soft & Silky
Used to binds oils and water together in recipes for lotions, creams, scrubs and hair conditioner. Forms highly stable emulsions with excellent appearance and feel and imparts a very light, whipped appearance to your handmade lotion/cream recipes. This also works great in spray leave in conditioners!
Ingredients
Cetearyl Alcohol -A mixture of cetyl and stearyl alcohols that come from vegetable sources- (i.e. Coconut Oil). Used as a emollient and thickening agent, foam booster, stable emulsifier.
Ceteareth-20 A fatty alcohol that functions as an emollient and emulsifier. When used in conjunction with other alcohols and fatty acidsit can work as a thickener. Acts to stabilize water/oil emulsions.
- Creams: 10-15% by weight
- Lotions: 3-5% by weight
- Bland Odor
- A Non-Ionic Surfactant
Emulsifying Wax – Conditioning
Our Conditioning Emulsifying Wax adds a silky feel to lotion and hair care products. Lotions that use this wax tend to have a very light, whipped appearance. This product can also be used in leave in hair conditionersfor all hair types because it is known to tame and detangle. Odor fades in finished product and can be covered by fragrance.
Ingredients
Behentrimonium Methosulfate(AKA BTMS) - Ammonium Salt and emulsifier used in hair conditioners as a cleansing and antistatic agent. Use when a light, powdery soft, non-greasy feel and finish is desired. It helps to tame and detangle and can be described as having a fishy odor
Cetyl Alcohol-a fatty alcohol derived from natural oilsthat serves as an emulsifier and is used as an emollient (softening agent) and thickening agent. Can be used as an opacifierin shampoos and conditioners which makes it great for a leave in conditioner. Helps to reduce tangles by 50% because it adds more slip to help comb through the hair easier.
Butylene Glycol-fatty alcohol that is used as a conditioning agent. It is a humectant and helps to draw moisture from the air to onto the skin and hair. It is considered to be moisturizing or moisture locking so it is great for a leave-in conditioner.
- Similar to BTMS 50 (Carried on MYOB as BTMS 50)
- Creams: 10-15% by weight
- Lotions: 1-8% by weight
- Hair Care: 1-8% by weight
- A Cationic Surfactant - Causes fishy odor due to amonium salt in BTMS
- Fishy Odor that fades overtime in finished product (can be covered by fragrance)
Emulsifying Wax -Conditioning Plus
Our Conditioning Plus Emulsifying Wax is ideal for creating Hair Conditioners and Lotions with a creamy and thick consistency. When used in hair products, the extra conditioning properties will leave the hair detangled and soft. This wax is refined, deodorized and comes in the form of white pastilles. Odor fades in finished product and can be covered by fragrance.
Ingredients
Cetearyl Alcohol, A mixture of cetyl and stearyl alcohols that comes from vegetable source (i.e. Coconut Oil). Used as a emollient and thickening agent, foam booster, stable emulsifier. Helps to reduce tangles by 50%
- Function(s):Emulsion Stabilizer; Opacifying Agent; Surfactant -Foam Booster; Viscosity IncreasingAgent -Aqueous; Viscosity Increasing Agent -Nonaqueous; EMOLLIENT; EMULSIFYING; EMULSION STABILISING; FOAM BOOSTING; VISCOSITY CONTROLLING
Behentrimonium Methosulfate(AKA BTMS)- Ammonium Salt used in hair conditioners as a cleansing and antistatic agent. when a light, powdery soft, non-greasy feel and finish is desired.
- Used in the oil phase of your recipe
- Creams: 10-15% by weight
- Lotions: 1-8% by weight
- Hair Care: 1-8% by weight
- Although this has the same ingredients as Emulsifying Wax Hair & Beard, its a differnt concentration of ingredients so its not the same.
- A Cationic Surfactant - Causes fishy odor due to amonium salt in BTMS
- Fishy Odor that fades overtime in finished product (can be covered by fragrance).
Emulsifying Wax - Hair & Beard -
Emulsifying Wax - Hair & Beard is the perfect emulsifier for leave-in hair and beard products because of the soft, non-greasy after feel it leaves. This wax is also known to be hydrating and lighter than other emulsifiers, making it perfect for in leave-in conditioners, pomades, beard balms and more! Odor fades in finished product and can be covered by fragrance.
