Trouble Shooting

When ever you are making a product you can work out the percentages of each product required as long as it adds up to 100%

Here is an example

Water based moisturiser and lotions-  You can make the cream lighter by having a higher % of water to oil, if you would like a richer cream then you can also add a butter.

Basic Tips and Suggestions for Making Creams 

1. If the Oil you use feels more “oily”, the resulting Cream will also feel more oily. Also, the more Oil, of whatever type, that you add, the oilier the Cream will feel. If more water is added, the Cream will feel less greasy. 
2. The more solid fatty ingredients you add like emulsifier, Beeswax, Cocoa Butter or Shea Butter,, the harder the Cream will be. Without these solid fats most Creams would be liquid or milky. 
3. Weigh and measure all the ingredients carefully. If making up larger quantities than specified in the Recipe, calculate quantities for all ingredients thoroughly and write these down. If you are nervous to begin with try one of Kits, we do that all for you!
4. Always use a double boiler for heating cosmetics at the Fat Stage. Then you will be able to ensure that the temperature never rises above 100°C. Hot Oil is flammable and can cause serious skin damage if you get it on your own skin. If the water in the larger pan boils away, add more. 
5. Note: It is difficult to measure small quantities under 5ml/g accurately. To ease this problem it helps to multiply the Recipe. 
6. How to rectify common mistakes when making Creams Water or Oil separates from the Cream?  This can arise through: 

• Careless mixing of the Fat and Water Stages or one of the Stages may not have been beaten thoroughly enough or may have been made at the wrong temperature. 
• The Cream may also have cooled too quickly, or not been stirred to room temperature. Perhaps you left the Cream to go and do something else? Try warming the Cream again to 75°C and, after placing the pan or heat-proof bowl containing the Cream in a hot water bath, whisk for 5 minutes, and then remove the bowl from the hot water bath, and allow to cool whilst still stirring it. 
• If the Cream is too hard Too many solid fatty ingredients have been added or perhaps inaccurately measured. Adjust the other ingredients so that the proportions comply with the Recipe, or stir in cold water, adding a little bit at a time, and continue stirring until the Cream has reached the right consistency. 
• If Cream is too thin Not enough of the solid fatty ingredients have been added. The Fat and Water Stages may have been mixed too quickly, or the Cream may have cooled too quickly as a result of poor beating technique. Too little Emulsifier may have been added or may even have been forgotten.
• Sometimes the Stages can get mixed together in the wrong order e.g. Water into the Fat Stage instead of the other way around. 
• The wrong ingredients may have been added at the wrong stage e.g. NFF during the Water Stage. Try warming the Cream again to 75ºC and then whisk the mixture for 5 minutes. Allow it to cool down. If your original measurements were correct, then your Cream should now be thicker. 
• If the Cream is grainy The Fats, Wax and Emulsifier have not melted and dissolved properly. Can be caused when temperature differences between ingredients are too great at the point at which they are mixed. Make sure the MF Emulsifier is mixed well with the water (especially around the edges).  Use an electric stick blender and see if you can dissolve the graininess or, if that doesn’t succeed, try warming the Cream again to 75°C and stir for 5 minutes in hot water bath and then allow to cool while continuing to whisk the mixture.

Don't worry if this seems like  a lot can go wrong, it is really very simple.