In my time working with emulsifying waxes, I’ve found that they vary quite a lot. There are two main categories of emulsifying waxes—complete and incomplete. We’ll be looking at complete emulsifying waxes (or e-waxes) here as incomplete e-waxes require co-emulsifiers to work, and that’s silly.
So, before we dive in—what’s e-wax? In the most basic sense, it’s what we use to make foolproof emulsified lotions. At usage rates of 5–10% you can make lotions that are ~75% water, 25% oils that emulsify easily and stay emulsified. E-waxes are made from blends of fatty acids like Cetearyl Alcohol and Glyceryl Stearate, and sometimes other emulsifiers like Polysorbate 60. Despite having “wax” in the name, e-waxes perform nothing like beeswax or the c-waxes (carnauba and candelilla), and cannot be substituted for them (or vice versa).
Polawax
Emulsifying Wax NF
Emulsimulse
After those basics, e-waxes can vary quite a lot in composition and performance. Some thicken faster than others. Some make lotions that feel a bit powdery. Some have longer shelf lives than others. So, in this entry I’ll be looking at three different common e-waxes.
My basic formula will be:
- 5% emulsifying wax of choice
- 20% soybean oil
- 75% water
The e-waxes I’ll be testing are:
- Emulsimulse (Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, and Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate)
- Emulsifying Wax NF (Cetostearyl Alcohol and Polysorbate 60)
- Polawax (Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-150 Stearate, Polysorbate 60, and Steareth-20)
The characteristics I’ll be looking at will be:
- When does the lotion thicken? How thick is it?
- What does the lotion feel like? Right after making? After it’s fully set up?
- What is the shelf life like?
Because I’ll be testing shelf life, I’ll store each batch of lotion in the same open-mouth jars next to each other on a sunny windowsill. Open mouth jars are ideal for lotion moulding quickly, which is what I’m going for here so I don’t have to wait for ages to report my results.
My process was:
- Weigh 5g (0.17oz) of each emulsifying wax into a different 125mL (4 fl oz) mason jar
- Add 20g (0.71oz) of soybean oil to each mason jar
- One at a time, melt the e-wax and oil together by placing the jar in a shallow pan of simmering water
- Once melted, remove the jar from the heat and whisk in 75mL (2.54 fl oz) of just-boiled water
- Continue whisking occasionally as the lotion cools
My emulsifying wax observations
Polawax Emulsifying Wax
The mixture quickly emulsified into an opaque, milk-like liquid. No noticeable thickening after 20 minutes, and after about 40 minutes it had thickened a little to a consistency closer to light cream than milk.
Once fully set, the lotion was thick and creamy. It had a slightly mealy texture, similar to the Emulsifying Wax NF. You couldn’t tell from feeling the lotion, though—only by looking. It absorbed into the skin quite quickly, leaving it feeling noticeably moisturized (slightly “skiddy” compared to areas around it) for several minutes after application.
After the 4 week waiting period this lotion was in the best shape, with the smallest amount of mould, but it was still mouldy.
Emulsimulse / Ritamulse SCG Emulsifying Wax
The mixture quickly emulsified into a mostly opaque, whitish liquid. As I whisked I started to noticing it thickening up within about three minutes, and after 20 minutes it had thickened into a creamy, luxurious lotion.
Once fully set, the lotion is thick and creamy, and glossy in appearance. It absorbs quickly and leaves the skin feeling almost powdery and dry (though still moisturized) after application.
After the 4 week waiting period the top was covered in some nice greyish greenish mould spots.
Emulsifying Wax NF
The mixture quickly emulsified into an opaque, milk-like liquid. The top thickens up, leaving a bit of a skin that needs to be stirred back into the lotion.
The lotion ends up being quite thick and creamy, with a rather interesting texture. The best thing I can compare it to is a fat-free yoghurt that’s been thickened up with other ingredients. It’s almost mealy in appearance on the skin, though you can’t feel that at all when rubbing it into the skin. It sinks in reasonably quickly and feels smooth. The skin is left with a discernable “lotioned” feeling when compared to the skin around it, similar to the Polawax.
After the 4 week waiting period the top had sprouted some spots of black mould.
Some Emulsifying Wax Conclusions
In the end, all the e-waxes produced an equally thick lotion, though it sometimes took several days to get there.
Polawax and Emulsifying Wax NF have quite a lot in common in terms of feel and thickening speed, while Emulsimulse stands off on its own.
None of them keep very well when stored on a sunny windowsill.
Well, there you have it! Some insight into three different emulsifying waxes 🙂
Thank you so much! I appreciate your time and effort. I’ve been using the ‘silly’ method for years.
I am truly gratefel for all that you share.
Thanks, Ginette 😀
I love your quick guide posts. They’re such well thought out experiments and always give such great information! This is my first time commenting, but I’ve been following you for some time now. Just wanted to say you’re awesome! Have a wonderful week!
Thanks so much, Michelle! And thanks for following and reading, it’s hugely appreciated!
Marie, thank you soooooo much for this clarification between waxes. And also for your recipies. I have made lotions, toners, lip gloss ….. And my friends love them..
Again, thank you so much.
My next attempt is soap. I want to make your liquid soap and a shampoo soap.
Barb
Thanks so much, Barb! Happy to help 🙂
This was perfect. I’m ready to start making lotions and I was curious on which to use. This helps me.
Thanks, Cynnara!
Hi Marie!
I know that this was an experiment for the e-waxes, however I wanted to ask, do you usually soybean oil for lotions? Or was it just for the experiment?
