NATURAL SOLUBILIZERS!
I posted it this morning to my Blend Precisely Group Members, but it might also find some interest here.
We all know that water and oil don’t mix. Many Essential Oil Suppliers provide, at this point, solubilizers. They mostly sell Polysorbate 20 or Polysorbate 80. They are both synthetic solubilizers.
So what is a natural solubilizer?
A solubilizer is a cosmetic ingredient that helps blend very small amounts of oils – usually essential or fragrance oils – into aqueous formulations such as gels, toners, and micellar waters. It works on the same principle as an emulsifier by mixing two immiscible ingredients. However, it disperses the oils into smaller particle sizes than emulsions do in order to create clear, translucent, or semi-opaque formulations. Solubilizers are used to mix very small amounts of oils into aqueous solutions, and their dispersion capacity varies according to the brand.
In the US & Canada, we have little less choice than in Europe in finding natural solubilizers, and you also need to find the right ratio depending on which Essential Oils you are using.
Here are two I recommend (if you know of more sources, please let me know), and I also posted a few articles below. I will also add them to Blend Precisely so you can use them in your blend calculations!
NatraGem S140 NP Ecocert Solubilizer: You can buy this one in Canada @windypointsoap. Shipping to the US was around $13.
Tego Solve 61 you can buy at the Formulator Sample Shop: https://www.formulatorsampleshop.com/tego-solve-61.html
I’m planning to try this one here, too (INCI: Polyglyceryl-4 Caprylate, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Lauroyl, Glutamate, Diglycerin, Aqua) from Essential Wholesale: https://essentialwholesale.com/peg-free-solubilizer
The UK can easily get SymbioSolv here:
https://www.thesoapkitchen.co.uk/symbiorsolv-clear-plus or this one here: https://www.bayhousearomatics.com/solubiliser-clear-plus…
Articles that talk about testing several natural solubilizers and describe the results well can be found here:
Jane Barber wrote the following article. If you don’t know Jane yet, you might want to visit her cosmetic group (Making Skincare).
She is a walking library of cosmetic ingredients and a knowledge powerhouse. Amazing woman! https://makingskincare.com/natural-solubilizers
Formula Botanica Online Classroom wrote this article HERE.
Enjoy and I hope this was helpful!
xx Katrin
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