How to work with Plantasens HE20: a cosmetic formulation student's diary ...

If you've enjoyed part I of this post, follow Jilly through her journey with Plantasens HE20.

a facial moisturiser, Plantasens all in one pot, with mousseur

% breakdown:

(A) one pot phase

up to 100% organic lavender hydrosol

5% Plantasens HE20

15% organic sweet almond oil

2,5% passion fruit seed oil

2,5% organic cold pressed jojoba oil

5% vegetal squalane (this needs to be added in the oil phase BEFORE emulsification, don’t ask me how I know this :-p)

0,5% Dermosoft GMCY

(B) gum phase

4% natural glycerine 99,5%

0,5% Solagum AX

(C) cool down phase

0,5% tocopherol

0,1% organic rosemary CO2 extract

0,2% panthenol (75%)

0,2% organic sea buckthorn CO2 extract

0,2% EO neroli

0,1% Dermofeel PA-3

3% Dermosoft eco 1388

Procedure:

1. put phase A the water bath

2. don't wait till all plantasens is melted, start blending after 5-10 minutes.

• 7 minutes @75-81°C, sitting in the warm water bath, just leave it be and don’t touch it!

• after those 7 minutes, start stirring with a glass rod

• it melts/swells completely as you blend

• it helps when you use the mousseur at this stage

• test, and test again with a drop on your wrist to feel if there is still some graininess

• as soon as you observe the swelling and the fading of pellets into a gel like texture and there are no more grains to see/feel, stop heating, take your beaker out of the water bath and continue stirring

3. stir with the mousse blender for about 5 minutes = homogenisation

4. disperse gum in glycerine and add it to the pre-emulsion (glass spatula), you can feel an immediate change in the texture while you stir!

5. after this, the blend should be cooled down enough to add all the heat sensitive ingredients

6. finally, add preservative

7. prepare a 10% solution of your product and measure the pH.I added 2 drops of lactic acid (80%) to reduce the pH from 5,83 to 5,35.

Outcome:

An airy, fluffy, yellow moisturiser. Sinks nicely into the skin. Smells divine! This is my new favourite smell, the EO of neroli is outstanding! Texture is comparable to the frothy cream of your George Clooney cappuccino . Not grainy. Not perfect, but all in all very nice. I give it a 6,5 out of 10.

same formula, with Olivem1000, to compare

% breakdown:

(A) oil phase

5% Olivem 1000

15% organic sweet almond oil

2,5% passion fruit seed oil

2,5% organic cold pressed jojoba oil

5% vegetal squalane

0,5% Dermosoft GMCY

0,2% EO neroli

0,1% Dermofeel PA-3

3% Dermosoft 1388 eco

(B) water phase

up to 100% organic lavender hydrosol

(C) gum phase

4% natural glycerine (99,5%)

0,5% Solagum AX

(D) cool down phase

0,5% tocopherol

0,1% organic rosemary CO2 extract

0,2% panthenol (75%)

0,2% organic sea buckthorn CO2 extract

Procedure:

1. weigh the ingredients in phase A and B in separate beakers

• put both beakers in a warm water bath

• blend each phase separately (spatula)

• heat both beaker contents until they reach 70°C

• stop heating

2. without removing the water phase beaker from the water bath, trickle the oil phase GRADUALLY and SLOWLY to the water phase under stirring (spatula or miniwhisk)

3. homogenize the mixture for 5 minutes (whisk or spatula)

• first +/- 2,5 minutes still in the hot water bath

• then, +/- 1 minute out of the water bath

• then, +/- 1,5 minute in a cold water bath => you can see the texture changing at this moment into a cream-like state

4. disperse the gum in glycerine (spatula)

• add this paste slowly and under agitation to the emulsion

• you’ll observe an immediate increase in the viscosity

5. when the emulsion is below 40°C, blend in ingredients of stage D and mix well after each addition (spatula or whisk)

6. pH check, and adjust when necessary (pH should be between 5 and 5,5)

Outcome:

An O/W as we know it with Olivem: nice, spreadable, sinks nice in the skin. The texture has more ‘body’. Yellow. 7 points out of 10 from Belgium

same formula, Plantasens all in one pot, with Blendia (!!!!)

Congratulations if you have read all my shenanigans till now . It has been quite a challenging journey: I have learnt a lot, coupled with frustration and lying awake at night being puzzled at “what went wrong this time” . But most importantly: I have had a peek at how real formulators work, and they have gained (even more than before) masses of my respect! All of the tweaking and seeking to get something right…  the devil is indeed hidden in the detail! It’s not only about choosing nice ingredients, it is also about finding the right ratios, following the exact procedure, the right container whilst you are making the product, knowing when and how (and how much/little) to add (of) your extracts, the heating, the cooling, the right equipment, the most suitable to transfer your finished product in, extern factors like heat/cold/humidity,…. And don’t get me started about the most appropriate preservation! You either love this process or hate it; this branch is not suited for everyone. And guess what? It suits me fine 

With that in mind, and after all those try-outs, I think I deserve a little reward to smooth my formulator’s path …

And now, ladies and gentlemen, drum rolls please …. A big welcome to my new addition: the Kai Blendiaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

my signature experiment with the Blendia

% breakdown:

(A) one pot phase

5% Plantasens HE20

20% olive pomace oil

69% distilled water

(B) gum phase

4% natural glycerine

0,5% solagum

(C) cool down phase

0,5% tocopherol

1% Euxyl K903

GOLDEN PROCEDURE:

1- put all phase A ingredients in one beaker/bowl and put it in the warm water bath whilst it is warming up

2- when the temperature reaches 75°C, start timing

3-leave your beaker/bowl for 5 minutes @75-81°C, sitting in the warm water bath, just leave it be and don’t touch it!