Also – this whole thing was done with zero preservatives. Will you be doing an experiment with those next? 🙂
Hi Erin! I don’t use soybean oil much, which is why I used it here. It’s cheap, I had it in my cupboard, and I knew all of these would be going to waste.
I don’t have much of a collection of preservatives due to my not really liking them, so I don’t see myself doing an experiment with them anytime soon.
I noticed here you said you do not like preservatives but I found a blog post where you do use them. Did you change your mind and why?
I changed my mind because I was 100% super wrong. You can review the preservatives section in my FAQ to learn more 🙂
Why do you dislike preservatives?
Keep reading the comments—specifically the one directly above yours 😉
Wow! I love the comparison of the three waxes! Thank you soooo much! Great article 🙂
Thanks, Katie!
I’ve made lotions for years but my recipe is very different from yours. I’ve used Polawax, and EWax NF with preservative without any problems.
As with chocolate chip cookies, I’m sure there are as many recipes as there are cooks 🙂
Hi Marie, I’ve been following your blog for a while; actually, you started me into DIY. I’ve done your recipes for lip balms, masks, body butters, etc. and I had been waiting for this post to better understand emulsifying wax, now I can finally venture into making lotion your “Manly Winter Lotion” and “Honey Ginger Hand Lotion”. Thanks so much for the info.
Wonderful! I’m so happy to help 🙂 Thanks so much for DIYing with me!
Thank you Marie. I’ve never make an actual lotion because I was confused about how to and which type of emulsifying wax to get.
Happy to help, Mary 🙂
Hi Marie, have you tried an e-wax that emulsifies without the need to heat your ingredients? What are your thoughts on that? Is heating helping in things other than the emulsifying process, like diluting ingredients in water or oil. Any effects on the germ load of the end product due to heating?
Hi Sophie! In my experience all e-waxes are solid, which means you have to heat everything to melt the e-wax, and keep it melted long enough to mix everything together (otherwise you’ll end up with chunks of e-wax in an un-emulsified product).
Unless you’re bringing your ingredients to a full boil for about 10 minutes I wouldn’t be too confident about the heat having much of an effect on the germ load of the final product.
Windy Point in Calgary Canada carries Aristoflex AVC which doesn’t require the heat and hold stage for emulsification.
https://www.windypointsoap.com/blogs/news/aristoflex-avc-an-awesome-cold-process-emulsifier
That said, a broad spectrum preservative is a good addition to any product containing or exposed to water.
http://www.humblebeeandme.com/?s=preservative
I’ve had Aristoflex AVC in my pantry for about a year now—what a fun ingredient! And I do use a broad spectrum preservative, I just wanted to see how things would go without one here 🙂 I definitely didn’t use any of these lotions for anything other than learnin’ 🙂
Thanks so much for this Marie! I always wondered what the differences were. I tend to use emulsimulse the most but I wonder, when formulating my own recipe, how much should I use? I know that the the usage rate is 2-10% (according to Saffire Blue) but is it dependent on the amount of oils I use? i.e. 25% of oils? Any help is appreciated!
I usually do 5–10% e-wax out of a 25% total for oils, with the rest being water based 🙂
Hi Marie! First off, I just wanted to say how much I love your blog. I’ve found it to be so interesting and helpful. 🙂 I was wondering if either of these e-waxes are safe to use in recipes for the face or for babies? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Hi Cynthia! I’d have no trouble using any of the e-waxes on a baby, but I don’t have one, so what do I know? 😛 I recommend checking out Skin Deep and researching the fatty acids that make up each e-wax, and making your own decision.
When it comes to use on the face the only thing that might come up is how comedogenic the fatty acids are—that is, how likely they are to clog pores. Here’s a pretty comprehensive list to peruse 🙂
Hi, I’m confused. I just read your 2009 posts stating how unsafe emulsifying waxes are. What has changed? Thanks for your response.
Hi Daniel—I’m afraid I have no idea what you are reading as this blog did not exist in 2009. Also, most e-waxes are made from fatty acids derived from plants and are quite safe, like cetearyl alcohol. You can feel free to do you own research on Skin Deep.
Wow, I just reviewed my browsing history and discovered I got you confused with bumbleandbee.blogspot.com. So sorry; but you may want to check it out since you are sincerely concerned about health and skin care products.
There’s nothing but an empty website at that URL. That said, I have researched the ingredients in emulsifying waxes, and they are totally safe, though some are better choices than others (all the ingredients in emulsimulse are a 1/10 on Skin Deep, which is very safe).
Hi, sorry about that. I’m a computer novice (Daniel is my husband and he’s the expert but I’m the one posing the questions). Anyway, here is the actual URL: http://bubbleandbee.blogspot.com/2009/05/ive-talked-about-how-although-its-great.html
Ah, ok. So, that article is about one variety of ewax (Polawax), so you can’t really use it to throw all e-waxes under the bus. That’s like saying all bread is awful and using Wonderbread as your example. All the ingredients the author expresses concern about are not present in emulsimulse, which does exactly the same job using different ingredients.
Hello Marie! I have recently discovered your blog and I am a newbie at beauty DIY and I love your beginner series! I live in the states and would like to purchase all of my ingredients on your starter list from one place (NDA) and was wondering how the Emulsifying Wax O (SLS Free) would fit in with these e-waxes. Thank you very much!
