Learning To Formulate Body Milks and Light Lotions

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions
ADVENTURES IN COSMETIC
1
Susan Barclay Nichols
C HEMISTRY
LEARNING TO
FORMUL ATE: LIGHT
LO T I O N S & B O DY M I L K S
I S S U E 5 , 2 0 21
 

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 2

INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................5
GENERAL NOTES ON MAKING PRODUCTS .....................................................6
ANTI-OXIDANTS & PRESERVATIVES ..........................................................................8

CHOOSING PRESERVATIVES ....................................................................................9
PRESERVATIVE COMPARISON CHART .....................................................................10
QUICK NOTE ON ELECTRICAL CHARGES ...............................................................11
WHAT’S A BODY MILK? ................................................................................12
EMULSIFIERS ..........................................................................................................13
COMPARISON CHART: A FEW COMMON EMULSIFIERS ........................................14
SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF EMOLLIENTS ...............................................17
COMBINING EMOLLIENTS & SPREADABILITY ................................................20
SO WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT ANY OF THIS? .......................................................22

CHOOSING LIQUID EMOLLIENTS! .........................................................................23
SENSORY COMPARISON CHART FOR VARIOUS EMOLLIENTS ................................25
HERE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE SOLID EMOLLIENTS! .....................................27
CREATING A LIGHT LOTION OR BODY MILK WITH JEESPERSE® ICE-T CIS-2 ...29
LET’S MAKE THIS BODY MILK! ................................................................................31

BASE FORMULA FOR CREATING A LIGHT LOTION USING JEESPERSE® ICE-T CIS-2 31
INSTRUCTIONS FOR JEESPERSE® ICE-T CIS-2 .........................................................31
WHICH EMOLLIENTS SHOULD WE CHOOSE? ........................................................33
VARIATIONS ON CREATING A LIGHT LOTION USING JEESPERSE® ICE-T CIS-2: FAST
SPREADING EMOLLIENTS ......................................................................................34
VARIATIONS ON CREATING A LIGHT LOTION USING JEESPERSE® ICE-T CIS-2:
MEDIUM, FAST & SOLID EMOLLIENTS (FORMULA) ................................................35
CREATING LIGHT LOTIONS & BODY MILKS WITH OTHER COLD EMULSIFIERS 36
LIGHT & FAST SPREADING EMOLLIENTS USING VISCOPTIMA SE (formula) .............37

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR VISCOPTIMA SE .....................................................38
USING OTHER COLD PROCESS EMULSIFIERS TO MAKE BODY MILKS & LIGHT
LOTIONS .......................................................................................................39
CREATING A BODY MILK WITH JEESPERSE® CPW-CG-CROSSPOLYMER-G-02 .........39


DISTINCTLY MINTY BODY MILK USING Jeesperse® CPW-CG-Crosspolymer-G-02

(FORMULA) ...........................................................................................................40
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING Jeesperse® CPW-CG-Crosspolymer-G-02 (aka ICE
Silicone) .................................................................................................................41
LET’S MAKE SOMETHING WITH POLAWAX! ..................................................42
BASE LIGHT LOTION/BODY MILK WITH POLAWAX (FORMULA) .............................43

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING A LOTION WITH POLAWAX, NATRAGEM EW, OR E-
WAX NF .................................................................................................................44
NOTES ON USING THESE FORMULAS WITH NATRAGEM EW ................................45
LET’S MAKE A NATURALLY COMPLIANT LOTION WITH OLIVEM 1000! ..........46
CREATING THE OIL PHASE .....................................................................................47

VERSION 1: MEDIUM & FAST SPREADING EMOLLIENTS ........................................48
CREATING A LIGHT LOTION WITH OLIVEM 1000 - LIQUID EMOLLIENTS (FORMULA) .
50
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING OLIVEM 1000 .............................................................51
VERSION 2: ADDING A SOLID EMOLLIENT ............................................................52
CREATING A LIGHT LOTION WITH OLIVEM 1000 - SOLID EMOLLIENTS (FORMULA) ...
53
CREATING A SPRAYABLE BODY MILK WITH INCROQUAT BTMS-50 ................55
GREEN TEA & GINGER BODY MILK OR LIGHT LOTION WITH INCROQUAT BTMS-50
(formula) ................................................................................................................57
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CREATING A LOTION WITH INCROQUAT BTMS-50 ................57
MODIFYING THIS FORMULA TO BE NATURALLY COMPLIANT! ...............................58
GREEN TEA & GINGER BODY MILK OR LIGHT LOTION WITH JEEQUAT® NDCS
(formula) ................................................................................................................59
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CREATING A LOTION WITH JEEQUAT® NDCS .......................59
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................61
MY BLOG, POINT OF INTEREST ..............................................................................61

THANK YOU TO MY AMAZING SUBSCRIBERS ........................................................61
HOW TO CONTACT ME ..........................................................................................61
SUPPLIERS’ INFORMATION ....................................................................................61

Written by Susan Barclay Nichols, better known as SwiftCraftyMonkey, blogger and

formulator for the blog Point of Interest (http://swiftcraftymonkey.blog).
© 2021 by Susan Barclay Nichols. All rights reserved. This e-zine or any portion thereof may
not be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the author, except
as permitted by Canadian copyright law.
The products you make from formulas contained in this e-zine can be used by you for
personal or commercial purposes, but please don’t copy and paste the text, share this entire
e-zine on sites like Scribd, forward to your friends who aren’t subscribers to the blog, or
claim them as your own by posting them on your blog, social media channel, or web site.
Have fun formulating!


INTRODUCTION
With summer coming up, I’m in the mood for a lighter kind
of lotion, something that has a watery sploosh when I apply
it - called “quick break” - something that makes my skin feel
hydrated and moisturized without being super heavy, cloying,
or occlusive.
One of the challenges of making these thinner lotions is

ensuring we have an adequate oil phase with added
stabilizers that won’t increase the viscosity, and we’ll take a
look at how to do this with each emulsi er.
All of the formulas you’ll nd in this e-book can be sprayed

with a mister bottle or used with a treatment pump or small
airless pump. They’re great for around the house, after a
shower, in the car, at the beach, while you’re camping, or
anywhere else you need some moisturization after a day of fun or rest.
I’ve o ered a range of emulsi ers you can use for these formulas, like Polawax, Olivem
1000, and Incroquat BTMS-50, as well as some of my favourite cold emulsi ers.
As a note, I’m often asked about how to make a formula organic, and the simple answer is
that you can substitute any oils I use for organic oils, any hydrosols or oral waters I use for
organic ones, any extracts and such for any that are deemed organic. You won’t be altering
the chemistry of a formula by using organic jojoba oil instead of non-organic jojoba oil, so
the formulas will continue to work well. (Please note, though, you can’t claim your formula
is organic if the supplier from which isn’t certi ed organic or the facility in which you’ve
made it isn’t certi ed organic.)
You can alter the formulas to be more naturally compliant - meaning they’re certi ed by
COSMOS, ECOCERT, NaTrue, ISO 16128, NPA, and so on - by substituting those
ingredients for the ones I share in the formulas. If they’re the same ingredients - say, using
an ECOCERT version of a botanical extract instead of the non-certi ed version - they won’t
have an impact on the chemistry of the formula, and you shouldn’t su er any failures.
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GENERAL NOTES ON MAKING

PRODUCTS
If this is your rst time making products, woo hoo! I admit I’m a bit jealous of the exciting
journey that lies ahead for you. If you’ve made products before, this is probably old hat, so
feel free to jump ahead!
How to read a formula? Convert the % to the word grams and you’ll be making a 100 gram
batch of something. If you want more than 100 grams (3.3 ounces) of something, you’ll
want to multiply everything by 2 for 200 grams, 3 for 300 grams, and so on.
Why do we use weighted measurements? We need to measure every formula you want to
make by weight as it’s more accurate. If I tell you to use 1 tablespoon of beeswax, is that
before or after it’s melted? Do you shave the beeswax o or does it come in pastille form?
When we make things by weight, we don’t worry about those things! Besides, when we
measure everything on the scale into the container, we only have one or two things to clean
instead of all those tiny spoons and measuring cups! Invest in a good digital scale – you
should get one for about $30 or so – and you’ll be so happy with your products.
Why do you use grams? Because I’m Canadian and that’s the way we do things up here in
metric system land. Besides, if something’s in ounces, how do you know if those are volume
or weighted ounces? A gram is always a measurement of weight so it’s easier.
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If you need a quick conversion, one weighed ounce is about 30 grams. You may see it listed as
28.something or other, but it’s just as easy to think of 1 ounce = 30 grams.
What if I want to use ounces? You can, but the math gets tricky. If you try doing the
“convert the % to ounces” thing, you end up with 100 ounces, and that’s a lot of stu . You
could convert % to ounces, then multiply by 0.1 to get 10 ounces, but that’s still a lot. It’s
just so much easier to use grams.
How much should I make of a product the rst time? Make no more than 300 grams of
something. That way you don’t have a lot of something hanging around the house if you
hate it or if the formula fails. (I generally make 100 grams, but you need a little scale that
measures to 0.1 or even 0.01 grams for that!)
How should I mix the formulas? If I don’t tell you, then mix with either a stick blender or
a hand mixer with the beater blades. If I do tell you, please do it that way as it’s important
to make the product work. If you’re working with foamy or lathery things, like body washes
or face cleansers, you’ll want to use a large fork and mix it carefully.
Why are you using distilled water? Using distilled water or reverse osmosis water in
these formulas is essential. Even boiled water can contain minerals that can cause or speed
up contamination or rancidity. Invest $2 for four litres (one gallon) of distilled water and
save yourself the heartache of seeing a great product go bad!
I’m assuming you have passing familiarity with ingredients for bath & body products. If you
nd something unfamiliar, please visit my blog at http://swiftcraftymonkey.blog and look at
the sections or do a search. I’ve done my best here to give you a brief overview of various
ingredients, but if I went into as much detail as I do on the blog, this little e-zine would run
40 pages for one formula alone!
Can I use di erent oils than you use? De nitely! In any of my formulas for lotions, you
can exchange any oil for any oil, any butter for any butter, any oil for any butter, or any
butter for any oil and the formula will work. You may alter the viscosity if you use olive oil
instead of cocoa butter and you may alter the skin feel if you exchange a greasy oil for a dry
one, but the emulsion will still turn out just ne.
Can I make alterations in the water phase? In general, I say you can alter the water phase
of a product by adding a little aloe vera or hydrosol in place of distilled water, but you have
to check to see which emulsi ers or other ingredients can mix with things like electrolytes
(salts) or alcohol, for instance. And remember we have to think about the charge – anionic,
cationic, or non-ionic – when adding things lotions, so it’s probably best you don’t alter the
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water phase much the rst time or two you make something. Having said this, if you don’t
have something like aloe vera or hydrolyzed protein, you can always leave it out and add
that percentage back in the distilled water amount. For instance, if you remove 10% aloe
vera, add 10% distilled water so the formula always totals 100%.
How do I use 100x aloe vera concentrated powder? We can’t just add this concentrated
powder to a product, we need to reconstitute it rst. Measure 1 gram aloe vera 100x powder
into a bottle, then add 98.5 grams distilled water with 0.5 grams Germall Plus liquid. Shake
well until mixed. You might need to warm the water slightly if it’s cold.
What’s the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients)? The INCI is

the name you’ll see in brackets for an ingredient at our suppliers’ shops, in data sheets or
bulletins from manufacturers or distributors, in trade magazines and formulas, and
ingredient lists. For oils, butters, and essential oils, it’ll be the botanical name with the
common name in brackets. Butyrospermum parkii (shea butter) fruit is shea butter. For
other ingredients, this will be the chemical name of the ingredient. For instance, the INCI
for Ritamulse SCG is (Glyceryl stearate (and) cetearyl alcohol (and) sodium stearoyl
lactylate). The (and) means that you’ll also nd that compound in the ingredient.
In Canada, we use the 11th edition of the INCI name book, while the US uses the 2nd
edition from the 70s.
When making any of my formulas, please follow the process carefully. I’ve written
these instructions to work with the formula, and altering them can result in a failed product.
If the formula calls for an immersion or stick blender, it requires shear-type mixing, and
using a hand mixer or mixing by hand with a whisk is no shear type mixing, and the lotion
can fail. I suggest reading the formula and the process three times before making it so you
can get a good idea about everything involved instead of having something sneak up on you
while you’re mid-formulation, like needing a hand mixer or having to test the temperature
with a thermometer.
A N T I - OX I DA N T S & P R E S E RVAT I V E S
Anti-oxidants are ingredients that retard or slow down the rancidity of our oils, like Vitamin
E, so they extend the shelf life of our products.
Preservatives are ingredients that prevent contamination of our ingredients by bacteria,

fungus, mold, yeast, and so on in products that contain water or will be exposed to water.
An anti-oxidant will not prevent contamination, and a preservative won’t retard rancidity.

