Basic Lotion formulating- the myths

I think the first product we go to in DIY formulating after making anhydrous or water free products would have to be lotions. There is something kind of magical about the way the oil and water come together in that creamy lotion. There is an endless variety of ways you can amp up lotions once you’ve got the technique right. There are also some basic things to know about it and a lot of myths out there as well. First we’ll go through a few common myths and then move on to a basic formula. Let’s dive right in shall we!

Lotion Making Myths

1. You need to heat and hold

2. Beeswax is an emulsifier

3. You don’t need a preservative - it will keep for a couple of weeks

4. You just need one preservative for everything

1. Heat and Hold

   So what is heat and hold you may ask? Good Question! Heat and Hold basically means that you heat the oil phase and the water phase separately to 75C and then hold it at that temperature for approx 20 minutes. This supposedly helps kill any nasty bacteria that may be lurking in your formula. I am unsure where this myth started which has been around for some time. Unfortunately this doesn’t work and is unnecessary along with killing many beneficial compounds in your ingredients. I won’t go into the science of why this isn’t necessary but will link below to a post by Formula Botanic that debunks the need to do this. So no - no need to heat and hold.

   The myth of heat and hold

2. Beeswax is an emulsifier

   Beeswax is an amazing ingredient but doesn’t function as an emulsifier whose job is to bring the oil and water together to create a creamy emulsion. I found this out myself the hard way making my very first lotion with beeswax as an emulsifier and no preservative. I though I had made a successful emulsion proving all those people out there wrong. Within a day it had totally separated and with a few days some lovely mould had started to grow in my unpreserved formula. Marie from the amazing Humblebee and me have a great video explaining why beeswax just doesn’t work! Click on this link to have a look.

3. You don’t need a preservative and one preservative fits all

   I was one of the people that was scared of preservatives, I had read they were nasty and dangerous! Preservatives are an essential part of most cosmetic formulating in products that contain water or water based formulations over 5% water content. I do say most as there is growing evidence of hurdle technology in eliminating or reducing the need for preservatives in some products but that’s another whole post! Without a safe preservative your product is almost guaranteed to have a bacteria party which invites all its friends along like mould as well. Not a good look and not something you want on yours, your families or your customer’s skin. There are many totally safe and effective natural based preservatives out there.

   Unfortunately there is no one preservative fits all solution. Many preservatives have a specific PH range in which they give optimised coverage so it is important to choose the right one for your particular formula. Other considerations are your ingredients and your packaging choice. You often read that a product will be safe if kept in a certain way - often refrigerated for 7 days, 2 weeks, a month etc. Have a think - bacteria and mould doesn’t suddenly appear at this time, its been silently growing unseen during this period and only then become evident. So not worth the risk. Preserve right from the beginning using the guidelines on usage amount, heat stability etc. right from the beginning.

Chickweed Face Cream

Includes - Chickweed Infused Oil, Olivem 1000 emulsifier, Geogard ECT preservative.

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