Hi Emily! The description on NDA for Emulsifying Wax O says “It is not a complete emulsifier, but more a thickener and stabiliser. On its own it will not bind oils and water at all, but in combination with a second emulsifier, it will effectively thicken the final product, proportionately to the amount used.” So DO NOT buy this and try to use it as an emulsifying wax as it’s very clearly stated that it will not work (why do they even call it an emulsifying wax when it has no emulsifying abilities?!). This is one of the “incomplete emulsifying waxes” I talk about it the article. Always read your product descriptions 🙂
Polawax is the best choice out of the ones NDA sells.
This post has been very helpful, Marie! I’m very new to the diy scene for lotions and makeup, but I thought I would give it a try. I used the Polowax from ND, and my creation wasn’t turning out thick and creamy like your pictures. This helps me understand why! I’m glad I don’t give up easily–I’ll definitely be making some changes and trying again. Thank you!! 🙂
Happy to help! I know e-waxes can be pretty weird, especially to newbies 😉
Just found your blog, Marie! I make soaps and am just getting interested in lotions (initially because of conditioner to go with shampoo bar :p ). This post is very useful. I notice you say that you don’t use preservatives. Of course, this recipe is a test recipe with a “throwaway” oil you aren’t fond of (I tend to do this too, for tests), but when you actually make lotions for use, and you don’t use preservatives, are there other precaution/additions you take to prevent contamination/spoiling? Specific ingredients/methods beyond the usual “as sterile as possible”? What sort of shelf life do you get in normal usage (if you aren’t keeping them in wide mouth jars in the sun)? If you gift them, what sort of instructions or “use by” do you provide? I am relatively new at this, and with soaps, spoiling is not such a big concern, so while I don’t wish to use preservatives, the idea of someone using lotion I made after it has gone bad leaves me jittery.
Hey Vidyut! I do use preservatives in all other situations, and you really should, too (this is for recipes that contain water). You can’t tell something has spoiled just by looking at it, but if you think of lotion as a soup… how long would you store it at room temperature before you wouldn’t eat it anymore (or serve it to a guest)? That’s roughly the sort of timeline we’re talking about. Here’s my FAQ on recommended preservatives 🙂
Hello Marie, I am a longtime reader that is ready to try some of the recipes. I am having a problem trying to find the Emulsimulse and some other of the ingredients all at one site-shipping kills. Help
Unless you live in Canada I’m afraid I can’t be of much help. Saffire Blue is my one-stop shop these days if you don’t want to pay for shipping twice. Have you checked out my Where to Buy Ingredients page? Also, you don’t have to get emulsimulse to make lotions—the other ewaxes in this article will work perfectly fine and I do still use them 🙂
Hi Marie,
I am making a list of ingredients I need to buy and then I can start my DIY projects. Can you tell if emulsifying wax, silk amino acid and any of those Perservatives expire? Buying in bulk is obviously cheaper, but irony know how much I can get through and ended up having the ingredients expiring, then it would be a waste of money…
Thanks!
Hey Chi! It’s best to check with your supplier (they should list shelf lives for everything they sell), but in my experience emulsifying wax, silk powders, and preservatives have indefinite shelf lives if stored properly—aka cool, dry, and sealed. I just opened up a package of silk I bought four years ago and it’s still just like new 🙂
Oils will oxidize/go rancid in a year or two, so it’s best not to buy TOO much of those.
Hi Marie,
Very informative post! However, I have a recipe that calls for “emulsifying ointment.” Do you know if this is the same as emulsifying wax? Thanks!
I’m afraid I have no idea, I’ve never heard of such a thing. It sounds more like a complete product than an ingredient, but I really have no idea.
Wow! I love your website! I was just searching what emulsifying wax is as it is one of the main ingredients of a lovely handbalm I bought in England. It’s funny because in our German DIY cosmetics community Cetearyl Alcohol and Glyceryl Stearate aren’t used in emulsions (even if you can buy them). So I found your wonderful post. Thank you so much! I’m so exited to discover your recipes and ideas!
Thanks, Miri! Happy making 😀
Hi Marie,first of all let me tell you I’m a huge fan of yours and appreciate and read avidly every thing you post. I have a question for you : I was wondering about the emulsifying wax. I used it a couple of times. And for some reason after I put the cream on my face , it sweats(I’m not sure if this word make sense or not )so I was wondering is it because of the emulsifying wax so could it be because I used more water than needed ?thanks
Thanks, Di! Uh… regarding your cream, that’s weird. I have no idea why that would happen… I’m not even sure how you’d notice that…? Like, how much cream are you putting on your face that you can tell the cream is sweating, and not your face? What is the exact formula you are using?
Hey Marie,
I wanted to buy an emulsifier, so I’ve read a bit about all the ingredients, and I have an issue with Cetostearyl alcohol (a.k.a cetearyl alcohol, a.k.a cetylstearyl alcohol).
Cetostearyl alcohol is a blend of Cetyl and stearyl alcohols. While I can’t say a lot about stearyl alcohol (besides the fact that on EWG there’s a concern that some sources for its production may be from whale’s sperm eek, but I bet there’s a lot of vegetable alternatives), I did find that the main source of Cetyl alcohol is Palm oil. I wasn’t aware of the problems surrounding the use of Palm oil until I’ve read your article about the use of tallow in soap making http://www.humblebeeandme.com/why-i-use-lard-or-tallow-in-my-soap-and-why-you-should-too/ (btw I’ve purchased beef tallow from my local yesterday and can’t wait to render it for making a soap! Have so much other stuff to do first though, but soap is the only thing on my mind lol!).