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Products like whipped butters, lotion bars, lip balms, and salves don’t contain water -
they’re anhydrous or “without water” - and won’t be exposed to water, so we don’t need a
preservative. If we want to extend the life span of our product, we could at 0.05% to 0.1%
T-50 mixed tocopherols (Vitamin E) to it. There are too many variables to gure out how
much longer we would extend the life, but we know it will be longer than one without the
anti-oxidant.
When we use anything that contains water or might be exposed to water, we need to use a
preservative. The one I use the most is Germall Plus liquid, a broad spectrum preservative
that contains propylene glycol (60%), diazolidinyl urea (39.6%), and iodopropynyl
butylcarbamate (0.6%). It should be used at 0.1% to 0.5% in the cool down phase of any
products that contains or will be exposed to water. (“Broad spectrum” means it covers
bacteria, yeast, mold, and fungus.)
C H O O S I N G P R E S E RVAT I V E S
Botanical matter is a microbe party just waiting to happen. If you’re using one in a product,
you’ll want to make sure you’re using the best, most e ective broad spectrum preservative -
one that ghts against all kinds of bacteria, fungi, yeast, molds, and so on. I like to use 0.5%
Germall Plus liquid in a lot of my formulas, but we should evaluate each product to ensure
we’re choosing exactly the right preservative for the job.
We can use preservative boosters, metal chelating ingredients like sodium phytate or EDTA,
and anti-oxidants to help keep beasties out or eliminating them.
Using hurdle technology for these kinds of products is a good idea, which includes good
manufacturing processes; lowering the pH below 5; use of air tight packaging, like airless
pumps or jars; use of preservative boosters, and adding chelating ingredients.
Reducing the water activity of the product is super important, too! If we can bind the water
with ingredients like glycerin, propylene glycol, propanediol 1,3, hexylene glycol, and other
glycols, there’s less available for nasty beasties to use to multiply. You’ll see glycols being
used as preservative boosters, like caprylyl glycol or ethylhexyl glycerin in this fashion. I like
to use a combination of 3% glycerin and 3% propanediol 1,3 for this purpose, and often I’ll
add up to 3% propylene glycol or another glycol to work as a humectant and booster.
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P R E S E RVAT I V E C O M PA R I S O N C H A R T
PRESERVATIVE INCI Cationic Anionic pH 5 pH 6 pH 7 Usage
Euxyl K 703 Phenoxyethanol (and) Benzoic Yes No Yes Yes Yes Add 0.4% to 1.2% to
Product bulletin Acid (and) Dehydroacetic Acid. the cool down phase
of the product at 40˚C
or lower
Euxyl K 903 INCI: Benzyl alcohol (and) Yes Yes Yes Not Not 0.4% to 1.2% in the
Product bulletin benzoic acid (and) ideal ideal cool down phase
dihydroacetic acid
Euxyl PE 9010 Phenoxyethanol (and) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 0.5% to 1% mixed
Ethylhexylglycerin with solvent into the
heated or cool down
phase.
Germaben II Propylene Glycol, diazolidinyl Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 0.5% to 1.0%
urea, ethylparaben, and Add to the cool down
propylparaben phase
Germall Plus, liquid Propylene glycol, diazolidinyl Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 0.1% to 0.5%
urea, and iodopropynyl Add to the cool down
butylcarbamate phase.
Jeecide CAP-2 Caprylyl Glycol, Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 0.5% to 1.5% for
Sold at TKB Trading Phenoxyethanol, Hexylene lotions in the cool
as Cap-2 Glycol down phase.
Jeecide CAP-5 Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 0.5% to 1.5% for
Sold at TKB Trading Glycol (and) Potassium Sorbate lotions in the cool
as Cap-2 and (and) Water (and) Hexylene down phase.
Lotioncrafter as Glycol
Jeecide CAP-5
Liquipar Optima Phenoxyethanol, Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 0.5% to 1% when the
methylparaben, product is below
isopropylparaben, 80˚C. Must contain
isobutylparaben, butylparaben. oils, not water only
products.
Optiphen ND Phenoxyethanol (and) Benzoic No Yes Yes Yes No 0.2% to 1.2% in any
Acid (and) Dehydroacetic Acid. phase of your creation
Optiphen Plus Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Yes Yes Yes Yes No 0.75% to 1% in the
Glycol (and) Sorbic Acid heated water phase
Phenonip Phenoxyethanol (and) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 0.25% to 1%

Methylparaben (and) Use in the heated
Ethylparaben (and) phase of your
Butylparaben (and) products.
Propylparaben (and)
Isobutylparaben

QUICK NOTE ON ELECTRICAL CHARGES
Anionic, cationic, and non-ionic refer to the electrical charge on the ingredient in question.
Non-ionic means it has a neutral charge.
Anionic means it has a negative charge.
Cationic means it has a positive charge.
Our hair and skin are negatively charged or anionic. Positively charged or cationic
ingredients will adsorb or form a ne layer on your hair or skin in a process called
substantivity. This is how hair conditioners work, they form this lm to make the cuticle
lay atter, which reduces tangling, increases shine, increases softness, and reduces static.
Why should we care about the charge? We usually don’t want to mix something anionic
with something cationic, as you’ll see, but we can mix either with non-ionic ingredients.
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W H AT ’ S A B O DY M I L K ?
This is generally a thin emulsion - generally no thicker than a
facial moisturizer or really light lotion - that contains a lot of
water with a small oil phase that doesn’t contain any thickeners
or other solid ingredients that could increase the viscosity.
It could be dispersed through a mister bottle, airless pump, or

bottle with a treatment pump. Some might be thicker in the
bottle, but melt on contact with your skin to create something
with really long play time and a thinner viscosity.
It can be made with a variety of emulsi ers - I think the only

one I own that wouldn’t be thin enough is Ritamulse SCG - and
many di erent emollients, preferably those that are thinner with better spreading values.
You can make oil-free body milks without an oil phase or with an oil phase that doesn’t contain any
natural oils, which you’ll see in this e-book.
How is a body milk di erent than a light lotion or facial moisturizer? It’s not di erent -
each of these terms are pretty much interchangeable as they call refer to a type of thin
emulsion that feels light using lighter emollients that aren’t super heavy, cloying, or greasy.
When I make a body milk, I try to create a combination of liquid emollients that are light to
medium weight with medium to fast spreading values. Because I don’t have ingredients like
butters, fatty alcohols (cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, or brassica alcohol),
fatty acids (stearic acid, myristic acid, lauric acid), I need to nd other ways to increase the
viscosity - if desired - and increase the feeling of occlusion.
What the heck is occlusion? This is the way we prevent transepidermal water loss
(TEWL) from our skin*. We want to trap in that water and prevent it from evaporating from
our skin, and protect our skin from further damage while it repairs itself from physical
assaults of the day. There are a number of ingredients that trap in moisture - more viscous
oils, butters, solid alcohols, solid esters, solid acids, allantoin, dimethicone - and do the
double duty of making our skin feel softer. You may see these referred to as barrier
ingredients as they set up a barrier between your skin and the outside world.
*Trans-epidermal water loss (or TEWL) is de ned as a measurement of the quantity of water that passes
from through the epidermal layer of our skin to the surrounding atmosphere via di usion and evaporation
processes. This is a continuous process over which we have little control. It can increase due to disruption
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to the skin barrier (wounds, scratches, burns, exposure to solvents or surfactants, extreme dryness) and is
a ected by humidity, temperature, season, and moisture content of the skin (hydration level).
In the case of a body milk or light lotions, a lot of the ingredients we might use to create
that occlusive layer will thicken the product and make it feel heavier, so we have to build it
another way. A few ingredients I suggest are allantoin, dimethicone, and solid ingredients
that melt at below body temperature, like babassu oil, coconut oil, lauryl laurate, or cetyl
ricinoleate.
You’ll learn more about these ingredients in greater detail as we work through this e-book.
In general, I nd adding 0.5% allantoin to the heated water phase - at least 51˚C or 128˚F as
that’s just slightly above its melting point - or 2% dimethicone, and no more than 5%
babassu oil, coconut oil, lauryl laurate, cetyl ricinoleate, or water soluble silicone wax to the
oil phase to the oil phase of a product makes a world of di erence to the occlusion of the
lotion.
EMULSIFIERS
When you’re looking at choosing an emulsi er for a body milk, you’ll want to consider two
things - its potential viscosity and skin feel. As I mentioned, most emulsi ers will work to
create at low viscosity lotion - with the possible exception of Ritamulse SCG - so it’s really
about the skin feel you want.
Keep this in mind when you make any lotion - emulsi ers have a massive impact on skin
feel of the nal product, more than most of us think. An emulsi er that produces a medium
viscosity, waxy, heavy skin feel will make it harder to create a light, non-greasy body milk or
light lotion.
If you want to create something dry, powdery, non-greasy, and light, then you might turn to
one of the cationic or positively charged emulsi ers, like Incroquat BTMS-50, Varisoft EQ
65, Jeesperse® ICE-T CIS-2, Jeequat® NDCS, or Jeesperse® ICE-T CPCS.
If you wanted something a titch heavier with a slightly waxy, more occlusive skin feel, you
might choose Polawax, emulsifying wax NF, or Natragem EW.
If you wanted something light, dry, silky, and non-greasy without that powdery skin feel,
you might choose Olivem 1000, Montanov 68 MB, one of the Phytomulse series, or
Simulsol/Lotionpro™ 165.
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If you’re looking for something with a watery quick break, choose one that contains sodium
polyacrylate or another rheology modi er, like Jeesperse® ICE-T-LB-T-NS, Jeesperse® CPW-
CG-Crosspolymer-G-02 (aka ICE Silicone), ViscOptima SE, or Jeesperse® CPW-S, or we
could add a rheology modi er to ones without them, like xanthan gum, Sepimax ZEN,
Sepinov EMT 10, hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC), Siligel, or Ultrez 20, to name a few.
If you wanted something that was naturally compliant, meaning it’s been certi ed as natural
by an agency like ECOCERT, COSMOS, NaTrue, ISO 16128, and so on, then you might want
to use Olivem 1000, Varisoft EQ 65, Jeequat® NDCS, or Montanov 68 MB.
C OMPARISON C HART : A FEW C OMMON EMUL SIFIERS

Terms: Low, medium, high or fast; poor, okay, good, excellent; slight, thin, moderate, thick; short, medium, long.
For skin feel, the measures are non-greasy, low greasy, medium greasy, and greasy greasy.
Spreadability Cushion Play Slip & Drag Lubricity Melting Viscosity of Skin feel
time glide point nal
product*
Emulsifying Low to Medium Medium Okay Medium/ Medium Depends on Medium Waxy, lightly greasy,
wax NF medium high the version occlusive
Incroquat Medium Medium Medium Good Low/ Medium/ 65˚ C to 79˚ C Medium Non-greasy, silky,
BTMS-50 medium high (149˚ F to powdery
174.2˚ F)
Jeequat® Medium Low Medium/ Good Low/ Low/ 55˚C to 70˚C Low to Non-greasy, light, silky,
NDCS long medium medium (131˚F to medium powdery
158˚F)
Jeesperse® Medium/fast Medium Long Great None Medium 40˚C to 48˚C Low to Non-greasy, smooth,
CPW-CG- (104˚F to medium silky, velvety, non-
Crosspolymer- 118.4˚F) greasy, non-tacky
G-02 texture with quick break
Jeesperse® Medium/fast Low Long Great None Low 45˚C to 50˚C Low
Non-greasy, light, silky,
ICE-T CIS-2 (113˚F to powdery, quick break
131˚F) (watery splash)
Jeesperse® Medium Low
Medium/ Good Low Low
55˚C (131˚F) Low to Non-greasy, light, silky,
ICE-T CPCS long medium powdery
Jeesperse® Medium
Low
Medium
Good
Low
Low 40˚C to 54˚C Medium
Non-greasy, light,
ICE-T-LB-T-NS (104˚F to slightly occlusive, quick
131˚F) break (watery splash)
Natragem EW Low to Medium Medium Good Low Medium Not sure, Medium to Waxy, lightly greasy,
medium heat to 70˚C high occlusive
to 80˚C
Olivem 1000 Fast Low Medium Good Low/none Low to 70˚C (158˚F) Light to very Non-greasy, light
medium light
Phytomulse Medium to Low Long Good Low Low 50˚C to 58˚C Light Lightly greasy, non-
Coconut fast (122˚F to occlusive, allows for
136˚F) quick break.
Polawax Low to Medium Medium Good Low Medium 48˚C to 52˚C Medium Waxy, lightly greasy,
medium (around occlusive
115˚F-ish)
Ritamulse SCG Low
High Short Poor Medium/ Low 50˚C (122˚ F) Thick Non-greasy, occlusive,
high heavy
Simulsol or Fast Low Long Good Low/none Low 54˚ C to 60˚ C Light to very Very lightly greasy, non-
Lotionpro' 165 (129.2˚ F to light occlusive, very light,
140˚ F) makes u y lotions,
allows for quick break
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Spreadability Cushion Play Slip & Drag Lubricity Melting Viscosity of Skin feel
time glide point nal
product*
Varisoft EQ 65 Medium to Thin Medium Good Low/none

Low 75˚C to 80˚C Light to very Dry, powdery, non-
fast to long (167˚F 176˚F) light greasy, makes very u y
lotions
ViscOptima SE Excellent Moderat Medium Good Low Medium Thicker, Dry, powdery, non-
e/thick creamier greasy, allows for “quick
break” or watery
sensation
When considering your emulsi er, check to see if you have to include a stabilizer for it to
work as these are often fatty alcohols, like cetyl or cetearyl alcohol, which will thicken the
formula, increasing the viscosity, which might make them less suitable for a body milk or
thinner lotion.
Varisoft EQ 65 needs a stabilizer in the form of cetearyl alcohol, but it doesn’t increase the
viscosity by much. In fact, some of the lightest, u est lotions I’ve made were with Varisoft
EQ 65, with 600 grams (21.16 ounces by weight) making up to 800 ml (a little over 27 uid
ounces), so it’s suitable for body milks and thinner lotions.
Olivem 1000 can be stabilized with cetearyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate, or a rheology modi er,
like xanthan gum, Sepinov EMT 10, or Sepimax ZEN. Using glyceryl stearate or glyceryl
stearate SE creates light, u y lotions, while using a rheology modi er can increase the
viscosity of the water phase, which isn't a bad thing for a thinner lotion. I don’t recommend
using cetearyl alcohol with most emulsi ers as it can often increase the viscosity a bit more
than we want when used at 2% or more.
Having said that, when we’re looking at what ingredients we can add to a body milk to
increase the occlusion, the waxiness of cetearyl alcohol might be a welcome addition if
you’re using very light to light emollients and want something a little heavier. You could use
cetyl alcohol or a solid ester at up to 2% to get that sensation, but you might be making it a
little heavier than you expect.
Also consider if your emulsi er requires heating and holding and waiting for a bit before
bottling if it’s really warm in your workshop or you’re wanting to make something quick
you can use within an hour. I admit to being completely enamoured by these cold process
emulsi ers that are so quick to use, I can make 5 lotions in an hour (not including
packaging). When we have such a huge assortment with all kinds of di erent skin
sensations from which to choose, it is hard for me to choose a heat-and-hold, warm process
emulsi er over one that doesn’t require more than slightly over room temperature water.
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I’ve gone into great detail about these types of emulsi ers in three e-books so far, 10 minute lotions; 10
minute lotions, part two; and 10 minute hair care products, all of which you can nd in the store on my
site along with 60+ e-books I’ve written on various topics.
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SENSORY C HARACTERISTICS OF
EMOLLIENTS
Emulsi ers might contribute a great deal to the sensory characteristics of the lotion, but we
can alter it by choosing the right emollients for the job to make it even less greasy, more
silky, less draggy, and all those other things we want in a formula.
There are two big concepts to consider when choosing emollients for our products - the
sensory characteristics and the spreadability.
When choosing emollients for our products, there are a few concepts to consider when
comparing them, including spreadability, cushion, play time, slip and glide, drag, lubricity,
melting point, and skin feel. Each emollient you have in your workshop - natural oils and
butters, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, liquid or solid esters, silicones, ethers, and more - can be
categorized by these characteristics so you can make easily make choices for your products.
Let’s look at the de nitions for some of these properties…
Spreadability: How well an ingredient or product spreads on our skin when applied, then
rubbed. In general, the heavier the emollient, the more solid the emollient, the harder it is
to spread. Melting point can a ect the spreadability of the product. Those that melt well
below body temperature and become liquid, like coconut oil, babassu oil, or water soluble
silicone wax, spread better than those that take some time to melt, like cocoa butter,
beeswax, or cetearyl alcohol.
Compare fractionated coconut oil, sweet almond, apricot kernel, rice bran, with olive oil, avocado oil, or
castor oil. The lighter oils will spread more easily than the heavier ones.
Cushion: The thickness of the lm on our skin. “Cushion is related to the viscosity of the
liquid, the volatility of the liquid, the surface tension of the liquid, and the tendency of the
liquid to be absorbed into the skin.” Volatile liquids are those that evaporate, like
cyclomethicone, isododecane, dodecane, or alcohol, which tend to be thinner ingredients
and provide less cushion.
Compare fractionated coconut oil, sweet almond, apricot kernel, rice bran, with olive oil, avocado oil, or
castor oil. The heavier oils will feel more cushion-y than the light ones.
Play time: How long it takes an ingredient or product to spread on our skin then disappear.
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This is a ected by all kinds of factors, so it’s hard to generalize, but something that’s thicker, solid, or
more draggy will be harder to spread on our skin than something that’s thinner, liquid, and less draggy
with more slip and glide. Consider the play time of beeswax, cocoa butter, and sweet almond oil. The
liquid oil will have more play time than the beeswax.
Drag: This is when something takes e ort to spread on our skin, like a lotion bar with too
much beeswax or a lotion with loads of butters or stearic acid. This can be a ected by the
composition of the ingredient - something with more saturated fatty acids will have more
drag - as well as the melting point. (We’ll get into this more in the next section on
combining emollients…)
Compare spreading a butter, a fatty alcohol, fatty acid, or wax with spreading thinner, greasier feeling
oils. The thicker ingredients will have more drag than fractionated coconut, sweet almond, apricot kernel,
rice bran, and liquid oils. The thinner liquid oils will have less drag than the thicker liquid oils.
Cetearyl alcohol will have more drag than cetyl alcohol, and stearic acid will have more drag than both of
them.
Slip and glide: This is about how slippery the ingredient is on your skin, how little e ort
you have to make to spread it on your skin. Something with higher spreading values or
higher spreadability will have better slip and glide than something that has low/slow
spreading values or lower spreadability.
Compare something like fractionated coconut oil with loads of slip and glide with something like stearic
acid or beeswax, those things with loads of drag or stickiness.
Melting point: This is the temperature at which something melts (obvious, right?) This is
an important consideration when formulating to make sure things like lotion bars or
whipped butters won’t melt in a purse, steamy bathroom, or hot car. It’s also important
when it comes to application on the skin.
If the ingredient has a melting point at lower than skin temperature,