Ingredients
Cetearyl Alcohol, A mixture of cetyl and stearyl alcohols that comes from vegetable source (i.e. Coconut Oil). Used as a emollient and thickening agent, foam booster, stable emulsifier. Helps to reduce tangles by 50%
- Function(s):Emulsion Stabilizer; Opacifying Agent; Surfactant -Foam Booster; Viscosity IncreasingAgent -Aqueous; Viscosity Increasing Agent -Nonaqueous; EMOLLIENT; EMULSIFYING; EMULSION STABILISING; FOAM BOOSTING; VISCOSITY CONTROLLING
Behentrimonium Methosulfate(AKA BTMS)-Ammonium Salt used in hair conditioners as a cleansing and antistatic agent. when a light, powdery soft, non-greasy feel and finish is desired.
- Similar to BTMS 25 (carried on MYOB as BTMS25)
- Used in the oil phase of your recipe
- Hair Care: 1-10% by weight
- A Cationic Surfactant - Causes fishy odor due to amonium salt in BTMS
- Fishy Odor that fades overtime in finished product (can be covered by fragrance).
CO-EMULSIFIERS
Cetyl Alcohol Flakes- Works as an emollient,emulsifier, thickener and carrying agent and gives products good spreadability and texture to creams and lotions.
- Cetyl Alcohol is a Fatty acid mixed with synthetic ingredients and contains palm oil
- Great substitution for Stearic Acid when used in lotion
- Typically used to thicken and texture creams and lotions
- Can also be used as an opacifier in shampoos
- Myristylalcoholis a fatty alcohol. Used as a emollient and thickening agent, foam booster, stable emulsifier.
- Myristic acidfattyacid found in natural oils & butters can be used as a stable emulsifier.
- Stearic Acid is a fatty acid derived from Palm Oil
- Can be used as a thickening agent as well as a co-emulsifier
- Can be used to harden soaps MP & CP-(May turn cloudy in clear soap base)
- Can be used to raise the melt point in candle wax and improve the hardness of candle wax
- Melt & Pour Soaps: 3%
- Lotions: 1-25%
- Candles: 9-12%
- Generally used in liquid washes & shampoos, hair & pet sprits and room sprays.
- This product can cloud the final product depending on the formulation so it is best to put in a opaque or dark container to hide cloudiness.
- Can be added to water or oil phase
- Mix in at equal parts to your fragrance
Polysorbate 80
Polysorbate 80 is a solubilizer, emulsifier, wetting agent, viscosity modifier, dispersing agent, and stabilizer. Use in bath fizzies, milk bath, bath melts, furniture polish and more.This water-soluble emulsifier is a must-have product for DIY bath bombs and bath oil.
- It helps oil and color mix into the water rather than pooling on top.
- It's best for mixing heavier carrier oils into water based products
- This product can cloud the final product depending on the formulation so it is best to put in a opaque or dark container to hide cloudiness.
- Add at levels of 1-20%.
WHATS IN A SMELL? The reason for the strong fishy odor in some emulsifying waxes & honeyquat.
Ever wonder why Emulsifying Wax Conditioning Plus (on WSP) -AKA- BTMS-25 , Emulsifying Wax Conditioning (on WSP) - AKA - BTMS-50 (on MYOB), and Honeyquat (2-hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethyl) can smell a bit…. fishy? Nothing is wrong with the product – you are smelling the ammonium salt in the cationic quaternary compound. Have you ever smelled these products and smelled nothing? It’s probably not COVID (this time); some people just can’t smell the compound (musk is the same way).
Can you substitute BTMS? It’s tough. Non-catatonic emulsifying waxes like Olivem 1000 from MYOB will not provide any conditioning benefits to your product like BTMS will. The cationic Polyquaternium 7 + cetyl or cetearyl alcohol might work for select recipes, but you’ll really have to experiment with your recipe and ratios. If you recommend this to a customer, let them know that there are no guarantees as to how well a substitution will work in these cases, because they might not work at all.
So what can you do about it? Try to use it as less than 10-15% of your recipe; you might be lucky enough to avoid the scent coming through. Honequat is typically used at such a small percentage
Good news: most recipes will use this as at 1-15% maximum, so it’s safe to advise customers that the smell typically disappears when the additive is used as advised.