Anyway, back to Palm oil. I can’t seem to find a reliable source of emulsifier made from Cetostearyl alcohol, which contains Cetyl alcohol, which WASN’T made of palm oil (you see why it is a frustrating search..). So I guess I wanted to ask you if you’re aware of this subject? Also, I don’t remember on which exactly post I’ve read it, but you said you were thinking about making a post about the use of Turkey Red Oil and Guar Gum (hope I got this right) as emulsifier. So I guess this was my way to ask “PLEASE do so!” 😀
Ok, I have to correct myself!
Apparently there is a species of whales called “sperm whales”. They where called this way because of a substance “Spermaceti”, which was originally mistakenly identified as the whales’ semen, but actually a semi-liquid, waxy substance found within the whale’s head. This Spermaceti liquid can be refined into spermaceti wax and sperm oil, which then can used for commercial applications, such as candles, soap, cosmetics, etc. Not that it’s any better, because in this case the whale has to be killed, while I guess if it was made of the sperm of the whale than at least you can imagine a weird scenario where the whale at least stays alive and is used for his sperm.. yep, still terrible.. Anyway, just wanted to correct myself on this subject!
I’m wondering if you’ll leave out the Cetostearyl alcohol, and use only the Glyceryl Monostearate (GMS) and Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate (SSL) at different ratios, and perhaps add some TRO, you’ll get a good emulsifier 🙄
Eh, maybe? I don’t have any of those isolated ingredients other than the TRO so I’ve never worked with them.
Yes haha, definitely not whale sperm! Erk. Sperm is mostly protein from my reading, too, so it’s not a great source of fatty acids in any event 😛
That’s a logical reasoning right there. I guess I totally forgot what sperm mainly is at the moment of my dubious research 😉
Ha! I don’t think it’s something most of us care to spend much time thinking about LOL.
Hey Tesh! Yes, I do know that many emulsifiers contain fatty acids derived from palm. These are pretty much always unlabelled as such; you can try contacting your suppliers. Unfortunately this seems to be a necessary evil of this hobby if you want to use waxy emulsifiers to make things like lotions and creams. It’s up to you if you are ok with that. With soap, there is an easy alternative, but emulsifiers… not so much.
The TRO/GG combo is quite limited in its usefulness, and really cannot be used in anything whatsoever that requires emulsifying wax. Sorry!
Thank you Marie. I guess there’s a limit to how natural && safe && environment-friendly you can be at the same time. You wrote a great post on the subject lately 🙂
😀 Thanks!
Hello Marie and everyone!I found this site through google as I have a problem working with bees wax. I am hoping someone can steer me in the right direction. I have been experimenting for the last year to make a concoction using waxes. The purpose of this project was to use bees wax as a tacky substance that is all natural and safe that I can apply to drum sticks for better grip. I want the product to be grippy not sticky. I have tried varies amount foor grade d-limonene drops and heated it into the bees wax. I found a formula that seemed to work but then the d-limonene sort of evaporated out of the bees wax and became too hard to use. I tried emulsifying wax bees made from soy but then it was too greasy and slick feeling. Is there anything other item that can help soften the bees was that is natural? It needs to mix with bees wax to soften it up without it feeling greasy or slick. Thank so much for any responses!
Honestly, this is pretty far off from anything I’ve ever tried or had interest in experimenting with. Have you thought about trying pine tar? I think that’s what baseball pitchers to improve their grip on the ball. Beeswax is sticky, and in anything where you use a lot of it, it’s going to be sticky. When it stops being stick, it also stops being tacky… those two things go hand in hand with beeswax.
Hello Marie,
Yes I have tried all types of pine. It either gets too sticky or to hard. Bees wax is what Im going with but I need a good emulsifier. Out of the the three you have listed in this blog, which one works the best that is less greasy or slick to the touch? Thanks
When you use an e-wax you are using it in such small percentages (~5%) that it really doesn’t have that much of an impact on how greasy or slick the lotion is—that is much more dependent on the other 95% of the recipe. Why does your wax product need an emulsifier? It seems like water is an odd thing to include in something you want to be sticky.
Hey Billy, you may’ve already found your solution, i hope so; but if not, these are just ideas/starting points, not answers..but i have a fondness for drummers, & had a couple, most likely fruitless, thoughts i hoped might help..
Okay, i’m sure you’ve already fully studied encaustic painting, in this regard, but i’d ask you to look @ the different ratios recommended or discussed, using beeswax to damar resin..i have several crude resins, including damar, & although they’ve much in common, there are also myriad differences.
Damar might be too varnish-y for you, its a film-former, hard & shiny, w/ a melting point around 200’F(this varies)..but what i thought you might find of interest is the different characteristics found when you vary the ratios of the wax to the resin (done in a similar fashion as when Marie shows us the differing ratios of waxes & cetyl alcohol,etc to liquid oils)..
Additionally, adding an e-wax might not be far off, b/c your other really good possibility for ‘grippiness’ might come from the addition of some spirit gum, either to the beeswax, or the beeswax & damar.
Spirit gum, (gum arabic,or acacia gum), is oft used in art & theatre applications, & has some unique qualities, when compared to xanthan or guar, which are normally what we use when cosmetics diy-ing. Something to research..
Lastly, back to the resins..i know you said you’d investigated the pine resin already (good call, Marie!), but have you checked out copal resin? This might have some of the features you’re seeking..mostly, its been used for dental/oral applications, of all things, but its cheap, & intriguing; & i would think some combo of beeswax, a scosh of damar, a scosh of e-wax, a good glob of gum arabic, a healthy amount of copal plus a decent dose of preservative, might get you nearer to what you seek, & i suspect it might smell quite nice also.