like babassu oil, it will melt quickly when applied to the skin. If it has
a melting point higher than skin temperature, like cetyl alcohol at
49˚C (120˚F), it won’t.
It was so hot in Voyageur Soap & Candle Supplies one summer, the babassu oil -
with a melting point of 24˚C or 76˚F - was liquid on the shelves! Imagine how
a whipped butter with this as the base would fare in the hotter months! Eek!
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An aside, how do we gure out the melting point of a product? We have to determine
that experimentally, by watching it or melting it. We can’t just take an average of the
melting points as there are other factors that might a ect it.
Lubricity or calling something “lubricious”: This means something feels smooth,

moisturizing, emollient, and not waxy, draggy, thin, or too greasy. One textbook de ned
smooth as “slippy, slippery, velvet, owing”, and moisturizing as “oily, wet, heavy,
moist”. (Reference, Formulas, Ingredients, and Production of Cosmetics)
In general, it means an ingredient that feels rich and emollient, so thinner ingredients, like
fractionated coconut oil or isopropyl myristate, wouldn’t be considered lubricious. Our
liquid oils are considered lubricious, while solid oils with shorter fatty acid chains and some
butters are considered “coarse”. Waxes are considered draggy and “adhesive”.
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COMBINING EMOLLIENTS &

SPREADABILIT Y
This concept - creating combinations of slow/low, medium, and fast spreading emollients to
give our emulsions a smooth skin feel and interesting sensory experiences - can help us
create an oil phase that o ers a smooth sensation of moisturization, something that’s not
too heavy, but still feels luxurious and lubricious on our skin.
Check out this post in the combining emollients series for more information on spreadability and spreading
values! See the entire series home page by clicking here. This is an incredibly important concept!)
Let’s take a quick look at this concept…
Combining three or more emollients – low, medium, and high spreading oils, esters, butters,
silicones, waxes, and more – helps us create an oil phase for lotions, creams, anhydrous
balms, facial products, and other products that have all kinds of amazing properties with
di erent sensory experiences. This is a concept known by a few di erent names, like
Cascading Emollients (Cognis). This theory “promotes the idea that through the
combination of three or more emollients, a huge variety of pleasant textures can be achieved
through all stages of product use; initial application, rub-in, and after feel.” (Reference:
Line)
When we apply a lotion, the rst experience we have

is with the fast spreading emollient, then medium,
then low or slow, which will stick around after we’re
nished rubbing it in. The ideal combination will be
a low/slow, medium, then fast emollient or a low/
slow and fast emollient with a few di erent medium
emollients.
In an emulsion, fast spreading emollients may feel

smooth and silky on skin to start, but when that
sensation goes away, you’re left feeling the waxiness
of waxes, emulsi ers, and other solid ingredients, the low spreading ones.
Emulsi ers are generally considered slow/low spreading, which is why they have such a huge impact on the
skin feel and sensory characteristics of the lotion as that’s the sensation you’ll feel on your skin 10 minutes
later, an hour later, or the next day.
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Solid ingredients like emulsi ers, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, solid esters, waxes, solid oils,
and butters will be low to slow spreading as they’re solid and need to melt a bit to be spread
on our skin well.
Liquid ingredients can range from being slow/low to fast or ultra fast. Natural oils will
range from low/slow to fast, with most falling in the medium spreading range. The thinner
the liquid, the faster it spreads, the less drag we feel; conversely, the thicker or more solid
the emollient, the slower it melts, the more drag we feel.
The spreading value of an emollient is

measured by “dropping a xed amount of oil to
the skin and measuring its area size after a xed
period of time” (Reference: Emollients, chapter
16)
In general, it means dropping emollients on skin

– usually on the forearm – then letting them sit
for 10 minutes so they can spread naturally. The
oil is blotted, and the area is measured in square
millimetres. (The measurement for this is mm2/10 minutes.)
There are di erent ways to do this, so I’m going with Croda’s method for this series, which
is to apply a 4 milligram dose of oil to the forearm at 23˚C at 60% relative humidity, which
is the most common measurement I’ve found. A low spreading emollient will cover less
than 300 mm2 of our skin in 10 minutes; a medium spreading emollient, 300 to 1000 mm2
in 10 minutes; and a high spreading emollient, above 1000 mm2 in 10 minutes. We can also
nd super-fast and ultrafast spreading emollients, which are higher still.
The larger the spreading value, the lighter the emollient will feel on our skin.
Generally, emollients with lower molecular weights (smaller molecules) will have a larger
spreading area than those with larger molecular weights. A vegetable oil with a smaller
molecular weight will have a larger spreading value, meaning it can cover more skin than
oils that have larger molecular weights.
A low or slow spreading emollient will be something heavier with more lubricity with a
skin feel that’ll last the longest. Think of avocado oil, palm oil, or even lanolin. This kind of
emollient leaves behind a residue that feels occlusive on our skin and can interfere with the
feeling of quick break or fresh kick. These emollients are not the kind that we feel “sinking
in” quickly. They may have good slip and glide or they may have some drag, like some of the
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vegetable oils. They tend to feel a bit more oily than higher viscosity ingredients, and they
may form lms or appear glossy.
Residue is de ned as “A small amount that is left behind after a process” or “when the main
part has gone or been taken or used”. In our products, this will be the oily stu left behind
after we’ve been rubbing the product into our skin, which consists of these oils, waxes,
thickeners, emulsi ers, and other oily things we can feel on our skin 10 minutes or so later.
Medium spreading emollients range from 300 mm2/10 min to less than 1000 mm2/10
minutes, which is a pretty huge range. Think of lighter emollients and esters, like
fractionated coconut oil, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, cetearyl ethylhexanoate. Lighter natural oils
are at the higher end of this category like meadowfoam seed oil, sun ower oil, camellia seed
oil, grapeseed, and such, while heavier natural oils will be at the lower end of the category,
like avocado oil or olive oil.
A fast spreading emollient will be something light with good slip and glide, low to no
drag, that might give you the feeling of lubricity when you rst apply a lotion to your skin,
then disappears quickly. Think of an ester like isopropyl myristate (IPM), a hydrocarbon like
isododecane, or a silicone like cyclomethicone. They can be volatile – meaning they
evaporate at room temperature. These kinds of emollients are said to “sink in” quickly. They
help the emulsion spread more uniformly and evenly on our skin.
The silicone substitutes we nd for cyclomethicone are in this category with fast spreading
values.
Super fast and ultra-fast spreading emollients are those that are very light, much lighter
than water, like the hydrocarbons, undecane, tridecane, isododecane, with short carbon
chains. Cetiol® LC (undecane and tridecane) has a spreading value of 2,500 mm2/10
minutes, and it’s considered ultra fast.
SO WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT ANY OF THIS?
If our goal is to make lighter lotions and body milks, we’ll want to choose ingredients that
create thinner lotions that won’t feel draggy, waxy, or heavy on our skin.
When it comes to our emollient pro le, we want to choose a low/slow emollient, a few
medium ones, and a fast/super fast one to give us that full sensory experience without a ton
of drag and heaviness on our skin. We’ll want to consider the melting point of the lotion as
that can impact the overall spreadability.
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For the most part, our emulsi ers will take the role of the low/slow emollient, so we’ll be
thinking more about those liquid ingredients that make up the medium to fast range of
spreadability.
An aside…I should point out that you can make amazing body milks and thinner lotions without having
to take any of this into consideration, and adding something solid or draggy like butters, waxes, or other
solid ingredients doesn’t mean you’ve made a lousy product. I’m sharing this information with you as
these concepts altered the way I formulate pretty radically so I can quantify what it is I like or don’t like
about various emollients and include or avoid them. I can gure out what might go with what and what
impact adding something with a di erent sensory pro le might create. Considering these concepts adds
something to our formulating toolbox that helps us make even more amazing things!
CHOOSING LIQUID EMOLLIENTS!
The rst thing I consider when making a lotion like this are the emollients, so let’s take a
look at a few you could use. As I mentioned pretty extensively in the last two sections, you
can use any emollients you want - liquid or solid - in these lotions, but you’ll want to
consider the impact they’ll have on the viscosity, skin feel, spreadability, and so on.
If you’re looking to keep that quick break, watery sploosh kind of feeling, the lighter and
less lubricious emollients that don’t leave a residue are the best choice. The emulsi er is
your low/slow spreading emollient, so choose one or two mediums and a fast/super/ultra to
create that cascade of smoothness.
If you want something to feel heavier, more occlusive, a combination of lighter emollients
with one thicker or more solid emollient is a good choice.
If you want something that’s kind of in the middle with great spreadability, some occlusion,
and quick break wateriness, choose a light emollient and up to three medium emollients.
You can use whichever light oils you want for these formulas - here are a few of my
favourites…
Fractionated coconut oil: This medium/fast spreading emollient has no colour or odour. It
o ers a light, non-greasy skin feel that works well with slightly heavier oils to make the oil
phase feel drier, less heavy, and non-occlusive.
Camellia seed oil: This medium spreading emollient is derived from tea seeds and o ers a
light, non-greasy, slightly lubricious skin feel with no drag.
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Isododecane is a very thin non-polar emollient (hydrocarbon), described as “weightless” or

“very light skin feel”, so it’s used in a lot of products where we want oil free emolliency or
an oil soluble ingredient that won’t feel occlusive or weighed down. It has a very fast
spreading values with a dry skin feel with no odour or colour, so it’s great for all kinds of
light lotions, including moisturizers. It’s absorbed very quickly, leaving behind no residue or
sensation of greasiness, and adds to a sensation of cooling as it evaporates. Because it’s a
thin liquid that’s much lighter in water, we know it spreads very easily, has good play time,
and great slip and glide. Combined with other emollients, it can increase spreadability,
making it easier to use heavier oils and silicones in our products and o ering a more
slippery skin feel with more play time. It doesn’t o er much cushion due to its viscosity.
Suggested usage is 1% to 15% in the oil phase of our products. It’s considered highly
compatible with dimethicone and it’s a great solvent for polymer type silicones, like
dimethicone crosspolymer.
Dodecane is a very lightweight, natural, plant-derived, non-polar emollient (hydrocarbon)

we can use anywhere we might use oils – lotions, facial moisturizers, lip balms, colour
cosmetics, facial sera, eye care products, hair care, anhydrous products. It’s a great pigment
wetter and helps disperse pigments in colour cosmetics. In hair care products, both rinse-o
and leave-on, it works as an emollient that won’t weigh down ne hair while adding all
kinds of moisturizing awesomeness. In our anhydrous products, it can increase spreading
values, reduce drag, and reduce sensations of greasiness. Dodecane is absorbed very quickly,
leaving behind no residue. Because the molecule is smaller, it’s more volatile, meaning it can
evaporate at room temperature. It has a low ashpoint of 71˚C (158˚F), which means we
want to keep this in the cool down phase of our ingredients.
Quick summary of the chemistry of dodecane: This has fast/super fast spreading value of
1300 mm2 in 10 minutes (fast to super-fast) with a non-greasy skin feel that’ll feel cool as it
evaporates at room temperature from your skin. It’s lightweight, so it won’t weigh down
hair or feel heavy on skin, especially around our eyes or on our lips. Suggested usage at 1%
to 75% in all kinds of products.
Neossance® Hemisqualane (INCI: 13-15 alkane) is like squalane, derived from sugar. It can
be used in hair and skin care products as a very light emollient with high spreading values.
It sinks in quickly with good play time. It’s not greasy or tacky feeling - I’d describe it as
silky and velvety. although this one is derived from sugar, not olives, or amaranth. It can
reduce frizzies,

