Halloween special: self-emulsifying cleansing balm

Halloween is not halloween if we don't create some special products in our lab. This year We've created some cute self-emulsifying cleansing balms (this tutorial) and some self-emulsifying bath melts (coming next week) using our newly arrived polyglyceryl-4 oleate.

This is a waterless product and hence self-preserving. We deliberately made small pieces which are used in a few applications. If you use bigger molds for the balm please do check the microbial stability of the product under realistic application conditions (let is stand over a moist soap dish for a while for instance). You may need to use a preservative system.

Feel free to create this balm in any form you like (not necessarily halloween). If you don't like activated charcoal (whic we use very sparingly, swap it with a fine fruit or herb powder or just drop it and increase the starch concentration).

Let's jump to the formulation and procedure without much ceremony.

Formulation:

Procedure:

1- Blend phase A and B and C in different beakers. Phase A should be in a heat proof beaker. (In a lazy version you can weight phases B and C from the beginning in a single beaker. I prefer to add the essential oil phase at the end because the starch and the activated charcoal might suffocate the essential oils a little bit).

Keep in mind that neither the starch nor the charcoal dissolve in phase B. You can only disperse them and keep them suspended before you add this phase to phase A.

2- Heat phase A in a water bath @ 80-85 ^oC.

Ascorbyl palmitate needs this high temperature to melt in the butter/wax phase. If you don't use any ascorbyl palmitate, you need to heat the butter phase according to the melting point of your waxes and butters.

3- After phase A is melted completely and ascorbyl palmitate is blended in the oil, stop heating. Add phase B and blend completely and just before you pour your blend in the mold add the essential oil blend.

4- Pour into mold cavities and put the mold in the fridge for a few hours (we let is stay there overnight).

5- Remove from the mold and pack in wax paper.

6- Enjoy the mild cleansing and the silky after-feel.

BeHappy and have fun