Sorry, Marie & company, it seems every time i comment on this blog, i always write some exhaustive treatise..please forgive me! i’ll try to limit my outbursts in the future..
Thank you, Marie, for being so frickin’ rad, & thanks, everybody, for your infinite patience w/me.
Much love, suki
Hi! I don’t know if you ever got the problem solved, but I know that as a dancer, rosin is my best friend for making my shoes grippy but not sticky. Maybe this will help is some way? I hope?
Hello! This post was sooo helpful for my e-wax research. You are awesome! I was hoping you might be able to help me with something, though. I’m having the hardest time finding the comedogenic ratings for e-waxes! I sort of figured out a 2 for NF but I’m really interested in one you didn’t cover here, BTMS 50. I’ve been finding it hard to understand a lot of what I learn about it (over my silly head) other than that it’s good for hair. It’s the e-wax I’m most curious about and I’d really appreciate any ideas. Thank you! 🙂
You’re likely going to need to research the individual components of each, but for what it’s worth, the comeodogenic scale may not be all that applicable. I have used BTMS-50 in my face lotions and that doesn’t break me out.
Oh, wow, thanks for that link, very interesting! And for your personal input as well. 🙂
No worries—happy making!
Hi Marie, it said to be emulsimulse is easily absorb and left the skin with powdery and dry touch, so is emulsimulse will be the better e-wax for making face cream for oily skin compare to NF and polawax?
I’m quite oily, and I’m looking for a recipe for my day cream to put before makeup.
Honestly, the best thing to do is try it yourself. I like the feel of emulsimulse, but I know some makers who can’t stand it. I like BTMS-50 and E-wax NF for face lotions, but that is just my preference. Remember that an ewax is usually only 4–7% of a formulation; the other 95% +/- has much more of an impact on the feel of the final product than the ewax does!
Thank you so much for the informative article! I especially like the photos and descriptions as sometimes it can be hard when making new bodycare recipes to know exactly what reaction to look for! Can’t wait to start making some of my own lotion recipes!
Happy to help! Happy making 😀
Is lecithin a good emulsifier?
Simply put—no, not really. If all you want to do is incorporate a small amount of a water soluble ingredient into a mostly oil concoction (like this), it does the job. In all other situations, it is unsuitable as an emulsifier (but it does make a nice skin softening ingredient!).
Great advice and tips, thanks everyone. I’m still working on my project. Thank you!
Hi Marie,
I was just reading on the Credo Beauty website under their “dirty ingredients” tab that Emulsifying Wax NF is part of this list:
Ethoxylated ingredients: are ingredients that are synthetically produced using ethylene oxide – a known carcinogen. These new chemical compounds are known as ethoxylated compounds. A by-product of this process is another chemical known to be harmful: 1,4 dioxane. Also, the chemicals listed below are all produced using this process of ethoxylation and, as a result, are contaminated with 1,4 dioxane. To avoid ethoxylated compounds look for these ingredients listed on labels:
-Butoxyethanol: Synonyms: Butyl cellosolve; Ethylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether; Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether; EGBE; Dowanol EB; Butyl oxitol; Jeffersol EB; Ektasolve EB
-Ethanolamines (DEA/TEA/MEA/ETA)
-Polysorbates: Synonyms are All PEG (Polyethylene & Polypropylene glycol) compounds, like PEG-20, 40, 60, and its synonyms, Polysorbate-20, Polysorbate-40,etc.
-Emulsifying Wax NF
-Sorbitan Monostearate and other sorbitan based ingredients are also synonyms with PEGs (polysorbates).
-Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), Ammonium Laureth Sulfate and most ingredients ending in “-eth”.
-Any ingredient known to actually contain 1,4-dioxane
What are your thoughts? I use the Emulsifying Wax NF in many recipes but now I’m not sure what to think since this is the only source I have found mentioning this is a carcinogen.
Thank you!
Hmm. Well, I guess my first thought would be that the website you mentioned is actively trying to sell lots of things, so I wouldn’t consider them to be an unbiased source. I’d also add a “could” to the “contaminated”. The use of a chemical in the production of an ingredient doesn’t necessarily mean it is present in any meaningful amounts in the final product; cosmetic grade petroleum jelly, for instance, is highly refined to purify it and there is no evidence it is carcinogenic despite its production methods.
1,4 dioxane does not remain in the body, isn’t conclusively a carcinogen from what I can find from reputable sources, and it looks like you would need to be exposed to quite a lot of it for it to be problematic. This report is quite interesting read. The gist of it is that it “may be present as a trace contaminant” and that we aren’t certain of many of its effects on humans. If we use the food guidelines of 10ppm as a rough guide, and consider most of the listed ingredients are used at concentrations of 10% or less in most concoctions, any potential exposure is likely to be insignificant. Personally, I’d be more concerned about eating processed meat regularly as far as risk goes, and even then, if I ate meat, I don’t think I’d be actively avoiding processed meats because I’d be that concerned about the cancer risk. I’m still much more likely to die in a car accident 😛
Hope that makes some sense!
That is a good link offering a lot of detail! I did a little research myself to see what I could find on Emulsifying Wax NF before my post but THANK YOU so much for taking time to do a little research as well since you are far better informed about ingredients than I am (newbie DIYer). Someone mentioned to me too that if the company is based out of California, they likely are required to list anything and everything as possibilities no matter how remote to comply with California law so that may factor in as well. Thanks again Marie!