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It can be used at 100% (neat), but I tend to use it at up to 20% in lotions when I want a very
light, fast spreading emollient. Neossance Hemisqualane is ECOcert and considered
biodegradable, green, and vegan. It’s non-comedogenic, too. Add it to the oil phase of any
product as it’s oil soluble and can tolerate heat. And it has a 24 month shelf life, which is
awesome. It isn’t soluble in water, alcohol, or polyols, like butylene or propylene glycol.It is
soluble in silicones, like dimethicone or cyclomethicone, as well as esters and oils.
Squalane is a natural hydrocarbon, derived from olives, sugar, amaranth, or other plants. It
feels dewy and non-greasy, silky, on our skin. It’s slightly heavier than isododecane,
dodecane, or Hemisqualane, but still very light and perfect for light lotions and
moisturizers. It’s a fast spreading emollient with great play time, good lubricity, excellent
slip and glide without drag. It has a shelf life of 2 years, and can be used at up to 100%
(neat) in products.
S E N S O RY C O M PA R I S O N C H A R T F O R VA R I O U S
EMOLLIENTS
Terms: Spreading values as numbers and/or de ning them as low/slow, medium, fast, super fast, ultra fast. Low, medium, high; poor,
okay, good, excellent; slight, thin, moderate, thick; short, medium, long. For skin feel, the measures are non-greasy, low greasy,
medium greasy, and greasy greasy.
Spreadability Cushion Play time Slip & glide Drag Lubricity Viscosity Skin feel
Amaranth Medium Moderate Short/ Good Low Good Medium Lightly greasy
seed oil medium
Apricot kernel Medium Thin Medium
Good Low Okay
Light Medium greasy
oil
Argan oil Medium Thin to Medium
Good Low- Okay-good Light Medium greasy
moderate medium
Avocado oil Medium/ Moderate Short Okay Low- Good to 60 - 70 mPa.s, Non-greasy,
slow medium excellent medium to high
Baobab oil Medium Moderate Medium Okay-good Low- Good to Medium Low greasy
medium excellent
Camellia oil Medium/fast
Thin
Long
Good
Low
Poor to Light Non-greasy, light, dry,
okay like grapeseed.
Carrot tissue Medium Moderate Medium Okay-good Low- Good
Medium greasy Carrot tissue oil
oil medium
Castor oil Low/slow Moderate Short Poor Medium Good to Very thick Low greasy, but a bit
to thick excellent tacky and draggy at
higher amounts
Cetiol® CC Fast/very Slight Medium Excellent None Poor 7.5 mPa.s, very Non-greasy, silky,
(Undecane, fast light non-volatile
tridecane)
Cetyl alcohol Low/slow Thin to Medium-ish Good to Low Good 49˚C (120˚F)
Slippery, glidy, non-
moderate excellent Medium greasy
Cetyl esters Low/slow Thin to Medium Good to Low Poor 43˚C to 47˚C Slippery, glidy, silky,
moderate excellent (109˚F to 116˚F) non-greasy, light
Thin
Chia seed oil Medium Moderate Short- Good Low Good Medium Non-greasy
medium
Cloudberry Medium Thin to Medium Good Low- Good Light to medium Low greasy
seed oil moderate medium

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Coco Fast
Slight Medium Excellent None Poor to 5 mPa.s, very light Non-greasy, non-
caprylate 1300 okay volatile, naturally
compliant.
Cyclomethicone Fast/super None Very long Excellent None Poor 5 mPa.s, very Non-greasy, volatile,
fast
light, volatile very thin, silky, like
1490 ball bearings
Dimethicone Medium/fast Thick Long Excellent None Superior 350 mPa.s, thick
Non-greasy, dry,
350 cs Surface tension: powdery, silky,
20 mN/m smooth, like ball
bearings.
Fractionated Medium
Slight Long Good Low Okay 20 to 25 mPa.s, Non-greasy, dry
coconut oil light
Grapeseed oil Medium/fast Slight to Long
Good Low Okay
Light Non-greasy, dry
thin
Isododecane Fast Thin Long Good None Okay Very light, thinner Non-greasy, very light
than water
Isopropyl Fast/Very Slight
Long
Excellent None Poor 5.5 mPa.s, very Non-greasy, very dry,
myristate fast
light absorbs quickly
1200
Jojoba oil Medium/low Moderate Short Okay Low- Good Non-greasy Non-greasy, slightly
medium waxy
Kukui nut oil Medium Thin
Medium Good Low
Okay-good
Light Low greasy, silky
Lauryl laurate Low/slow Low to Long Excellent None Good 23˚C to 30°C (73˚F Dry, powdery skin
medium to 96°F) feel, slippery, light
LuxGlide N350 Medium Moderate Medium Good to Low
Good 350 cs, like Non-greasy, dry, silky
great dimethicone 350
LuxGlide N5 Fast Thin Long
Great None Okay 5 cs, like Non-greasy, dry, silky
dimethicone 5 or 6
Macadamia Medium
Thin Medium Okay to Low Okay 43 mPa.s, medium Non-greasy, light, non
nut oil (re ned) good —greasy.
Moringa oil Medium Moderate Medium Good
Low- Good Light to medium Non-greasy, powdery
medium silky
Myristyl Low/ Moderate Medium Good to Low Good 38˚C to 40˚C Non-greasy, silky, soft
myristate medium excellent (100˚F)

Melts on contact with
Medium skin
NatraSil™ Fast/very Slight to Medium Excellent None Okay 21 mPa.s, light Non-greasy, powdery
fast
thin silky, absorbs quickly
981 mm2
Neossance Fast/very Thin Long Good Very low Okay 3 mPa.s, very light Non-greasy, very light
Hemisqualane fast
Olive oil Medium/ Moderate Short to Good Low- Good 84 to 108 mPa.s, Greasy, slightly
slow medium medium heavy thicker,
Plum kernel Medium/ Moderate Medium Good Low Good Low greasy Plum kernel
slow
Pomegranate Medium Moderate Medium
Okay-good Low- Good to Light to medium Non-greasy, silky
oil to thick medium excellent
Pumpkin seed Medium
Thin Medium Good Low
Okay-good 40-45 mPa.s, Medium greasy, light
oil medium feeling oil
Rice bran oil Medium Thin Medium Good Low
Okay-good
Light Medium greasy
Sea buckthorn Medium Low High Good Low Okay Light Non-greasy, thin
oil
Soy bean oil Medium Thin Medium Good Low Okay-good Light Greasy greasy
Squalane Fast Thin Long Good Very low Okay/good Very light, thinner Non-greasy, very light
than water
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Stearic acid Low/slow Moderate Short Poor Medium to Good 69˚C (156˚F)
Draggy, slightly
to thick high Thick greasy, occlusive
Sun ower oil Medium Slight Medium Good Low
Okay
Light Greasy greasy
Sweet almond Medium Slight Medium

Good Low
Okay-good
Light Medium greasy
oil
Sweet almond Medium Thin Medium Good
Low- Okay-good
Light
Low greasy
oil (unre ned) medium
Tamanu oil Low/slow Moderate Medium Okay-good Low- Good Thick, medium Tamanu oil
medium greasy
H E R E A R E A F E W O F M Y FAVO U R I T E S O L I D
EMOLLIENTS!
Solid emollients in a light lotion or body milk? Haven’t you just spent ages telling us to use
light to medium weight emollients that could be considered medium to fast spreading in
these products? Yep, but once we know the rules, we can bend them a bit, and these are
unique solid emollients in that they all melt at lower than body temperature, so when
applied to your skin, they turn to liquids that are easy to spread; don’t feel heavy, greasy, or
super-occlusive; and won’t feel super cloying or draggy.
Babassu oil: This is a non-greasy feeling, silky, thin oil without a lot of cushion or lubricity
but loads of slip and glide, so it’s a perfect addition to your product. It has a melting point of
24˚C (76˚F), so it melts on contact with your skin to o er a silky smooth skin feel with
great spreadability.
Could you use coconut oil, which melts at 24˚C (76˚C) in a lotion? Of course, but I nd it a bit greasy as
a substitute for babassu oil, but that’s just me, you might love it! You can substitute it 1:1 wherever you
see babassu oil in one of my formulas, unless I note otherwise.
Water soluble silicone wax (INCI: Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether

Dimethyl Silane) “Gransil VX-406 is an opaque wax that is water-
soluble, water-clear silicone for advanced aesthetics. It is a unique
design of the polymer structure, where a balanced ratio of lipophilic
silicone to hydrophilic polyether provides 100% water solubility
without oil droplets or a hazy appearance. Applications include (but
are not limited to) skincare, serums, body washes and wipes/non-
wovens formulations.” (Reference)
It feels silky, soft, and lubricious without being greasy or leaving

your skin too shiny. It melts at 29˚C to 34˚C ((84˚F to 92˚F), which is lower than body
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temperature so it melts on contact with skin, and it acts as an occlusive to help reduce
transepidermal water loss. It’ll help sti en sticks without being draggy or waxy, like
beeswax might be. It may work as a light humectant, and de nitely works to reduce
tackiness, like that we get with Aristo ex AVC or glycerin. Best of all, it goes into the water
phase of a product, so we have more oil phase to play with in these kinds of thinner lotions.
Lauryl laurate is a solid simple ester derived from lauryl alcohol and lauric acid from
coconut and RSPO palm oil. It’s considered a naturally compliant ingredient. It o ers a very
light, non-greasy, silky, silicone-like skin feel that melts on contact with skin. It o ers oil-
free, non-greasy emolliency in lotions, colour cosmetics, anhydrous products, and hair
conditioners and works as a lm former to o er very light occlusion without feeling too
heavy.
It has a low melting point, 23˚C to 30°C (73˚F to 96°F), so it turns to liquid on contact with
skin. It’s great for lotions, anhydrous products, and cleansing balms where you want
something to be liquid quite quickly. It doesn’t really thicken our products much – on par
with babassu oil, which is to say it thickens very little – and it o ers great emulsion stability.
It has a lovely skin feel – described as “silicone like”, so it’s dry, powdery, silky, but light –
for lotions and such. It can help improve colour pay-o in colour cosmetics, like lip sticks. It
works as a light emollient in lotions and anhydrous products.
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CREATING A LIGHT LOTION OR

B O DY M I L K W I T H J E E S P E R S E ® I C E - T
CIS-2
This is one of my favourite cold emulsi ers for creating light lotions, facial moisturizers, and
body milks as it doesn’t contain heavy ingredients, but still contains emollients and
thickeners to make a product that dollops on our skin in a nice way instead of a thin, weedy
emulsion that doesn’t feel cushioned or lubricious.
Jeesperse® ICE-T CIS-2 (INCI: PEG-150 distearate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol (and)
polyquaternium 37) works as a positively charged or cationic cold emulsi er as well as a
rheology modi er for other lotions and products. It creates a lamellar gel network in cold
water, but you might want to heat it up slightly to 50˚C (122˚F) to ensure everything melts
nicely. Because it’s cationic, it has a silky, powdery, non-greasy skin feel with the slip and
feel of silicones, described as “elegant”, which is really lovely. It also has a watery, “quick
break” feeling when applied to the skin, which makes it perfect for lighter lotions, body
milks, and facial moisturizers as well as thicker products.
It can create sprayable lotions at 0.5% to 1.5%; milks, lotions, and creams at 3% to 10%,
with the product becoming thicker as you increase the concentration. As an emulsi er, it can
handle oils at a 10:1 ratio, so 10% oil to 1% emulsi er.
As a note, I’ve found 1.5% to 2% to be ideal amount for a light lotion, facial moisturizer, or light
conditioner as it’s not as stable below that.
It can handle up to 30% glycerin without feeling tacky, which is pretty remarkable as 5% can
feel kinda sticky in some formulas. I can’t stress enough that this is an awesome thing when
it comes to making summer weight lotions with loads of humectants.
They aren’t kidding about this. I’ve used 30% glycerin in a few di erent lotions and I didn’t notice the
tack at all! At one point during the very humid summer, I found little beads of water on my skin, which
was an incredible demonstration of the awesome power of hydration glycerin o ers to our products.
It has that “fresh kick” feeling or cooling feeling on our skin after application, which is really
nice. I found that using too much of it can result in pilling, those little balls of gel that show
up when you’re rubbing a lotion, so I prefer to use it at no more than 5% in lotions,
conditioners, and shaving products.

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It works for a pH range of 2 to 9, which is pretty huge and includes using things like acids or
salicylic acid.
It has a melting point of 45˚C to 50˚C (113˚F to 122˚F), so even though you can use it at
room temperature, I’ve found that just that little bit of extra heated water can create a really
silky, smooth product in a few minutes. If you want to use this as a completely cold
emulsi er, it’ll hydrate over night, and you’ll see that it’s smoother then, but it’s not a lot of
work to heat up some water to around 50˚C (122˚F) and make the product that way.
Because it’s positively charged or cationic, we can’t mix it with anionic or negatively charged
ingredients like surfactants, sodium polyacrylates, Sepimax ZEN, Sepinov EMT 10,
carbomers and gelling ingredients, and a lot of other gel-type thickeners.
Because this is a positively charged ingredient, it will have that shy smell that can be quite strong. This
isn’t a sign the product is bad or old; it’s normal for anything with a polyquaternium or cationic
compound. We didn’t notice the smell in the end product at up to 6%, and we used no more than 0.5%
fragrance oil.
You can mix this with no shear mixers - like a hand mixer with one or two beaters - up to
high shear mixers, like immersion or stick blenders or even homogenizers. (Using a high
shear mixer will be much faster than hand mixers.) Please don’t mix this by hand with a
kitchen implement, like a whisk or spatula; always use electrical appliances when making
products, unless otherwise indicated.
It takes two to four minutes to mix, which is pretty quick, and

when it looks uniform, you’re done!
This is a thicker formula using 4% of this emulsi er, and look how creamy
it is!
All of these properties make this emulsi er a super awesome

choice when making a light lotion, body milk, or facial
moisturizer, especially the bit where it can handle loads of
glycerin without being tacky.
When choosing a preservative to use with this emulsi er, keep in

mind this is a cationic or positively charged emulsi er that makes lotions that are pH 5 to 7.
You can lower the pH if you want to suit your preservative choice. You can use most of the
choices from the preservative chart, except for Optiphen ND, which doesn’t play nice with
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cationics, and the Euxyl line, which doesn't like anything ethoxylated, like PEG-150
distearate.
L E T ’ S M A K E T H I S B O DY M I L K !
Here’s the base formula we’ll be using to make a body milk/light lotion with this emulsi er.
You’ll see in the instructions that it’s important to follow the right order of addition for
ingredients, so please follow them carefully to achieve success.
BASE FORMUL A FOR CREATING A LIGHT LOTION USING

JEESPERSE® ICE-T CIS-2
HEATED PHASE
76.5% distilled water heated to 45 C̊ to 50 C̊ (113 F̊ to 122 F)
̊
5% glycerin
0.5% to 1% preservative of choice
15% emollients of choice
2% Jeesperse® ICE-T CIS-2
COOL DOWN PHASE

up to 0.5% fragrance/essential oil
Tiny bit of colour - liquid water soluble dye or mica (not lakes) - optional
INSTRUCTIONS FOR JEESPERSE® ICE-T CIS-2
Heat the water to around 45 C̊ to 50 C̊ (113 F̊ to 122 F).

