Oil and water always separate on their own. An emulsifier bonds them into a creamy lotion that stays mixed. If your recipe contains a mix of water and oils, you need one.
Every emulsifier here works with the oils and butters in our lotion and body butter supplies. 3-6 percent of your total recipe weight is a good starting point, but it can be increased to be thicker or to be more stable. 3-6 percent is more of a minimum starting point.
Choosing the Right Emulsifying Wax for Lotion
Each lotion emulsifier gives a different finish.
- Emulsifying Wax: This generic version of Polawax is our go-to for most lotions. It can give a smooth, gliding feel at 3 to 6 percent. Increasing the percentage will usually make it thicker.
- Polawax Emulsifying Wax: Choose this one when you need something heavy-duty. We love it in clay masks because it keeps the clay from breaking the emulsion.
- BTMS-50 Conditioning Emulsifier: BTMS-50 dries down to a silky, powdery finish instead of a slick one. It also makes an easy base for homemade hair conditioner.
- Bio-Mulsion Wax: This olive-derived emulsifier swaps in for emulsifying wax at the same rate. It is a natural fit when you scent with essential oils for lotion.
- Stearic Acid: People often call it a lotion emulsifying acid, but stearic acid is really a thickener and a co-emulsifier. Add 3 to 5 percent alongside a true emulsifier for a richer lotion.
- Polysorbate 80: This liquid co-emulsifier helps heavy oils disperse at 1 to 5 percent. It lacks the waxy body a lotion needs. Pair it with one of the waxes above.
Light or Rich Homemade Lotion Textures
Texture comes mostly from your oil-to-water ratio. Around 15 percent oils and butters makes a light lotion. Push toward 25 percent for a rich body cream.
Your emulsifier then fine-tunes the final skin feel.
How Much Emulsifier Your Lotion Recipe Needs
The minimum 3 to 6 percent label rate assumes a typical amount of oil. It stops working when you add extra oils for a richer lotion.
Experienced makers keep emulsifier at 20 to 25 percent of the total oil phase, counting the emulsifier itself.
Say your recipe has 13 percent oils and 1 percent fragrance oils. That 14 percent oil load needs about 3.5 to 4.5 percent emulsifier. Raise the oils to 20 percent, and you need at least 5 percent.
Without enough emulsifier, nothing holds the extra oil droplets apart. They slowly merge until your lotion separates within days. Make a small test batch first to lock in your new ratio.
Is stearic acid an emulsifier, or can I use it alone in lotion?
Stearic acid thickens lotion, but it can't hold oil and water together for long. Pair 3 to 5 percent stearic acid with a minimum of 3 to 6 percent emulsifying wax, BTMS-50, or Bio-Mulsion Wax.
Can beeswax replace emulsifying wax in homemade lotion?
Beeswax has no water-loving end, so it can't grab both phases the way an emulsifier does. Save beeswax for balms and butters with no water, and choose Bio-Mulsion Wax for a plant-derived lotion emulsifier.
Can I combine BTMS-50 and emulsifying wax in one lotion?
Yes. Blending them gives you the glide of emulsifying wax plus the powdery dry-down of BTMS-50, as long as the combined total stays at 3 to 6 percent.
Why did my lotion separate a few days after I made it?
The most common cause is too little emulsifier for your oil load, usually below 20 percent of the oil phase. Recalculate with the 20 to 25 percent rule and make a small test batch at the new ratio.