Bye-bye Puffy Eyes cream-Gel

Puffy eyes are one of the biggest aesthetic issues in personal care. Nobody is really excited about dark rings and puffy eyes. It has less to do with age than with nutrition and micro circulation. In this tutorial I've combined some amazing plant extracts with anti-inflammatory, anti-edema and venotonic activities to make a nice and smooth cream gel.

As I've mentioned before, sucrose stearate makes low viscosity and sprayable emulsions. In this tutorial however, I've blended xanthan gum and carrageenan that usually make a synergetic gel when combined. The result is a silky cream gel. I've applied very low oil concentrations of two amazing plant oils: perilla seed oil. This is a very light oil which immediately vanishes into skin withoit leaving any fatty residues (the oil contains about 60% alpha-linolenic acid) and passionfruit oil which is a light oil with high concentrations of linoleic acid.

Since both oils have high concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids, I applied this cold process emulsifier for emulsification. sucrose stearate is not only an amazing emulsifier with a light skin feel and no soapiness, its ability to be processed cold makes it an amazing option for working with sensitive oils and plant extracts.

I've used jiaogulan,  eyebright and horse chestnut extracts. All of them known for their anti-inflammatory and anti-edema properties and their special application in under-eye products. I've boosted this with cornflower hydrosol.

Jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum ) which is also known as "the herb of immortality and  "five leaves ginseng" belongs to the curcibitaceae but contains the same saponins as found in ginseng (it contains over 80 saponins). This is an adaptogenic herb very effective in detox, reducing blood sugar and enhancing body metabolism. In skin care it is known for its anti-oxidant, anti-pollution and anti-inflammatory properties, efficacy against puffy eyes and improving the complexion.

For this tutorial I'm using a freshly prepared jiaogulan extract.

Before we start I want to recommend you to read our older posts: hygienic manufacturing practice in cosmetic lab and introduction to Basic equipments and utensils for a cosmetic lab.

For 100 gr of this cream gel you'll need:

Phase A:

sucrose stearate                      2.0%

Organic perilla seed oil           8.0%

passionfruit oil                       4.0%

Olive squalane                            2.0%

Tocopherol                                0.5%

Organic rosemary CO2 extract  0.1%

Phase B:

Xanthan gum                               0.72%

Carrageenan                                0.48%

Phase C

Cornflower hydrosol                     to 100.0%

Organic jiaogulan hydroglyceric extract  5.0%

Organic eyebright hydroglyceric extract   2.0%

Organic horse chestnut hydroglyceric extract  1.0%

Panthenol                                        0.5%

Dermofeel® PA-3                           0.1%

Na-PCA                                             0.5%

Sodium lactate                               2.0%

Vegeluron                                        5.0%

Phase D:

Euxyl K903                                     0.5%

Dermosoft® 1388 ECO                 2.5%

Phase E:

Lactic acid  or Sodium hydroxide   to adjust the pH

Instruction:

1- In separate beakers blend phases A and C. Sucrose stearate is not soluble in oil and only blends with oil.

2- Add carrageenan and xanthan to the oil phase and blend them so that they don't build any lumps.

3-Slowly and while stirring the oil phase, add phase C to the oil phase.

4- Homogenize for 1-4 minutes (depending on your batch volume and your homogenizer)

5- Continue stirring and add the preservatives.

6- According to the requirements of your preservative, use lactic acid or Sodium hydroxide to adjust the pH. I've adjusted the pH to 5.0-5.1

7- Take your microkit sample (for microbiological test) and fill the emulsion in a suitable bottle

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