̊ I generally boil up the water, then
let it cool. Weigh the heated phase in order into a container that’s big enough to handle your
immersion blender.
Sprinkle the emulsi er on top of the water, then mix with a high shear device – immersion
blender or stick blender – until it’s uniform. This might take about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the cool down phase, stick blend until uniform, shouldn’t be more than a minute or
two at most.
If you’ve made this warm, wait until you get to room temperature before bottling.

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This formula will produce a light lotion that can be used in an

airless pump or bottle with treatment pump. It won’t spray
very well with a small mister, but a larger one - one that you
might use on an 8 ounce (250 ml) bottle or more, like a trigger
mister - might work, depending on the emollients you use. I
prefer to use the pump bottles.
This emulsi er creates lighter lotions with quick break or that

feeling of wateriness, so if you want to keep that, we’ll use
lighter emollients that don’t have a lot of residue. How can we
get a bit of occlusion without ruining that skin feel? We can
use allantoin at 0.5% or maybe a bit of water soluble silicone
wax at 2%, which will feel silky and light, rather than draggy and waxy like a natural or oil
soluble wax might feel.
In the summer, I like to make my lotions lled to the brim with humectants, those lovely
ingredients that draw water from the atmosphere and keep my skin hydrated. I have 5%
glycerin in the base formula and could take it to 10% without fear of being sticky or tacky.
But I like to mix it up a bit by adding a bit of this humectant and a bit of that one so my
formula works in various humidities. If you don’t have the other humectants I use, just
substitute glycerin in its place.
I love humectants so much, I created a larger, second edition of Moist, second edition: The requenchening
lled with pro les of these ingredients as well as formulas you can follow!
For this formula, let’s use 5% glycerin, 3% propanediol 1,3, and 2% sodium lactate (liquid
or powder) as our humectants. If you don’t have one of these, substitute more glycerin in its
place.
This emulsi er o ers a light, cooling sensation to the lotions, but you could crank up the
cooling sensation by using a lovely hydrosol - peppermint, spearmint, cucumber, or tea tree -
at 10% in place of 10% distilled water. Or you could add a titch of mint essential oil on its
own or with another essential/fragrance oil. One of my favourites is a 1:1 mix of eucalytpus
and peppermint essential oils used at up to 0.3% as the fragrance/essential oil in the
formula.
There are so many gorgeous botanical extracts we can try in a formula like this, so it’s really
about which ones you like. Make sure they’re water soluble if you’re using them as part of
the water soluble part of the formula.
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If they have OS anywhere in the name, that probably means they’re oil soluble. Nothing wrong with that,
but OS extracts will be part of the oil phase, not the water phase.
When I make products for the summer, I like to include loads of anti-in ammatories and
ingredients for sun parched, sun burned, or sensitive skin. There are loads of ingredients
from which I can choose, but my favourites tend to be chamomile (hydrosol, liquid, or
powder), calendula (hydrosol or powder), chia seed extract (liquid), quinoa extract (liquid),
and witch hazel (distillate).
WHICH EMOLLIENTS SHOULD WE CHOOSE?
Let’s make three versions of this formula. One with just very light, fast spreading
emollients; one with medium and fast spreading emollients; and one with a solid emollient
like babassu oil, lauryl laurate, or water soluble silicone wax.
Using very light, fast spreading emollients…
For this rst formula, let’s use a combination of fast spreading emollients. I think I’ll use
7.5% isododecane or dodecane and 7.5% squalane in this formula to give me that cooling
feeling of evaporation with a dewy after-feel.
Using medium & fast spreading emollients…
For this second formula, let’s use 10% medium spreading emollients and 5% fast spreading
emollients.
For the medium spreading emollients, we can choose a natural oil - something light, like
camellia seed, fractionated coconut oil, grapeseed oil, meadowfoam oil - at 10% to o er that
increased lubricity and cushion. Let’s add 5% fast spreading emollient - isododecane,
dodecane, squalane, Neossance™ Hemisqualane, or isopropyl myristate (IPM) - to
complement it.
Using medium, fast & solid emollients…
Let’s make two versions of this lotion - one with 5% babassu oil, the other with 3% water
soluble silicone wax.
For the rst, let’s try 5% babassu oil (low/medium) with a medium spreading oil at 5% and
a fast spreading one at 5%. There are so many combinations you could try and they’ll all
have di erent sensory characteristics.
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For instance, if we made a babassu, camellia seed, and isododecane oil phase, we’d have
something that was lighter and less greasy feeling. If we decided to try babassu, kukui nut
oil, and squalane, we’d have something slightly heavier with more lubricity and cushion.
Or we could try some water soluble silicone wax at 3%, 6% kukui nut oil or camellia seed
oil, and 6% isododecane or squalane, which will add more slip and glide with that occlusive
skin feel.
A huge aside: The point of the Learn to Formulate series of e-books is to help you learn to
be comfortable making changes to formulas and how to make choices for formulas that
might have generic categories like “oil of choice”. I’m sharing some combinations with you,
but I really want you to branch out and try the combinations you like. Make small batches,
keep great notes, and try di erent things. The worst that happens is that you don’t like it,
and now you’ve learned what not to do next time, which isn’t a terrible outcome as you’re
bound to know someone who might enjoy that skin feel, so share it with your friends, co-
workers, and loved ones and get their honest opinions on what you made.
VA R I AT I O N S O N C R E AT I N G A L I G H T L O T I O N U S I N G
JEESPERSE® ICE-T CIS-2: FAST SPREADING EMOLLIENTS
LIGHT & FAST EMOLLIENTS MEDIUM & FAST SPREADING
EMOLLIENTS
HEATED PHASE HEATED PHASE
72.5% distilled water heated to 50 C̊ (122 F)
̊ 72.5% distilled water heated to 50 C̊ (122 F)
̊
0.5% allantoin 0.5% allantoin
5% glycerin 5% glycerin
3% propanediol 1,3 3% propanediol 1,3
2% sodium lactate 2% sodium lactate
0.5% Germall Plus liquid 0.5% Germall Plus liquid
7.5% isododecane or dodecane 10% light oils - camellia seed,
meadowfoam, grapeseed, fractionate
coconut oil
7.5% squalane 5% isododecane, dodecane, Neossance
Hemisqualane, squalane
2% Jeesperse® ICE-T CIS-2 2% Jeesperse® ICE-T CIS-2

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COOL DOWN PHASE COOL DOWN PHASE

up to 0.5% fragrance/essential oil up to 0.5% fragrance/essential oil
Tiny bit of colour - liquid water soluble dye Tiny bit of colour - liquid water soluble dye
or mica (not lakes) or mica (not lakes)
Please follow the instructions in the previous formula.
VA R I AT I O N S O N C R E AT I N G A L I G H T L O T I O N U S I N G
JEESPERSE® ICE-T CIS-2: MEDIUM, FAST & SOLID
EMOLLIENTS (FORMULA)
MEDIUM, FAST & SOLID, VERSION 1 - MEDIUM, FAST & SOLID, VERSION 2 -
BABASSU OIL WATER SOLUBLE SILICONE WAX
HEATED PHASE HEATED PHASE
̊
2% sodium lactate 2% sodium lactate
5% babassu oil 3% water soluble silicone wax
5% light oils - camellia seed, meadowfoam, 6% light oils - camellia seed,
grapeseed, fractionated coconut oil, kukui meadowfoam, grapeseed, fractionated
nut coconut oil
5% isododecane, dodecane, Neossance 5% isododecane, dodecane, Neossance
Hemisqualane, squalane Hemisqualane, squalane
2% Jeesperse® ICE-T CIS-2 2% Jeesperse® ICE-T CIS-2

Please follow the instructions in the previous formula.


If you wanted to take this formula to the next level, we could add an anti-oxidant - 0.05% to
0.1% mixed tocopherols Vitamin E to help slow down rancidity of the natural oils. Add this
to the cool down phase.
C R E AT I N G L I G H T LO T I O N S & B O DY
MILKS WITH OTHER COLD
EMULSIFIERS
Could you use another emulsi er in these formulas? Yep, there are a few di erent ones that
will work really well, but we need to check the charge as well as the amount of oils they can
handle.
For instance, I’m in love with ViscOptima SE aka

GelMaker RHEO (INCI: Sodium polyacrylate, ethylhexyl
cocoate, PPG-3 benzyl ether myristate, polysorbate 20),
which is a negatively charged emulsi er that makes
lotions in a few minutes at most.
This emulsi er o ers a creamy, silky skin feel with no

tackiness with a lovely watery sploosh or quick break
thanks to the sodium polyacrylate. If we want that
sensation to continue, we want to avoid heavy emollients
that leave loads of residue. Having said this, I’ve made
lotions with 30% oil phase, including all natural oils and
babassu oil, and it still had that lovely sensation, so you
have all kinds of leeway with the ingredients you choose.
Reviewing our ingredient list, it looks like everything plays nicely with anionic ingredients.
This emulsi er can be used at 1% for lighter lotions and body milks, 2% for hand & body
lotions, and 3% for body butters. We can use up to 30% oils with this formula, so the 15%
we’re already using will work well.
It’s negatively charged and contains an ethoxylated ingredient - polysorbate 80 - so we can’t

use the Euxyl line of preservatives with it. The nal pH will fall between 5.5 and 6.5, so that
might mean you need to reduce the pH slightly to use Optiphen Plus.
Oh, but wait, our previous formula includes sodium lactate, and sodium polyacrylate
doesn’t like electrolytes, like salts, very much. It might be wise to use another humectant in
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its place. In the past, I’ve used all kinds like propanediol 1,3, methyl gluceth-10, Manuka
honey, and more. I’m going to suggest any of these at 2% in the formula.
Next, we need to see how it has to be mixed. We can’t assume every emulsi er works the
same, so to avoid a massive fail, checking this is of vital importance. For this emulsi er, you
want to use a mixer with shear, an immersion blender, stick blender, or homogenizer. It will
whip up in about a minute with one of these instruments.
So a quick summary when altering the emulsi er is to check the charge of the emulsi er, the
potential oil phase, the pH, the process, and if it can handle electrolytes.
Let’s make a version of the fast spreading emollients lotion from the previous section. We’ll
use 1% ViscOptima SE to create something light that can be used in a pump bottle, airless
pump, or tottle bottle.
Note that in this formula, we’re reducing the emulsi er from 2% to 1%, so we’ll have to
increase our distilled water amount so the formula continues to add up to 100%. We’re
moving the emulsi er into its own phase, phase B.
Normally, the water doesn’t have to be heated, so both phases are at room temperature. But
we’re using allantoin, which needs to be dissolved in distilled water at at least 50˚C
(122˚F), so we’re heating the water up to 50˚C (122˚F) to ensure we don't get those
horrible shards as it cools down. If you leave out the allantoin, you can make this with room
temperature ingredients.
LIGHT & FAST SPREADING EMOLLIENTS USING

VISCOPTIMA SE (FORMULA)
LIGHT & FAST EMOLLIENTS MEDIUM & FAST SPREADING
EMOLLIENTS
PHASE A PHASE A
̊
2% Manuka honey, methyl gluceth-10, more 2% Manuka honey, methyl gluceth-10, more
glycerin, or more propanediol 1,3 glycerin, or more propanediol 1,3
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7.5% isododecane or dodecane 10% light oils - camellia seed, meadowfoam,

grapeseed, fractionate coconut oil
7.5% squalane 5% isododecane, dodecane, Neossance
Hemisqualane, squalane
PHASE B PHASE B
1% ViscOptima SE 1% ViscOptima SE
OPTIONAL: PHASE C OPTIONAL: PHASE C

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR VISCOPTIMA SE
Measure phase A into a container. I tend to use a container much bigger than I need, like a
600 ml (20 ounce) beaker for 200 ml (6.6 ounces) to ensure it doesn’t splash everywhere.
Mix for about 10 seconds to incorporate.
Measure phase B into a container. (This is generally just the ViscOptima SE). Mix with a
stick blender or other high shear mixer for about 45 seconds until thickened. It could take as
long as 2 minutes if your mixer is a bit slower or less powerful.
Add the tiny bit of colour into the container and blend until uniform.
If you wanted to alter the other formulas in the previous section using ViscOptima SE
(GelMaker RHEO), you can substitute it for the Jeesperse® ICE-T CIS-2 and use it. To make
the lighter lotion version, use 1% ViscOptima SE, then add 1% back to the distilled water
amount so the formula totals 100%.


