Formulating the Perfect Lotion

Formulating your own lotion is a great experience and a good start to making your own cosmetics. You know all the ingredients that go into it, you can customize it however you please, and you can make as much or as little as you want! It will also give you a good basic understanding of the oil phase and water phase, and the correct proportions of the other ingredients.

Lotion Resources

The process of making lotion can be tricky if you don’t know where to start. At MakingCosmetics, we have a lot of different formulas and resources that can help with that.

To get started, you need to start with the right equipment:

Double Boiler or Electric Hot Water Bath
Glass Breakers (preferrable 2, one will be used for the oil phase and one for the water phase of the formulation)
Mixing Spoon/Spatula
Lab Thermometer
Digital Scale (preferably 0.10g precise)
pH Indicator Paper
Propeller Mixer or Homogenizer
Stick Blender (if you don’t have any other mixing equipment)
Disinfecting Alcohol (make sure you disinfect all tools and equipment)

Lotion Emulsifiers

Now you need to find the right emulsifier. Picking the right emulsifier will determine what kind of emulsion type and texture your lotion will have. For example, our CreamMaker® WAX will make a light, yet creamier, smoother texture, whereas CreamMaker® CAT will make a very thick texture. Both are oil-in-water type emulsifiers.

We recently compared various emulsifiers and you can look up the video here.

Here’s one of our newest lotion formulas: Hydration & Vitamin SkinGlow (No. 1937)! The emulsifier used in this example is CreamMaker® Behenyl and the supporting thickener for the water phase, is our new GelMaker® Hydro.

Ingredient	INCI	Function	Percent	Weight (g)	Weight (oz)
Phase A
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate	c12-15 alkyl benzoate	Emollient	7.00	7.00	0.25
Triglyceride	caprylic Capric Triglyceride	Emollient	8.00	8.00	0.28
CreamMaker® Behenyl	gehenyl alcohol, polyglyceryl-3 stearate	Emulsifier	6.00	6.00	0.21
Meadowfoam Seed Oil	limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) seed oil	Emollient	2.00	2.00	0.07
Phase B
Distilled Water	Water	Diluent	79.80	79.80	2.81
Propanediol 1,3	propanediol 1,3	Humectant	5.00	5.00	0.18
Sodium Gluconate	sodium gluconate	Stabilizer	0.50	0.50	0.02
GelMaker® HYDRO	xanthan gum, hydroxypropyl guar, sorbitol	Thickener	0.30	0.30	0.01
Phase C
Vitamin B3 Niacinamide PH	niacinamide	Vitamin	2.00	2.00	0.07
Distilled Water	Water	Diluent	5.00	5.00	0.18
Phase D
HA Multiplex 7	water, 1,2-hexanediol, sodium hyaluronate	Humectant	3.00	3.00	0.11
AntiMicro Banana	musa Sapientum (banana) leaf/trunk extract	Preservative	1.20	1.20	0.04
Vitamin A Microcaps	Glycine soja, retinol, cellulose gum, acrylates/ c10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, chitosan, glycolic acid, polysorbate 20, sorbitan oleate	Vitamin	1.50	1.50	0.05
Bakuchi Fruit Extract	bakuchi fruit (Psoralea Corylifolia Leguminosae) extract	Botanical	1.00	1.00	0.04
Fragrance	Fragrance	Fragrance	0.20	0.20	0.01
Procedure
Phase A: Combine in a heat-resistant glass beaker , heat to 75C. Phase B: Pre-mix GelMaker® Hydro and blend well until hydrated and free from lumps. Heat to75C Add phase B to phase A with constant stirring (propeller mixer). Homogenize for a short time. Cool to 40C. Phase C: Pre-mix then add to phase A/B. Blend well. Phase D: Add to batch, and blend well. Use a homogenizer for an extra smooth texture.
Properties
Hydrating moisturizer infused with nourishing vitamins such as vitamin b3, vitamin a and additionally enriched with different molecular weight hyaluronic acid. Silky feel leaving the skin looking supple and happy.

Lotion Recipes

Be sure to also check out our Recipe book for Lotions and Body Butter for more tips and tricks for formulating lotions and body butter, along with several great formulas!

Happy formulating!