No worries! In many ways I do like California’s efforts to educate and warn people, but I also feel like they are doing it in a pretty “dumb” way—just listing “ingredients included may cause cancer” or something to that effect is really alarmist and uninformative. Many, many things may cause cancer, but with no details about just what the risk is, it’s just scary, not helpful. Just my two cents, though!
Hi Marie! I was wondering with these, which is best for something like a bath melt? And for lotions, would it be best to use a solid Cetearyl alcohol or a liquid polysorbate 60?
Any of these would be good for a bath melt, and neither Cetearyl alcohol or polysorbate 60 are something you’d put in a lotion on their own unless you are formulating your own emulsifier from scratch—just use one of these complete emulsifying waxes while you get started 🙂
Hi, I was wondering how safe are these emulsifiers? I have intentions of making lotion and I am finding a safe emulsifier for our project. Actually, it’s an antiperspirant lotion for the hands, so we are trying to make use of natural ingredients and we are new to this heheh :D. I hope you can answer my question, thank you so much.
They’re very safe—I wouldn’t use them if they weren’t 🙂 Also, I’d recommend reading this, this, and this 🙂
Just curious why you didn’t cover BTMS-50. What type of e-wax does this fall into? I’m asking because I have so much of this stuff on my shelf. How is BTMS-50 different from the above e-waxes you covered?
I didn’t have it at the time, simple as that 🙂 The biggest difference is that it’s cationic, so it makes things conditioning—it’s a lovely difference 🙂
Based on the characteristics can I replace BTMS-50 with Emulsimulse / Ritamulse SCG Emulsifying Wax?
I would like to make Susan’s Modified Cationic Oil-Free Moisturizer for Acne Prone or Rosacea Type Skin.
http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=Oil+free
If yes would it be a exact swap? Or do I need subtract or add for the Emulsimulse?
I am having trouble locating BTMS-50 on Amazon (USA) and I already did a haul from LotionCrafter’s and plus I already do have Emulsimule and Ritamulse.
BTW I made the Foundation Color Blend from your book after a few tweaks I got a exact skin color match woohoo!
With Susan’s recipe I plan on making my very first lotion and creating a liquid foundation which is also on that same link with my color blend.
Thank you for your recipes and research!
I would recommend directing questions about Susan’s recipes to Susan 🙂 I’m glad you have had success with colour blending, though! That’s a tricky thing that a lot of people struggle with 🙂 Happy making!
Nice article. Have you ever done a fully natural lotion/cream? I’m talking about in the style of Saje products. The emulsifiers you are mentioning all have synthetic ingredients, except maybe Emulsimulse. But the way Saje does their lotions is certainly mind-boggling, they are mostly using Cetearyl Alcohol, lecithin, or Glyceryl Stearate SE as emulsifiers, like this one: http://www.saje.com/ca/the-king-and-i-4079.html?cgid=body-moisturizers#all-ingredients
Or this one with lecithin as en emulsifier: http://www.saje.com/ca/psoria-ease-4295.html?cgid=body-moisturizers#all-ingredients
I’m really not trying to plug their products. I’m just extremely interested to learn how to do lotions like they do, even without synthetic preservatives.
Cheers!
The first one uses Olivem1000 as its emulsifier, which I have done here. Nothing too mind-boggling about that 🙂 I’d be curious about the consistency of the second one—I suspect it’s really thick? I don’t see anything in there that should support a really water-heavy emulsion, but lecithin will allow the incorporation of small amounts of water into otherwise oily things.
You definitely can work without synthetic preservatives, it’s just that they tend to be trickier. There’s lots of good information here 🙂
Hi Marie, thank you for the link. I didn’t realized you had tried with the olivem 🙂
I haven’t tried the sample of the second one in store so I can’t tell you if it’s really think!!!! But I’ll request this to you as a recipe, maybe you’ll have time in the future to try it. 😀
Cheers!
Next time I’m near a Saje I’ll have to go in and have a feeling party 😛
Hello humblebee,I love everything about your blog,have read a lot of about beauty on this blog,I want to start the business of selling DIY ingredients, I need you to put me through on how to start the business and where ican access the beauty ingredients on a lower Price ingredients like sepi White powder, giga white powder, snow white powder, essential oils etc thanks
I’ve got an entire post on this here 🙂
Can I use polawax instead of beeswax for making lip balm? Is it safe for lips?
Waiting for your answer, thanks
No, you can’t—beeswax and emulsifying waxes do completely different job and cannot be used for one another. Emulsifying wax is an emulsifier, used around 5%, to make lotions, while beeswax is a hardener and occlusive. Just because they both have “wax” in the name doesn’t mean they have much of anything in common 🙂
Which one is more suitable for lip balm? yellow beeswax or white beeswax?
It depends on if you want the honey scent or not.
Hello
Thank you for your videos and informations. I would like to know what do you think of Polawax . On different websites people are concern about the danger of Pegs in it. And is it also true that it is made of palm. Thank you very much
I love Polawax—it’s a fantastic, reliable, and pretty much fool-proof emulsifier. The thing people are concerned about with PEGs is 1,4-dioxane, which is also found naturally in tomatoes. You can read more about it here, but the general gist of it is that industry and government makes every effort to keep levels extremely low, and it’s been determined not to be a risk.
I tried making a lotion today using E-wax NF. The resulting lotion appears a little bit grainy although when you spread it on your skin, you won’t feel any graininess. Is that normal for E-wax NF? Thanks 🙂
No, that’s not normal for e-wax NF; I suspect it is a different part of your formula.