USING OTHER COLD PROCESS

E M U L S I F I E R S T O M A K E B O DY M I L K S
& LIGHT LOTIONS
Could we use another of the Jeen line of cold emulsi ers in the original formula? We could!
There are so many from which to choose, and I don’t want this to be an “all Jeen emulsi ers
all the time” kind of e-book, so let’s just take a quick look at the possibilities!
Jeequat® NDCS aka ICE Conditioner (INCI: Cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium chloride,
cocamidopropyl betaine, sorbitan laurate) - cationic, maximum oil phase 10%, high shear
Jeesperse® ICE-T CPCS aka ICE Hair Restore(INCI: Cetearyl alcohol (and) behentrimonium
chloride (and) polyquaternium 37) - cationic, maximum oil phase 30%,
Jeesperse® CPW-CG-Crosspolymer-G-02 or ICE Silicone (INCI: Cetyl alcohol, sodium

polyacrylate, polysorbate 80, glyceryl stearate, dimethicone/divinyldimethicone/
silsesquioxane crosspolymer) - anionic, maximum oil phase 10%, high shear is best, no
electrolytes
Jeesperse® CPW-S or ICE Sun ower (INCI: Sun ower wax (and) sodium polyacrylate) –
anionic, maximum oil phase 30%, no shear or shear mixer, no electrolytes
Jeesperse ICE-T CIS-2 (INCI: PEG-150 distearate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol (and)
polyquaternium 37) - see the previous section for more information
Jeesperse® ICE-T-LB-T-NS (INCI: Cetyl Alcohol (and) Glyceryl Stearate (and) Glycol

Stearate (and) Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (and) Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyl
Dimethyl Taurate Copolymer) - anionic, maximum oil phase 10%, no shear or shear mixer,
no electrolytes
Let’s take a look at a few of my favourite formulas using these emulsi ers!
As a note, I’ve written about most of these in much greater detail in a few e-books - 10 minute hair care,
10 minute lotions, 10 minute lotions (part two) - as well as on the blog in the emulsi ers & solubilizers
section. As this e-book would be 100+ pages just detailing each of these, I’ll refer you to those resources if
you’d like to learn much much more.
C R E AT I N G A B O DY M I L K W I T H J E E S P E R S E ® C P W - C G -
C R O S S P O LY M E R - G - 0 2

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My favourite version of this next body milk is peppermint

hydrosol with kukui nut oil and dimethicone to create
something a little more lubricious, a little more cushioned,
but you can use any oils you wish. This emulsi er has a neat
feature in that it forms gels with isododecane, dodecane,
cyclomethicone, or dimethicone, so I always use 3% to 5% of
one of those ingredients to get that bouncy feeling.
We can’t use salts for this formula as it contains sodium

polyacrylate, so don’t add aloe vera or magnesium chloride,
for instance. Lake colours and things like iron oxides are also
salts, so please don’t add them to the formula if you want a
bit of colour: Stick to liquid dyes and micas.
You can use any hydrosols, oral waters, or distillates you wish in place of the peppermint
hydrosol, or just water. You can substitute the peppermint essential oil for any essential oil
you like at safe usage levels or any fragrance oil.
D I S T I N C T LY M I N T Y B O DY M I L K U S I N G J E E S P E R S E ®
C P W - C G - C R O S S P O LY M E R - G - 0 2 ( F O R M U L A )
DISTINCTLY MINTY BODY MILK DISTINCTLY MINTY BODY MILK WITH

WITH PEPPERMINT HYDROSOL PEPPERMINT ESSENTIAL OIL
WATER PHASE WATER PHASE
75% distilled or reverse osmosis water 85% distilled or reverse osmosis water
10% peppermint hydrosol
3% propanediol 1,3, glycerin, or propylene 3% propanediol 1,3, glycerin, or propylene
glycol glycol
EMULSIFIER PHASE EMULSIFIER PHASE

1% Jeesperse® CPW-CG-Crosspolymer- 1% Jeesperse® CPW-CG-Crosspolymer-G-02
G-02
REST OF THE STUFF PHASE REST OF THE STUFF PHASE

5% isododecane, dodecane, dimethicone 5% isododecane, dodecane, dimethicone 350
350 cs cs
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5% kukui nut oil or other light oil 5% kukui nut oil or other light oil
0.5% essential or fragrance oil (optional) 0.4% peppermint essential oil (or other
minty essential oil of choice used at safe
levels)
Tiny bit of colour - liquid water soluble dye Tiny bit of colour - liquid water soluble dye or
or mica (not lakes) mica (not lakes)
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING JEESPERSE® CPW-CG-

C R O S S P O LY M E R - G - 0 2 ( A K A I C E S I L I C O N E )
Place a container large enough for your mixing device on a digital scale. Measure room
temperature or slightly heated water (40˚C to 50˚C/104˚F to 122˚F) directly into the
container, then weigh the rest of the water phase into that same container. Add the rest of
the water phase.
Measure the Jeesperse® CPW-CG-Crosspolymer-G-02 directly into the container, swirl to

wet the emulsi er slightly, then mix well with a high speed shear mixer until wetted, about
30 seconds.
Add the oil phase, then “rest of the stu phase”, and mix until smooth, about 2 to 3
minutes, depending on your device and speed. You will notice the emulsion thickening
during this time. As you aren't making a super thick lotion, it won't turn into a cream, but
more a thickened liquid. It should be smooth in appearance and texture.
If you’ve used slightly heated water, you should notice there are no lumps in the emulsion.
If you’ve used room temperature water, you may notice a few lumps here and there, but they
will swell and be gone in 24 hours, if left to sit.
This formula is thin enough for a bottle with a treatment pump or pump with a smaller tube
or an airless pump with a small opening. It's great for making a light lotion, facial
moisturizer, or body milk.

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LET’S MAKE SOMETHING WITH

POL AWAX!
Polawax creates thicker, more waxy, slightly more greasy lotions than Jeesperse® ICE-T
CIS-2, so if we want to make a body milk or light lotion with it, we have to choose our
ingredients carefully. As with the previous formulas, we won’t be using anything thick or
heavy or solid at body temperature, so we’ll be leaving out all those fatty alcohols, fatty
acids, solid esters with higher melting temperatures, butters, and anything else that’ll
increase the viscosity of this lotion, taking it from a light lotion to a hand & body lotion
weight.
Can we leave those ingredients out and still make a successful lotion? We can, because
Polawax doesn’t need any stabilizers to be…well, stable.
An aside: The key to making a Polawax formula is to use the right amount of emulsi er for
the right amount of oil phase. For this emulsi er - and this emulsi er only - we use 25% of
the oil phase as emulsi er. We need to add up the percentages for all the oil soluble
ingredients including oils, butters, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, fatty esters, fragrance oils,
essential oils, and so on, then divide by 4. That number is what we’ll be using for emulsi er.
So if we have 16% total oil phase, we’ll use 4% Polawax (16/4 = 4).
In this formula, we’ll be using a 16% oil phase - 15.5% oils and such, 0.5% fragrance/
essential oil - so we’ll be using 4% Polawax as the emulsi er.
If you don’t have Polawax, you can add 1% to the amount for e-wax NF. In this formula,
you’d use 5% e-wax NF in place of the Polawax.
When considering the oil phase, let’s think again about using the low/slow (emulsi er), a
medium or two, and a fast spreading emollient to give us that smooth cascade of emollients.
We can use the oil phases we used in the Jeesperse® ICE-T CIS-2 formulas, or we can create
a few more!
Since Polawax o ers its own properties to a lotion - medium viscosity, slightly greasy, some
waxiness - we want to choose emollients that complement those sensory characteristics. I
tend to choose lighter oils to combat the long lasting, slightly occlusive skin feel of the
emulsi er.
This one isn’t as great with glycerin as our previous formula, so let’s use 3% glycerin, 3%
propanediol 1,3, and 2% sodium lactate (liquid or powder) as our humectants in the water
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phase. I’ll add 0.5% allantoin as the occlusive ingredient in the formula and I think I’ll use
2% dimethicone as well.
What should we try for our 15.5% oil phase in this formula? We have 2% dimethicone 350
cs already, so we have 13.5% left to go. Let’s choose at least one more medium and one fast
spreading emollients for this formula. We have loads from which we can choose, so it
depends on what we’re seeking in the formula.
If I wanted to have a bit of a fresh kick - that cooling sensation - then I might choose
isododecane (fast), which evaporates when it’s on our skin. If I wanted to make something
feel less greasy, I could use isododecane or isopropyl myristate (IPM) or cyclomethicone.
(Fractionated coconut oil is a good medium/fast spreading emollient if you wanted to use
that.)
Let’s use 5% of the fast emollient and 8.5% of the medium spreading emollient.
For the medium spreading emollients, let’s choose a light feeling oil with great slip and
glide, decent cushion, low to no drag, and good lubricity. I’m thinking kukui nut oil, but you
could use rice bran oil, pumpkin seed oil, sweet almond oil, or apricot kernel oil, all of
which are great oils.
You could go with a heavier medium oil with more cushion and lubricity, like chia seed oil,
plum kernel oil, or baobab oil, if you wish. Or you could try a bit of babassu oil here, which
will thicken the product in the bottle, but melts on contact with your skin.
BA S E L I G H T LO T I O N / B O DY M I L K W I T H P O L AWA X
(FORMULA)
BASE FORMULA
HEATED WATER PHASE
71% distilled water
3% glycerin
3% propanediol 1,3, propylene glycol, Manuka honey, sorbitol, or betaine
2% sodium lactate (liquid or powder)
0.5% allantoin
HEATED OIL PHASE

4% Polawax
8.5% medium spreading oil of choice
5% isododecane, dodecane, IPM, or fractionated coconut oil
2% dimethicone 350 cs, silicone substitute, or heavier natural oil
COOL DOWN PHASE

0.5% Germall Plus liquid
0.5% fragrance/essential oil (optional)
Tiny bit of colour - liquid water soluble dye or mica (not lakes)
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING A LOTION WITH

POL AWAX, NATRAGEM EW, OR E- WAX NF
1. Weigh your water phase into a heat proof container and put into a double boiler.
1a. Weigh your total water phase on a scale - jug and all - so we can compensate for the lost
water before mixing. And set some water in a separate container to heat. A pot with water
on the stove or boiling up the kettle works well. You don't need to boil it the whole time -
bring it to boiling now and you'll have some less-than-boiling water for step 3a.
2. Weigh your oil phase into a heat proof container and put into a double boiler.
3. Heat both phases to 70˚C (158˚F) and hold for 20 minutes. This is to ensure both phases
are the same temperature when we mix them together. (This is part of the emulsi cation
process - the heating part of emulsi cation.)
3a. Remember how we measured the water phase in step 1a? Measure it again - zero your
scale and measure the jug and all. Add enough of the warm water to get you to the total
weight from step 1a.
4. When both phases reach 70˚C (158˚F), pour the water phase into the oil phase in a thin
stream or the oil phase into the water phase and mix very well with a hand mixer (or stand
mixer, if you’re a lucky person) for 10 minutes to wet, disperse, and hydrate the rheology
modi er.
5. Set aside. When the lotion reaches 45˚C (113˚F) then add your cool down ingredients
and mix again for 2 to 3 minutes. If you notice any clumps, that might be the rheology
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modi er, mix for at least ve minutes so you can ensure the lotion is smooth. Leave to cool
slowly at room temperature.
6. Allow the lotion to come to room temperature before bottling. This formula works best in
a bottle with a pump or a Malibu/tottle bottle. A piping bag or a plastic bag with the corner
cut o will make it so much easier to ll up!
7. Always label your bottle with the ingredients and date so you can replicate it or throw it
away when the shelf life expires.
NOTES ON USING THESE FORMUL AS WITH NATRAGEM

EW
Natragem EW (INCI: Glyceryl Stearate (and) Polyglyceryl-6 Palmitate/Succinate (and)

Cetearyl Alcohol) is considered to be a naturally compliant version of Polawax, so you can
pretty much use any Polawax formula with Natragem EW at the same percentage.
Interestingly, we can put this emulsi er into the heated water or the heated oil phase. The
manufacturer notes adding to the oil phase will create higher viscosity product than adding
it to the water phase. This means if you put it into the heated water phase, you’ll get a
thinner product than adding it to the heated oil phase, which is a bonus if you’re trying to
make a light lotion, body milk, or facial moisturizer.
If you substitute Natragem EW in the formula above, you can keep it in the heated oil phase
and still produce a thinner product. If you wanted your product to be more natural, stick to
ingredients labelled as ECOCERT, COSMOS, NaTrue, ISO 16128, and choose natural
emollients and silicone substitutes in place of the dimethicone, isododecane,
cyclomethicone, and IPM.
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L E T ’ S M A K E A N A T U R A L LY
COMPLIANT LOTION WITH OLIVEM
1000!
This emulsi er, Olivem 1000 (INCI: Cetearyl Olivate (and) Sorbitan Olivate), is a non-ionic
emulsi er - one without a charge - that creates liquid crystal emulsions. It can handle pH
measurements from pH 3 to 12, so you can use it with AHAs, fruit acids, salicylic acid, and
other acidic ingredients. It’s an ECOcert ingredient, which means it’s naturally compliant. It
produces super light, non-greasy milks, facial moisturizers, body butters, and other lotions
with up to 25% oil phase.
I’m not kidding when I say this emulsi er produces light lotions – even with waxy cetearyl
alcohol, we have to work pretty hard to make a thick, greasy body butter. It creates light and
airy emulsions even when you add solid ingredients and thickeners.
The suggestion is to use 2% to 3% for light uid lotions where the Olivem 1000 is the only
emollient in the oil phase, 4% to 5% for 5% to 25% oils, and 6% to 8% to be a self
emulsifying system. It can take up to 24 hours to reach nal viscosity.
To stabilize the lotion, it’s suggested we use glyceryl stearate SE at 1% to 2% in the oil
phase, xanthan gum at up to 0.2% in the oil phase (so it doesn’t hydrate and clump before
we combine the phases), or a gelling ingredient, like Sepimax ZEN (not ECOCERT). It’s
also suggested to use cetearyl alcohol as the fatty alcohol in the oil phase.
If you use glyceryl stearate SE, it works in pH 4.5 to 9, so it’s not suitable for acids. It’s also
anionic or negatively charged, so you can’t add positively charged ingredients, like
conditioners, to it. If you use xanthan gum, Sepimax ZEN, or Sepinov EMT 10, it will also
be anionic or negatively charged.
This is a super important thing to note when you’re making lighter lotions, body milks, or
facial moisturizers with this emulsi er: Your mixing speed can determine the
viscosity: the faster the mixing, the thinner the lotion. If you use lower speeds, you’ll
get more of a cream; higher speeds, a lotion. So if you want a thinner lotion, more of a body
milk, you’d add it to the water phase and mix it very fast. If you want a thicker lotion, a
hand or body lotion, you could put it in either phase and mix at a medium speed. If you
want a body butter, add it to the oil phase and mix more slowly.
So when we’re making these lighter emulsions, we’ll want to use higher speeds and could
even add it to the water phase.
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It’s important the follow the process as written for an Olivem 1000 lotion - altering the way
you mix can result in an epic fail full of separation and sadness. We’ll start with a high shear
mixer – an immersion blender, stick blender, or homogenizer – then, after an emulsion has
formed, a few minutes later, we’ll move to a no shear mixer, like a hand mixer with a beater,
overhead stirrer, or magnetic stirrer, until it cools.
The ideal oil phase for this emulsi er is 25%, so we’ll want to make sure we don’t exceed
that limit. This oil phase includes every single thing in the lotion that has to be emulsi ed,
from oils and butters to fragrance or essential oil.
When creating this light lotion, we’ll be using 4% Olivem 1000 with a 25% oil phase. In the
rst formula, we’ll be using glyceryl stearate SE at 1% as the stabilizer with 0.2% xanthan
gum (naturally compliant), Sepimax ZEN, or Sepinov EMT 10 to work as gelling agents that
lovely quick break sensation. Both formulas will be anionic or negatively charged thanks to
these stabilizers, so we can’t add anything cationic or positively charged to the mix.
Because these rheology modi ers don’t like electrolytes, we want to avoid using ingredients like aloe vera,
magnesium chloride, or sodium lactate.
When it comes to preservatives, this lotion is negatively charged or anionic, has a pH of

