Using cosmeceuticals in a lotion: Tweaking a dry skin moisturizer

I still haven't received the cosmeceuticals I ordered - I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa, only I know what's inside the box - but I thought I'd take a look at some of the cosmeceutical ingredients we've reviewed in the last week and how we can incorporate them into a product. So let's say we're going with this moisturizer recipe for dry skin (click for more information on why I used each ingredient).


MODIFIED FACIAL MOISTURIZER FOR DRY SKIN
WATER PHASE
20% aloe vera
20% lavender hydrosol
32% water
3% glycerin
2% other humectant
2% hydrolyzed silk protein

OIL PHASE
12% oils - 8% borage oil, 4% squalane
4% e-wax or Polawax
2% cetyl alcohol

COOL DOWN PHASE
0.5% to 1% preservative
2% panthenol
0.5% green tea extract
0.5% chamomile extract
1% Vitamin E

So let's say you want to add some niacinamide to help with protection from the elements, a reduction of skin blotchiness, and reduction of trans epidermal water loss. Let's put 2% in the heated water phase of this product. And you want to add some DMAE to help with decreasing fine lines and increasing skin's firmness. Let's put 2% in the cool down phase. And you want to include some beta glucan to help your skin with inflammation and fine lines and wrinkles. Let's put 2% into the heated water phase! 

All of these ingredients can be included by reducing our water amount in the heated water phase to compensate for the extra ingredients. 

And remember not to include too many exfoliating ingredients into one product. We don't want your skin to be red and itchy as you experience the fun and excitement of excessive desquamation! 

MODIFIED FACIAL MOISTURIZER FOR DRY SKIN

WATER PHASE

20% aloe vera

20% lavender hydrosol

26% water

3% glycerin

2% other humectant

2% hydrolyzed silk protein

2% niacinamide

2% beta glucan

OIL PHASE

12% oils - 8% borage oil, 4% squalane

4% e-wax or Polawax

2% cetyl alcohol

COOL DOWN PHASE

0.5% to 1% preservative

2% panthenol

0.5% green tea extract

0.5% chamomile extract

1% Vitamin E

2% DMAE

This product will be much thicker than the original version of the moisturizer because it has 6% less water, which means we're actually creating at 70% water lotion. I think this might be too thick as a day moisturizer and more suitable as a night moisturizer. So let's say you want to include these lovely ingredients but don't want something this thick. What to do? We turn to a thinner lotion and modify it to have a smaller water phase, but not as small as this! (Click here for the 88% water facial moisturizer recipe for more information.) 

BASIC FACIAL MOISTURIZER RECIPE

WATER PHASE

85.5% water

OIL PHASE

8% oils

4% emulsifier

2% thickener

COOL DOWN PHASE

0.5% to 1% preservative

So if we want to include 6% cosmeceuticals, we would reduce our water amount to 79.5%, add a nice humectant, use the oils of our choice, and include any other ingredients we really like. This is just a basic example. As usual, I encourage you to tweak it to include any ingredients your skin loves like proteins, aloe vera, hydrosols, panthenol, allantoin, and so on, remembering to adjust your water phase to compensate for added water soluble ingredients. 

BASIC FACIAL MOISTURIZER TWEAKED TO INCLUDE SOME COSMECEUTICALS

HEATED WATER PHASE

79.5% water

2% beta glucan

2% niaciamide

HEATED OIL PHASE

8% oils

4% emulsifier

2% thickener

COOL DOWN PHASE

0.5% to 1% preservative

2% DMAE

Join me tomorrow for more fun formulating with cosmeceuticals!