What else does your formula have?
I only have water, sunflower oil, glycerin, e-wax NF, cetyl alcohol, preservative (Phenoxyethanol & Ethylhexylglycerin) and geranium essential oil. I’m starting to think it’s because I didn’t heat-and-hold for 20 mins at 70-75C. my two phases. I don’t have thermometer so I just heat the two phases together on the same pan and wait for the oil phase to melt and start mixing them together by using a small whisk (I’m just doing a sample 30g batch size).
I think I’d suspect your mixing method more—it’s not high-shear, and that is what is recommended for emulsions made using waxes like these ones. It could just be that you aren’t getting as even of a mix as you would with high-shear mixing given the graininess is mostly optical.
Hello, I am trying to make swirl candle.s Regular wax makes them blend too easily. What would be a good additive so that the wax is thicker , making it easier for a swirl pattern that does not blend?
I don’t make candles, sorry.
What is your opinion on this emulsifying wax I came across on amazon compared to the others you reviewed here? It says its an olive derived wax. Ingredients: Cetearyl Olivate/Sorbitan Olivate
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007UYS1X2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3IYJK9WIF5DN4&psc=1
I cant seem to find emulsimulse on amazon just emulsifying wax NF and this olive one.
That’s Olivem1000—if you google that name you can learn more about it. I’ve used it in a few newer recipes as well, if you search the blog they’ll pop up! I’d say it is closer to emulsimulse 🙂
Oops, just realised I posted at the wrong end of the thread – sorry! Hope you can delete my other post. Reposting here now…
Hi Marie,
I hope you are having a fab time in London and I’m sorry I can’t get there to ask you this in person but Scotland is too far 🙁 I love your site so much, your recipes are so clearly explained and I often use your essential oil combinations in an unscented base lotion which I’ve bought but I would love to be able to make my own products. I’ve dabbled a bit and have some basic ingredients but I would love to be able to pick out one of your fantastic recipes and make it from scratch. Your recommended substitutions are great as I have a very limited newbie larder but my stumbling block is always emulsifying waxes. I bought a couple of products (online from the Soap Kitchen) before I discovered your site and I just don’t know if I can use either/both of them as the emulsifying wax listed in your recipes. They scare me to be honest but I would prefer to use them rather than ignore them and buy an alternative to exactly match your recipes. So here goes – I have a bag of Cetearyl Alcohol and a bag of Steareth-21. I believe that the Cetearyl Alcohol is a 30:70 blend of cetyl alcohol (C16) and stearyl alcohol (C18). I think the Cetearyl Alcohol is a thickener and the Steareth-21 is an emulsifier so I wondered if I could combine them in a certain ratio which would allow me to use them whenever I see e-wax in your ingredient lists? I have searched online but I’m just confused! Do you have any idea how I should use them? I would so love to be able to just chose a recipe and go for it! Thanks and sorry for the long question, Sarah.
Honestly, the best answer I can give you is “maybe”. I can’t find any as-is emulsifying waxes that contain Steareth-21. Its HLB is 15.5, which is the same as Ceteareth 20, and I did find an emulsifying wax (on Amazon—it’s not one I’ve tried) with this description: “80% Cetearyl Alcohol, blended with 20% Ceteareth 20”. I’d probably try replacing the Ceteareth 20 with your Steareth-21 and seeing what happens.
That said, if you’re new to emulsions and lotions this is a pretty hard place to start. I would recommend getting some emulsifying wax NF and using that (you can include some cetearyl alcohol as a thickener in your lotions) until you get a feel for what an emulsion is like and how they come together. Both the ingredients you’ve got have very long shelf lives so you have some time to learn and experiment without them going to waste 🙂
Hi Marie,
Can you please give your insight on Peg-8 beeswax for making o/w emulsions. Does it solely act as emulsifier or does it need any other emulsifier?
I haven’t worked with it. I looked up a few manufacturer sample formulas; it was rarely used as a sole emulsifier, and seems better suited to projects with a larger oil phase. I highly doubt it would work in place of a complete emulsifying wax like the ones used here. Sorry that isn’t more helpful!
hi,i need some advice of you.i have combination-oily skin,and i dont know wich emulsifier to buy.can you please give some recommendations? would some of these waxes help me?
thank you.
Hey! Choosing your emulsifying wax out of these three for oily skin is sort of like choosing salt for weight loss—it’s a pretty inconsequential thing 🙂 They really are just a functional part of the formula, and I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Emulsifying Wax NF is a pretty easy one to work with, easily available, and inexpensive, so I’d recommend starting there 🙂
thank you very much, i bought emulsifier wax nf and emulpharma 1000 new.i liked more the second one.
Hello Karina!
Ohhh I do like the feel of emulsifiers with cetearyl alcohol! Glad you found something you like!
Hi, Marie! Really love your blog!
I was wondering if you have any tips on how to correct a lotion’s thickness after it is done. I’ve researched a bit and only found mention on adding xantham gum, but was not happy with the result. It totally changed the general consistency of the lotion… do you know if it would be possible to just add more polawax to the mixture?
Thank you!
Hey Ana! Sadly, emulsions are a one-and-done deal. Reheating them to add new ingredients will ruin your preservative and the emulsion. Much of the thickness of a lotion is dictated by the phase sizes (not the amount of emulsifier), and you really can’t adjust that after the lotion has already been made—different phase sizes require different amounts of emulsifier. I really recommend making things in small batches (100g or less) so if you don’t like it you can finish it quickly, or you won’t feel too bad about throwing it away. Happy making!