(I usually prepare my gum/glycerine blend during this time because I get really nervous just looking at it )

when these 5 minutes have passed, start stirring nice and easy with a glass rod for approximately 4-5 minutes whilst it is STILL in the heated bath (don’t turn of the heat) => this you don’t have to time, more important is to check when it turns milky and there are no more grains (test and double double test on your wrist)

4-turn off the heat and take it out of the warm water bath

stir with Blendia for +/- 1,5 minute

5-it is time to add you heat sensitive ingredients now, but first you have to check if your pre emulsion is below 40°C, if it is not, cool it down first in a cold water bath, keep stirring with your glass rod

add each heat sensitive ingredient to your pre emulsion, blending well after each addition

6- homogenise with Blendia 4-5 minutes

7- if you haven’t prepared your gum/glycerine blend, do it now and and add it to the pre emulsion (glass spatula), you can feel an immediate change in the texture while you stir!

another ½ minute with the Blendia

8- add preservative

9- pH check + adjust when necessary (pH should be between 5 and 5,5)

Outcome:

I did it!!!!!! Overjoyed!

a more elaborate formulation, Plantasens all in one pot, with Blendia (!!!!)

% breakdown:

(A) one pot phase

up to 100% organic lavender hydrosol

5% Plantasens HE20

15% organic sweet almond oil

5% vegetal squalane

2,5% passion fruit seed oil

2,5% organic cold pressed jojoba oil

0,5% Dermosoft GMCY

(B) gum phase

4% natural glycerine (99,5%)

0,5% Solagum AX

(C) cool down phase

0,5% tocopherol

0,1% organic rosemary CO2 extract

0,2% panthenol (75%)

0,2% organic sea buckthorn CO2 extract

0,2% EO neroli

(D) preservative phase

0,1% Dermofeel PA-3

3% Dermosoft eco 1388

Procedure:

The same as above

Outcome:

And this … is FINALLY a cream! Before it was nice, but this is stunning! I love the Blendia! It creates a wonderful smooth and silky texture. It sinks in the skin, no soapiness, smells divine, … It strikes me that with the Blendia you cannot only see the texture changing but also the colour, the final result is less yellow than the previous batches (with the mousseur and olivem). This is a winner! My mum and me have been testing this and we both love using it: I prefer it as a body moisturiser and my mum loves it on her face. She also wears foundation on top of her moisturiser and it doesn’t make any streaks. Both happy . Let’s give it a 7,5 out of 10!

What I have learnt from this attempt:

1/ Confirmation that the golden procedure works for me in my kitchen. So happy that I have mastered this!

2/ The Blendia is very new to me so I MIGHT got a little too excited in moving it around . As you can see in the photos I lifted it up and down, and at that time I was amazed because it created beautiful flower-like shapes. But, by doing that I also created big blobs of air so there are some air bubbles trapped in the emulsion. It is still a very good cream, I only need to work on my blending technique and the way to handle the Blendia.

Everlasting happiness

% breakdown

(A) one pot

up to 100% lavender hydrosol

5% Plantasens HE20

15% jojoba oil

2,5% unrefined organic shea butter

2,5% evening primrose

0,5% Dermosoft GMCY

(B) Cold phase

0,5% tocopherol

0,1% rosemary CO2

0,2% panthenol

0,1% EO helichrysum italicum

(C) gum phase

4% glycerine 99,5%

0,5% Solagum AX

(D) preservative phase

0,1% Dermofeel PA3

3% Dermosoft eco

Follow golden procedure

Outcome:

This is a 0/W emulsion made for my sensitive face: silly simple, straightforward, no-nonsense, plain, basic ingredients. You know you are doing something right when a random acquaintance (who doesn’t know you are making your own cosmetics) comments you on your beautiful skin (I quote “You would never guess you are at the wrong side of 30” .. lol .. I choose to take this as a compliment) and asks you which moisturiser you have been using .

Mum tried it in combination with her make-up, and it was also very much approved.

This finished product goes straight to my top 3 products ever made, so I am going to give it an 8,5!

What I have learnt from this attempt:

1/ Still working on the technique with the Blendia, this time I tried to keep it still but couldn’t resist going in circles. This proves to be A LOT better. Not perfection, but I am very very pleased with this result!

FINAL CONCLUSIONS:

It is time to finish this experimental journey. I hope you liked this post and that my faults and errors have helped you understand the beauty of Plantasens HE20. With these last two results I am starting to really like this emulsifier

1/ Do I think it is “an easy one to work with”? No, otherwise I could have mastered it after max 2 times. But once you get the melting phase right, it opens up many opportunities, which I am now very excited to explore! I am brimming with ideas: facial cream cleanser, body cream cleanser, hair conditioner, hand cream, … Can’t wait to try it all out!

2/ Do I think you can work with it in a very basic kitchen area? Hmm, … maybe this is very personal but I was not able to create a real cream without the Blendia. Manually: forget it. With a stick blender/mousseur:

passable fluffy cream. Maybe some of you are blessed with super(wo)man powers and you can achieve it, I am just very average .

I would love to hear from you and receive your feedback! Send your feed backs and questions either per mail or on our Facebook wall.

Remember: just keep swimming and I wish you all happy formulating!

BeHappy and have fun