around 6, and doesn’t contain any ethoxylated surfactants, so our choices from the
comparison chart are pretty wide open. I like to use Germall Plus for my formulas at 0.5%,
but you could use Germaben II at 1% in the cool down phase, Jeecide® CAP-5 at 1% in the
cool down phase, 1% Euxyl PE 9010 in the heated or cool down phase mixed with glycerin,
or Opiphen Plus at 1% in the heated water phase, to name a few. The only one you can’t
really use is Euxyl K703 as it doesn’t play nicely with anionic ingredients.
None of these are naturally compliant, so you’ll be making a lotion that’s 99% natural after using one of
these emulsi ers. As most of the naturally compliant or natural preservatives are positively charged or
cationic, they don’t play nicely with these formulas.
CREATING THE OIL PHASE
We know our 25% oil phase will consist of at least 0.5% fragrance/essential oil and 1%
glyceryl stearate SE, so we have 23.5% left over.
Olivem 1000 has good (medium) spreadability with no drag or waxiness, but also low
cushion and lubricity. It makes light, u y lotions. Glyceryl stearate SE also has good
spreadability with no drag or waxiness, and it too makes light, u y lotions. Together, they
make for light, u y lotions with no drag or waxiness, but also little cushion and lubricity.
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For the rst version, we can divide this 23.5% between a few medium spreading emollients
and one fast one.
For the second version, let’s try adding a solid ingredient that melts at body temperature to
make something slightly thicker but more lubricious.
VERSION 1: MEDIUM & FAST SPREADING EMOLLIENTS
In this version of the lotion, we have an oil phase of 23.5% that that we’ll divide up into 1
fast and two medium spreading emollients. Let’s go for 8% fast spreading, 8% medium, and
7.5% medium.
For the fast spreading emollient, look for ingredients that might be advertised as silicone
replacements as these tend to be natural or naturally compliant and will have faster
spreading rates with low to no greasiness. You can use the faster spreading emollients we’ve
used in the previous formulas, or you can choose a few of these, which are considered
naturally compliant.
These are a few of my favourites…
Coco-caprylate is a fast/super fast spreading emollient that o ers a non-greasy, silicone-like

skin feel with no tackiness. It’s a really lovely one and awesome with Olivem 1000 at 5% or
more.
NatraSil™ (INCI: Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate, Hydrogenated Olive Oil

Unsaponi ables) also known as Fision® EcoSil or Plantasens® Olive LD by Clariant o ers
“Soft & light with dry after feel, Works well with oily ingredients for a better solubility
pro le, Creates an even, protective lm…helps skin feel smooth and moisturized”. This very
low viscosity liquid can reduce tackiness and reduce the soaping e ect in emulsions while
acting as a light emollient. It has great spreadability, great slip and glide, no drag, very low
lubricity and cushion with amazing play time.
LexFeel or Crafters Choice™ LuxGlide N5 (INCI: Diheptyl Succinate (and) Capryloyl

Glycerin/Sebacic Acid Copolymer) contains 95% – 98% diheptyl succinate and 2% to 5%
capryloyl glycerin/sebacic acid copolymer, so it’s a great lm former and polymer. It’s very
light and dry-feeling with great spreading properties and seems to absorb quite quickly. We
noticed that when used in skin care products, it was less shiny than something made with
cyclomethicone, which can be good for products for those with oily skin. It can decrease
surface tension when added to products with thicker, more draggy emollients, so it increases
spreading as well as slip and glide.
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You use fractionated coconut oil as the faster spreading emollient, but it’s considered
medium/high spreading, so it’ll be a titch thicker with a bit more drag - and I mean only a
bit, you probably wouldn’t notice it - than one of these silicone replacements. It’s also
considered natural.
Squalane would also be a great inclusion as a faster spreading emollient that o ers a dewy,
non-greasy skin feel.
For the medium spreading oil, you can choose that which you like the most - one of our
natural oils. If you choose something greasier, like sun ower oil, the lotion will have a
slightly greasy feeling; if you choose something less greasy, like macadamia nut oil, the
lotion will feel less greasy. These are relative - this lotion will de nitely be less greasy than
the one we made with Polawax because the emulsi er and stabilizer both create less greasy
feeling products - so don’t stress too much about choosing exactly the right one. Just choose
an oil you like and use it at 8.5%.
If you want something less greasy, choose macadamia nut oil, evening primrose oil, hazelnut
oil, grapeseed oil, camellia seed oil, and lighter ones like those.
If you want something slightly more greasy, but still way less greasy than you’d think,
consider rice bran oil, apricot kernel oil, sweet almond oil, or pumpkin seed oil.
Remember, the shelf life of your oil will be a huge determinant in the shelf life of your
lotion. If you want to use one with a shorter shelf life - grapeseed oil (3 months), hemp seed
oil (3 to 6 months), evening primrose oil or camellia seed oil (6 months) - you can add
0.05% to 0.1% T-50 mixed tocopherols (Vitamin E) to extend it. How long will it extend it?
There’s no way to say, but it will be longer than the 3 months grapeseed normally lasts.
And remember, you can play around with these percentages as long as you don’t exceed 25%
total for all oil soluble ingredients in the formula, including fragrance/essential oil in the
cool down phase. If you wanted to make something heavier, exchange the fast spreading
emollient for a medium or even low/slow one. If you want something even lighter, exchange
the babassu oil/lauryl laurate for a medium spreading oil or even a fast one. If you wanted to
make the entire oil phase one oil - say olive oil - you could totally do that. The key is to
ensure you aren’t going over that 25% oil phase total with 4% Olivem 1000.
In the water phase, we only want to have glycerin in the water phase as Olivem 1000 and
we’ll add the other ingredients to the cool down phase after the emulsion has been formed.
It is vital to follow the instructions on how to make this formula - using shear to start, then
moving to non-shear - lest you experience a lotion fail. I don’t want to freak you out, but

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this is a more advanced type of emulsi er and can be a bit challenging at rst. Following the
instructions as written and not making any huge alterations to the formula will ensure you
make something awesome you will love.
As a note, we’re adding the rheology modi er to the heated oil phase as it will start to
hydrate when in the water phase, and there’s too much potential for clumping. Better to put
it in the oil phase where it won’t hydrate and let the process begin when we bring the two
phases together with mixing.
The rst formula is a base to which you can add all kinds of water soluble ingredients in
place of the distilled water amount. Feel free to try using distillates, oral waters, hydrosols,
humectants, and other ingredients of that nature.
The formulas as written below will be 99% naturally compliant if you use a fragrance oil;
99.5% naturally compliant if you use an essential oil. Each version is vegan.
CREATIN G A LIGHT LOTION WITH OLIVEM 1000 -

LIQUID EMOLLIENTS (FORMULA)
BASE FORMULA CAMELLIA SEED & RICE BRAN &
NATRASIL™ (LIGHT, NON- MACADAMIA NUT
GREASY) (LIGHT, SLIGHTLY
GREASY)
HEATED WATER PHASE HEATED WATER PHASE HEATED WATER PHASE
67.3% distilled or reverse 64.3% distilled or reverse 64.3% distilled or reverse
osmosis water osmosis water osmosis water
3% glycerin 3% glycerin 3% glycerin
HEATED OIL PHASE HEATED OIL PHASE HEATED OIL PHASE

4% Olivem 1000 4% Olivem 1000 4% Olivem 1000
1% glyceryl stearate SE 1% glyceryl stearate SE 1% glyceryl stearate SE
8% fast spreading emollient 8% NatraSil™ 8% Neossance®
Hemisqualane
8% medium spreading 8% camellia seed oil 8% rice bran oil
emollient
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7.5% medium spreading 7.5% evening primrose oil 7.5% macadamia nut oil
emollient
0.2% xanthan gum, 0.2% xanthan gum, Sepimax 0.2% xanthan gum, Sepimax
Sepimax ZEN, Sepinov ZEN, Sepinov EMT 10 ZEN, Sepinov EMT 10
EMT 10
COOL DOWN PHASE COOL DOWN PHASE COOL DOWN PHASE

0.5% Germall Plus 0.5% Germall Plus 0.5% Germall Plus
up to 0.5% fragrance/ up to 0.5% fragrance/essential up to 0.5% fragrance/
essential oil oil essential oil
Tiny bit of colour - liquid Tiny bit of colour - liquid Tiny bit of colour - liquid
water soluble dye or mica water soluble dye or mica (not water soluble dye or mica
(not lakes) lakes) (not lakes)
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USIN G OLIVEM 1000
1. Weigh your water phase into a heat proof container. Tare/zero out your scale and measure
the container and all the ingredients and write that down so we can add back the water that
evaporates. Put it into the double boiler.
3. Heat both phases to over 70˚C (158˚F) - up to 75˚C (167˚F) - and hold for 10 to 20
minutes. This is to ensure both phases are the same temperature when we mix them
together. (This is part of the emulsi cation process – the heating part of emulsi cation.)
4. Remember how we measured the water phase in step 1? Measure it again – zero your
scale and measure the jug and all. Add enough of the warm water at 70˚C or higher to get
you to the total weight from step 1.
5. Remove both phases from the double boiler, then pour the oil phase into the water phase
in a thin stream mix very well with a high shear immersion blender, stick blender, or
homogenizer for 3 minutes until the emulsion has formed. Then switch to a hand mixer
with one beater or stand mixer with a beater blade and mix for about 5 minutes.
6. Allow to cool down slowly while mixing. (You can often let it sit to cool if you’ve mixed
as I suggest above.) The cool down phase is 45˚C (113˚F) for this emulsi er, so when you
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reach that temperature, add the cool down ingredients, then mix well with a no shear mixer
for about 2 minutes, then let rest.
7. It will reach the nal viscosity within 24 hours. It could take as long as 48 hours if you've
used Cetyl Alcohol. Please wait at least this long - and de nitely until it's come to room
temperature - before packaging as we don't want condensation in our bottles as it can create
contamination.
8. Package in an appropriate bottle. For body milks and facial moisturizers, we can use a
bottle with a disc cap or treatment pump or airless pump. You can use a funnel or piping bag
to help you ll it better. You could use a large syringe, but I nd those are really hard to
clean, so they aren’t as reusable as I wish.
VERSION 2: ADDING A SOLID EMOLLIENT
We can add a heavier emollient to this mix to give us some more lubricity and cushion,
make it seem more luxurious, without ruining the u y goodness.
One of my favourite oils to use with Olivem 1000 is babassu

oil, solid at room temperature, melting at 24˚C (76˚F), so it
turns to liquid when it is spread on our skin. Using this at 5%
of the oil phase will increase the viscosity slightly while
adding a bit of lubricity and cushion. If you don’t have this
oil, you could use coconut oil in its place, but that one has a
bit more lubricity and greasiness. It’ll still be a nice lotion!
As a solid emollient, lauryl laurate is also a great choice here

as it’s considered natural and has a low melting point of 23˚C
to 30°C (73˚F to 96°F), so it’ll o er increased viscosity to
your formula, but melts on contact with your skin and as you rub it in. It o ers a very light,
non-greasy, silky, silicone-like skin feel that also works as a lm former to o er very light
occlusion without a heavy feeling.
I’m going to add 5% of a slightly heavier oil, but still one with medium spreadability, in the
form of avocado oil, baobab oil, olive oil, chia seed oil, or tamanu oil, to name a few. This
will increase the lubricity and cushion from the lotion without losing the quick break or
good spreadability.
So far we have 5% heavier oil, 5% babassu oil, 1% glyceryl stearate SE, and 0.5% fragrance/
essential oil for a total of 11.5% oil phase, leaving us with 13.5% oil phase for our more
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liquid emollients. We can choose medium or fast emollients for this amount, so let’s go with
5% fast and 8.5% medium spreading emollient to create that cascade of smoothness.
Please see the previous section for ideas for the fast and medium spreading emollients.
CREATIN G A LIGHT LOTION WITH OLIVEM 1000 -

SOLID EMOLLIENTS (FORMULA)
BASE FORMULA BAOBAB & KUKUI NUT TAMANU & COCONUT
OIL (MEDIUM, LESS OIL (MEDIUM, SLIGHTLY
GREASY) GREASY)
HEATED WATER PHASE HEATED WATER PHASE HEATED WATER PHASE
67.3% distilled or reverse 67.3% distilled or reverse 67.3% distilled or reverse
osmosis water osmosis water osmosis water
3% glycerin 3% glycerin 3% glycerin
HEATED OIL PHASE HEATED OIL PHASE HEATED OIL PHASE

4% Olivem 1000 4% Olivem 1000 4% Olivem 1000
1% glyceryl stearate SE 1% glyceryl stearate SE 1% glyceryl stearate SE
5% heavier oil 5% baobab oil 5% tamanu oil
5% babassu oil or lauryl 5% babassu oil or lauryl 5% babassu oil or lauryl
laurate laurate laurate
5% fast spreading 5% LuxGlide N5 5% Neossance®
emollient Hemisqualane
8.5% medium spreading 8.5% kukui nut oil 8.5% fractionated coconut
emollient oil
0.2% xanthan gum, 0.2% xanthan gum, Sepimax 0.2% xanthan gum, Sepimax
Sepimax ZEN, Sepinov ZEN, Sepinov EMT 10 ZEN, Sepinov EMT 10
EMT 10
COOL DOWN PHASE COOL DOWN PHASE COOL DOWN PHASE

0.5% Germall Plus 0.5% Germall Plus 0.5% Germall Plus


up to 0.5% fragrance/ up to 0.5% fragrance/essential up to 0.5% fragrance/

essential oil oil essential oil
Tiny bit of colour - liquid Tiny bit of colour - liquid Tiny bit of colour - liquid
water soluble dye or mica water soluble dye or mica (not water soluble dye or mica
(not lakes) lakes) (not lakes)
Please use the instructions from the previous formula.