Is there a recipe for a deoderant gel?
I do not have one at this time.
Hi Marie, which one would you recommend for rinse-out conditioner? Thanks!
I wouldn’t use any of these for a conditioner; check out this formulation instead 🙂
Hi Marie, I hope to begin experimenting with lotions soon to try and dupe ColourPop’s Jelly Much eyeshadow, and I was wondering what percentage of E-wax to use if a lotion is 40% water, mica + magnesium stearate + titanium dioxide at 30% and the rest made up of dimethicone 350, isopropyl myristate, some cetyl alcohol, LGP and I wasn’t sure what amount of e-wax I would need to get this to be a stable, emulsified ‘lotion’, thank you!
You’d typically include ewax at ~25% of your oil phase; I give some guidance on calculating that in this post + the partner video 🙂 Happy making!
Hi Marie, N-Essentials in Australia has Polawax, which is cetearyl alcohol and PEG 20 Stearate, and the same INCIs are on New Directions called megasperse 1402. The Polawax in Australia isn’t the same as your Polawax, do you think it still has similar properties? N-Essentials does say that it is highly sought after and commonly used, and is ‘arguably the most highly regarded emulsifying waxes’, but do you think I should find something with INCIs more like your Polawax? Thanks so much for this guide
Hello Marie! I be been making a lot of your earlier simple recipes! They are great, I’ve read everything you’ve posted on emulsifying waxes. I unwittingly bought partial emulsifying waxes that need co emulsifiers… which you’re right, it’s silly. I’ve searched around and cannot find a list that would tell what partial emulsifiers could be put together to make a complete emulsifying wax (or a list of each partial emulsifying waxes’ co emulsifier) Have you seen such a list or could you come up with one?
I have cerabellina, candelilla and carbauba that I found out the hard way, do not mix with water. There were some websites, a lot actually, that said they were good for lotions and creams. I do use them for salves and balms and use Polawax for my lotions, but I thought it would be nice in a pinch if I’m right out of Polawax that I could combine the partial emulsifying waxes and make a complete one. Thank so much for all your wonderful recipes and all the time you spend creating, posting and sharing your knowledge! April
Hi, I’m just starting out making some balms and creams from home, and I’m getting great tips from your website, thank you! I just wondered, with the percentages above, if this would work for volume as well as weight? My scales aren’t very reliable at such low weights, so I’d get more accuracy with (say) teaspoons/tablespoons.
Hello Becky, I don’t know why your query came to my email, but in response, it is my experience that a digital scale that weighs in very small increments like less than 1 gram, 0.50 would be half a gram, 0.75 would be 3/4 if a gram and so on.
Working in weight makes it much easier to scale recipes up or down using Marie’s spreadsheet method of making more or less of an existing recipe.
I’m learning myself still and have been making a few creams and lotions for a year or so. I have been making soap for 4 years but the learning curve on lotions and creams is more involved!
I hope this helps!
April
No, definitely not. Please watch this video to see how volume measurements really aren’t accurate at all 🙂
Hello Marie, I’ve found the INCI name for pola wax (Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Polysorbate 60) exactly like the e-wax NF ! I also see a lot of websites write about them as one thing as pola wax has the INCI name of e-wax NF. Im so confused, Is there more than one version of pola wax which is e-wax NF or what?
Hi! I’m guessing you found that listing on New Directions? They are the only place I’ve found that lists an INCI for Polawax—even the makers of Polawax (Croda) do not disclose the INCI beyond “Emulsifying Wax NF”, so the source of that particular INCI [(Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Polysorbate 60)] is a bit of a mystery. Polawax is a branded, trademarked product that is a type of Emulsifying Wax NF, meaning it meets the National Formulary standard (that’s what NF stands for).
To sum up: they are different and do produce slightly different end products, and the actual INCI of Polwax is not public knowledge.
Hello I have a pre-made lip balm base that contains olive and avocado oil, cocoa butter, Shea butter, caster oil, fractionated coconut oil and carnauba wax.
I want to incorporate stevia and glycerin (dissolve the stevia in the glycerin). Is it possible to emulsify this type of base or will the wax make it not work?
Cheers
Casey
It is possible it might work, as I did here, but you will have to try and see 🙂
Hi Marrie im newbie with this. How can i make the cream more thicker? By increase the % e-wax? Thanksss
I have an FAQ + a video on this 🙂 Happy making!
Thank you – very useful for a beginner!
I’m so glad you found it helpful! Have you discovered the Humblebee & Me DIY Encyclopedia (https://www.humblebeeandme.com/diy-encyclopedia/) yet? There’s also heaps of great info there!
I am amazed at the difference in emulsifying waxes! Thank you so much for this “experiment”. I am new at making lotions and have discovered Olivem 1000. I made my first batch and I did add a preservative to it. It turned out so wonderful. I am wanting to make more lotions, but am reading up on everything about them before I make another one. I do want to eventually make my own recipe for lotion. I really enjoyed your article here and love reading up on all of your articles! I am learning so much! This article taught me so much about the different e-waxes! Thank you for such a great article!
Dear Marie,
thanks very much for the useful info.
please let me know which of these waxes is more creamy, smooth and odorless.
regards
I’d say they are all odourless in a finished product, and are all capable of creating creamy, smooth emulsions. You might enjoy the ingredient deep dives I’ve been sharing on YouTube this year—I’ve done five on different emulsifying waxes. Happy making!