How to make a self-emulsifying cleansing balm

This cleansing balm looks like as it is good for a goddess and it is indeed good for a godess.

This is a self-emulsifying kind of balm that you massage over the dry skin with dry fingers (DO NOT EVER DIP YOUR WET FINGER INTO THE JAR. TRY TO USE A SPATULA FOR APPLICATION) and then apply a wet cloth over the skin or add some water to your face and massage the balm again. It foams to a nice cleanser and is rinsed easily, leaving a nice and silky skin feel.

The active ingredient for this balm is Sodium cocoyl isethionate (SCI) which is a naturally derived surfactant originally made for non-soap soap bars. I recommend you to go and read our previous blog post about this ingredient and how to work with it, even if you don't make the shower bar itself.

About the formulation:

The water content of this formulation is so low that you usually do not need any preservative. BUT and there is a great BUT: since you can not guarantee that the consumer unintentionally adds some water to the jar (by dipping the wet finger into the jar for instance) you need to preserve this formulation. The preservative I'm using here and its concentration is only a suggestion and its choice is based on our tests. You need to test your preservative and it's minimum required concentration depending on your ingredients and the packaging. If you're using a huge 500 ml jar the risk of adding water to the jar during application (alone because it takes much longer to use all of the content) is much higher than when you're using a 30 ml jar.

Now let's go to the interesting part of making this balm.

Formulation:

Procedure:

1- Measure your phases in separate beakers (phase E is not in the above photo). You can use a magnetic stirrer for blending phases C and D

2- SCI does not dissolve in water, you need to heat it at high temperature to make it swell in water (you'll need heat-proof gloves)

This step takes a long time. Have patience

Heat phase A in a water bath at 90 ^oC. Blend the contents during heating. You may need a broad spatula or a hand mini-whisk for this step.

Please go and read our previous blog post about this ingredient and how to work with SCI.

3- Heat your wax phase in another bath at 70-75 ^oC.(Phase B)

4-  When both phase A and B are ready (your beakers are still in the water bath) slowly add phase B to phase A and blend gently (you want to avoid excessive foam). Keep the beaker in the bath but stop heating and remove the beaker from the water bath (unless you're working in a very cold lab)

5- Now first add the oil phase (C) to (A+B) and blend completely. Temporarily some clumps may build but they disappear as you blend gently.

6- Now add the surfactant phase (Phase D) very slowly and blend. The viscosity will drop but this is no issue.

7- Stop cooling and blending. It is easier to put the beaker in the fridge and then blend the content in 10-15 minutes intervals.

8- Cool until you reach to a consistency when you can whip.

9- Add the essential oils and start whipping. You may need to whip in several steps with cooling the balm at intervals.

10- Whip till you reach the desired consistency. Fill in suitable jars and put the jars for a few hours in the fridge before you finally pack them.

Enjoy making and using this cleansing balm.

You may need to tweak the formulation (increase the wax content) according to your climate.

BeHappy and have fun