If you wanted to make modi cations to these Olivem 1000 formulas, consider using 10%
oral water or hydrosol in place of 10% of the distilled water amount. Into the cool down
phase, you can add ingredients like 3% sea kelp bioferment as a lm former, 5% Lipomoist
2036, 5% Fision® Hydrate, 0.1% hyaluronic acid (powder), a variety of extracts, like bee
pollen, chia seed, carob, calendula, chamomile, goji berry, and so on at the suggested usage
rates.
When you add this new thing to the cool down phase, remove the same amount of water. If
you added 3% sea kelp bioferment, remove 3% from the distilled water amount so the
formula always totals 100%.
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C R E A T I N G A S P R AYA B L E B O DY M I L K
WITH INCROQUAT BTMS-50
This formula can be used as a sprayable lotion, pourable body
milk, or mist-able leave in conditioner thanks to the cationic
or positive nature of Incroquat BTMS-50. Because this is
positively charged, you can’t add anything negatively charged
or anionic to it or it will fail. This includes things like aloe
vera gel, xanthan gum, Sepimax ZEN, Sepinov EMT 10,
Siligel, and loads of other rheology modi ers.
Please note, you can’t substitute BTMS-25 as there’s just not enough
emulsifying power in it and the product will fail.
Incroquat BTMS-50 has what’s called the characteristic cationic skin feel, meaning it will
produce lotions that are dry, non-greasy, and powdery even when we use something a little
greasier, like sweet almond oil or apricot kernel oil.
It works really well with silicones of all sorts, including dimethicone and cyclomethicone,
creating light lotions that have a lovely lubricious, cushioned feeling without feeling too
greasy or heavy. You can use silicone substitutes in their place to create that cushioned
feeling, like NatraSil™, coco caprylate, and the others we’ve met so far in this e-book.
I’ve found a combination of a light oil - non-greasy to slightly greasy - with a titch of
dimethicone or a thicker oil is a great combination in this formula. Try 10% thinner oil and
2% dimethicone or thicker oil to create something potentially sprayable but de nitely light
and pump-able using a bottle with a small treatment pump.
For this formula, I’m adding 2% hydrolyzed protein - in this case, hydrolyzed baobab protein
(INCI: Hydrolyzed Adansonia Digitata (Baobab) Seed Extract) - although any one will do
except for hydrolyzed silk or hydrolyzed keratin - to act as a lm forming and hydrating
ingredient. For skin, it’s claimed that it can reduce “DNA damage after UV exposure”,
which is making a pretty huge claim there, and one that I can’t really con rm. It works as a
great lm former that can prevent transepidermal water loss while hydrating skin without
feeling super occlusive or cloying. It works as an anti-irritant for all skin types. Add this to
the aqueous phase of the lotions or the cool down phase at 40˚C/104˚F, after the emulsion
has formed.
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I know I use chamomile extract and hydrosol a lot in my formulas but it’s just so great for
all skin types, especially sensitive skin. I love the way it mitigates irritation, soothes angry
skin, and reduces transepidermal water loss for up to 48 hours. You can use this as a
hydrosol at 10%, but I prefer to use the liquid extract at up to 2% as I’m not a fan of the
slightly musty smell it o ers. You could also use the powdered extract at 0.5% in the cool
down phase or even up to 0.2% chamomile essential oil, but it’s kinda expensive.
Because Incroquat BTMS-50 isn’t sensitive to salts, we can add some aloe vera liquid at up
to 10% in the formula. This could be liquid aloe vera extract, aloe vera juice, reconstituted
aloe vera from 100x or 200x powder, but never aloe vera gel as that contains an anionic
rheology modi er, something like sodium polyacrylate or Sepimax ZEN, to gel it. We can
also use up to 2% sodium lactate (powder or liquid).
I’m a big fan of ginger extract, (INCI: Zingiber o cinale

(ginger) root extract) is a botanical extract that can be
used as an anti-in ammatory, analgesic, and anti-oxidant
that works to reduce lipid peroxidation and reduce
superoxide production. It’s considered to be a soothing
ingredient for irritated skin that can reduce redness, so
it’s suggested for all skin types, but especially sensitive
skin and those of us who have rosacea or other
irritations. You’ll see this listed as an anti-aging
ingredient because of those wonderful anti-oxidant
properties – “Ginger was reported to decrease age-related oxidative stress markers”
(reference) – and there are quite a few anti-pollution type ingredients that include it for the
same reason.
“The rich phytochemistry of ginger includes components that scavenge free radicals
produced in biological systems. For the purpose of energy production, some free radicals
which generated during the process of oxidation are essential.[11] Increased production of
free radicals results in oxidative stress that can lead to DNA damage” (reference)
If you don’t have ginger extract, you could use another liquid extract in its place - there are literally dozens
from which to choose, but calendula, carob, bee pollen, and borage are a great start - or a hydrosol or just
more distilled water.
And I adore green tea extract! You can nd a variety of di erent green tea extracts - liquid,
water soluble; liquid, oil soluble; powdered, water soluble - so I’ll o er you two choices in

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this formula - 0.5% powdered extract in the cool down phase or 5% liquid in the cool down
phase. Either one will give you all kinds of anti-oxidizing properties, which is awesome.
G R E E N T E A & G I N G E R B O DY M I L K O R L I G H T LO T I O N
WITH INCROQUAT BTMS-50 (FORMUL A)
GREEN TEA & GINGER (liquid) GREEN TEA & GINGER (powder)
HEATED WATER PHASE HEATED WATER PHASE
47.5% distilled or reverse osmosis water 61.5% distilled or reverse osmosis water
10% chamomile hydrosol
10% aloe vera liquid (see notes) 10% aloe vera liquid (see notes)
2% sodium lactate (powder or liquid) 2% sodium lactate (powder or liquid)
HEATED OIL PHASE HEATED OIL PHASE

3% Incroquat BTMS-50 3% Incroquat BTMS-50
10% light, medium oils of choice 10% light, medium oils of choice
2% dimethicone 350 cs, silicone substitute, 2% dimethicone 350 cs, silicone substitute,
or heavier natural oil or heavier natural oil

2% hydrolyzed protein of choice 2% hydrolyzed protein of choice
5% green tea extract (liquid) 0.5% green tea extract (powdered)
5% ginger extract (liquid) 5% ginger extract (liquid)
0.5% chamomile extract (powdered)
or mica (not lakes) - optional or mica (not lakes) - optional
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CREATING A LOTION WITH

INCROQUAT BTMS-50
1. Weigh your water phase into a heat proof container and put into a double boiler.


1a. Weigh your total water phase on a scale – jug and all – so we can compensate for the lost
water before mixing. And set some water in a separate container to heat. A pot with water
on the stove or boiling up the kettle works well. You don’t need to boil it the whole time –
bring it to boiling now and you’ll have some less-than-boiling water for step 3a.
3. Heat both phases to 70˚C (158˚F) and hold for 20 minutes. This is to ensure both phases
are the same temperature when we mix them together. (This is part of the emulsi cation
process – the heating part of emulsi cation.)
3a. Remember how we measured the water phase in step 1a? Measure it again – zero your
scale and measure the jug and all. Add enough of the warm water to get you to the total
weight from step 1a.
4. When both phases reach 70˚C (158˚F), pour the water phase into the oil phase in a thin
stream or the oil phase into the water phase and mix very well with a stick blender or hand
mixer (or Kitchenaid if you’re a lucky person) for about 5 minutes.
5. Set aside. When the lotion reaches 45˚C (113˚F) then add your cool down ingredients
and mix again. Just leave it to cool slowly to room temperature.
6. Allow the lotion to come to room temperature before bottling. This formula could be in a
bottle with a mister or treatment pump cap or an airless pump. Please wait 48 hours before
packaging as the cetyl alcohol in the Incroquat BTMS-50 can take that long to reach full
viscosity.)
7. Always label your bottle with the ingredients and date so you can replicate it or throw it
away when the shelf life expires.
M O D I F Y I N G T H I S F O R M U L A T O B E N A T U R A L LY
COMPLIANT!
If you wanted to make something that you could say is 99% natural, we could use Jeequat®
NDCS (INCI: Cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium chloride, cocamidopropyl betaine, sorbitan
laurate) for this formula. It’s cationic and handles up to 10% oil phase, so we’ll have to
remove 2% from our carrier oils or dimethicone or silicone substitute. We can use
electrolytes with it, so we don’t need to make any major changes by removing sodium
lactate.
The down side is that it’s hard to make a light lotion or body milk with this ingredient, so it
will be more of a lotion than a milk.
Here’s the version I suggest!
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G R E E N T E A & G I N G E R B O DY M I L K O R L I G H T LO T I O N
WITH JEEQUAT® NDCS (FORMUL A)
GREEN TEA & GINGER (liquid) GREEN TEA & GINGER (powder)
HEATED WATER PHASE HEATED WATER PHASE
47.5% distilled or reverse osmosis water 61.5% distilled or reverse osmosis water
10% chamomile hydrosol
10% aloe vera liquid (see notes) 10% aloe vera liquid (see notes)
8% light or medium oils of choice 8% light or medium oils of choice
2% dimethicone 350 cs, silicone substitute, 2% dimethicone 350 cs, silicone substitute,
or heavier natural oil or heavier natural oil
5% Jeequat® NDCS 5% Jeequat® NDCS

2% sodium lactate (powder or liquid) 2% sodium lactate (powder or liquid)
2% hydrolyzed protein of choice 2% hydrolyzed protein of choice
5% green tea extract (liquid) 0.5% green tea extract (powdered)
5% ginger extract (liquid) 5% ginger extract (liquid)
0.5% chamomile extract (powdered)
or mica (not lakes) - optional or mica (not lakes) - optional
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CREATING A LOTION WITH

JEEQUAT® NDCS
Heat the water to around 55˚C or 131˚F. Weigh it into a container that’s big enough to
handle your stick or immersion blender or your hand mixer with one beater. Add the
ingredients in order.
Sprinkle the emulsi er on top of the water, then mix with a high shear device – immersion
blender or stick blender – until it’s uniform. This might take about 2 to 3 minutes.
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When temperature of the lotion reaches 45˚C or 113˚F, add the cool down phase directly
into the container, and mix with the high shear mixer until incorporated, maybe a minute at
most.
If you’ve made this warm, wait until you get to room temperature before bottling. Package
this in a tottle or Malibu bottle, a jar, or any bottle with a pump attachment.

CONCLUSION
I hope I’ve o ered you some ideas for making your own light lotions and body milks at
home. Don’t forget that you can play with these formulas, adding your own water or oil
soluble ingredients for those I’ve chosen. Make small batches, keep great notes, and have
fun formulating!
If you have a suggestion for a formula you’d like to see, please feel free to write to me at
swiftcraftymonkey@swiftcraftymonkey.blog and make some suggestions!
MY BLOG, POINT OF INTEREST
I encourage you to check out my blog for information on the ingredients you’ve seen in this
e-zine. I’ve tried to link to some of those things, but I know at some point in time the links
will get all wonky and people will get mad at me because they don’t work, and that’ll cause
me a whole lot of stress, so I ask you to take a quick trip to the blog, Point of Interest, found
at http://swiftcraftymonkey.blog and see what you can nd there! (After all, look what
happened recently when Dropbox decided its users couldn’t create public links and
hundreds of links on my blogs to the PDFs were lost!)
T H A N K YO U T O M Y A M A Z I N G S U B S C R I B E R S
Every month I say it and every month I mean it – thank you for subscribing to make this e-
zine possible! Please continue to share your thoughts for future e-zines and feedback on
current ones.
HOW TO CONTACT ME
You can reach me at swiftcraftymonkey@swiftcraftymonkey.blog to let me know what you

think. Give me your thoughts, suggestions, criticisms, and more. As I always say, I can only
get better by knowing what you think and what I can write about on the blog.
SUPPLIERS’ INFORMATION
I’m providing information on where to get supplies as a courtesy to you, my lovely readers,
so you can get ingredients you need to make the products in this e-zine. I do not bene t in
any way if you purchase supplies from any of the companies listed below. You can nd
ingredients elsewhere, so you please check the FAQ on my blog to see the lists of suppliers
wonderful readers like you from around the world have suggested.
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I’m only include ingredients that might be harder to nd in this list as it’s easier to nd
ingredients like glycerin or panthenol at most retailers.
RETAILERS IN CANADA RETAILERS IN THE USA

Voyageur Soap & Candle (BC) Lotioncrafter (Washington)
Windy Point Soap (Alberta) Formulator Sample Shop (North Carolina)
Candora Soap & Soap Supplies (Ontario) Making Cosmetics (Washington)
Penny Lane Organics
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Learning To Formulate Body Milks and Light Lotions

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Learning To Formulate Body Milks and Light Lotions

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What are body milks and light lotions?

What are body milks and light lotions?

What ingredients are commonly used in body milks and light lotions?

What ingredients are commonly used in body milks and light lotions?

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 2

GENERAL NOTES ON MAKING PRODUCTS .....................................................6

ANTI-OXIDANTS & PRESERVATIVES ..........................................................................8

COMBINING EMOLLIENTS & SPREADABILITY ................................................20

SO WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT ANY OF THIS? .......................................................22

LET’S MAKE THIS BODY MILK! ................................................................................31

LIGHT & FAST SPREADING EMOLLIENTS USING VISCOPTIMA SE (formula) .............37

CREATING A BODY MILK WITH JEESPERSE® CPW-CG-CROSSPOLYMER-G-02 .........39

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 3

DISTINCTLY MINTY BODY MILK USING Jeesperse® CPW-CG-Crosspolymer-G-02

BASE LIGHT LOTION/BODY MILK WITH POLAWAX (FORMULA) .............................43

CREATING THE OIL PHASE .....................................................................................47

MY BLOG, POINT OF INTEREST ..............................................................................61

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 4

Written by Susan Barclay Nichols, better known as SwiftCraftyMonkey, blogger and

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 5

One of the challenges of making these thinner lotions is

All of the formulas you’ll nd in this e-book can be sprayed

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 6

GENERAL NOTES ON MAKING

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 7

What’s the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients)? The INCI is

Preservatives are ingredients that prevent contamination of our ingredients by bacteria,

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 9

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 10

PRESERVATIVE INCI Cationic Anionic pH 5 pH 6 pH 7 Usage

Phenonip Phenoxyethanol (and) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 0.25% to 1%

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 11

QUICK NOTE ON ELECTRICAL CHARGES

Non-ionic means it has a neutral charge.

Anionic means it has a negative charge.

Cationic means it has a positive charge.

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 12

It could be dispersed through a mister bottle, airless pump, or

It can be made with a variety of emulsi ers - I think the only

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 13

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 14

C OMPARISON C HART : A FEW C OMMON EMUL SIFIERS

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 15

Varisoft EQ 65 Medium to Thin Medium Good Low/none

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 16

Let’s look at the de nitions for some of these properties…

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 18

If the ingredient has a melting point at lower than skin temperature,

Lubricity or calling something “lubricious”: This means something feels smooth,

COMBINING EMOLLIENTS &

Let’s take a quick look at this concept…

When we apply a lotion, the rst experience we have

In an emulsion, fast spreading emollients may feel

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 21

The spreading value of an emollient is

In general, it means dropping emollients on skin

Learning to formulate: Body milks & light lotions 22

SO WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT ANY OF THIS?