Nature’s moisturizers. Oils coat our skin, scalp, hair, and sometimes our shirts when eating a delicious thigh from Popeye’s. Oils in the personal care/cosmetics industry are usually from fruit and vegetable sources as animal source oils have fallen out of use. Given their nature, oils have a Fatty Acid composition (carboxylic acid with a long aliphatic chain). Oils are used in almost every kind of cosmetics product.
It’s very fitting that I’m typing this as I finished making enchiladas. Oils are sometimes used in cleansers and serums to impart a bit of moisturization, but they’re mostly used for bulking up your oil phases in emulsions and used in color cosmetics. Ensuring that the oil phase is significant enough to bind with the emulsifiers is important. Those things aside, some oils are better than others for imparting certain rich feels and textures to creams, lotions, balms, pomades, make-up, and oil products. The following are some of my favorite oils/hydrocarbons to use:
- MCT Oil (fractionated coconut oil): Medium Chain Triglycerides are a fraction of pure coconut oil, that are distilled according to molecular weight. MCT oil has a soft, moisturizing feel, and it’s a cheap way to bulk up the oil phase of emulsions.
- Squalane: a hydrocarbon made by hydrogenating Squalene. It’s naturally-sourced these days from olive oil, rice, and sugar cane. An excellent emollient with medium-length play time and moisturizer that won’t break the wallet when creating a brand.
- Rosehip Oil: comes from a variety of Rosehip plants. It’s more on the expensive, but adds to the story for marketing. Moisturizing, medium-length play, and leaves more of a dry afterfeel.
- Meadowfoam Seed Oil: comes from the seeds of Limnanthes alba, a flower native to western North America. Known for its great moisturization, soft afterfeel, and modest price. One of the more popular oils with a good reputation.
- Jojoba Oil: really popular in curly hair products that brand themselves as natural. The oil comes from the seed of the plant that is native to southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. It has a long shelf-life along with good emollient properties.
- Sweet Almond Oil: as the name says, this oil comes from almonds. Modestly priced, a good moisturizer, and relatively decent shelf-life makes this oil a go-to for Formulators.
- Essential Oils: they don’t cure cancer, but these aromatic compounds are awesome for giving your products a unique scent that is as green as you can get. EOs are a separate post altogether and will talk about them at length later.
Oils are indispensable in the cosmetics industry. They are here to stay. Luckily, most are derived from natural, plant sources, and just about all oils, vegetable and otherwise, can be produced in ways that yield 100% USDA Organic raw material. With places like Whole Foods selling oils for cosmetic purposes, there’s no need to wait for your packages to arrive by mail. Coconut oil gives food a good flavor. It also moisturizes hair and skin really well. Something to think about.
Greengen Labs 