Emulium Mellifera

Hello Everyone!

This post is about one of my new favourite emulsifiers: Emulium Mellifera. The INCI is: Polyglyceryl-6 Distearate (and) Jojoba Esters (and) Polyglyceryl-3 Beeswax (and) Cetyl Alcohol. It is not a new emulsifier: in 2014 it won the In-Cosmetics Gold Innovation Award (btw, it is Ecocert approved 😉 ).

I have used it in many formulas now and I must say I have been quite impressed. The emulsions it makes leave a very light and, at the same time, velvety skin feel. Just to be specific: I used to struggle with light textured creams because they often made me feel like the cream was somehow “empty”: they would feel light, fresh and all, but after a short time from application, my skin would still feel quite thirsty. Well, this doesn’t happen with emulium mellifera: the skin feel is light, but the feeling is nourishing.

Enought blabbering: TO THE FORMULA!

PHASE A 

Water to 100%
Glycerin – 2%
Xanthan gum smooth flow – 0.5% 
Allantoin – 0.3% 
Trimethylglycine – 3% (this ingredient is also called “Betaine” but it is NOT the “Cocamidopropyl Betaine” – just wanted to make this clear 😉 )

PHASE B

Emulium Mellifera – 3.5% 
Cetyl Alcohol – 0.8% 
Behenyl Alcohol – 0.7% 
Murumuru Butter – 0.5% 
Kokum Butter – 0.5% 
Dycaprylyl Ether – 1.5% 

PHASE C 

Argan Oil – 2% 
Q10 – 0.3% 
Alpha-Bisabolol – 0.4% 

PHASE D 
Niacinamide – 5% 
Hyaluronic Acid 1% Gel – 4%
Preservative: Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin – 1%

Fragrance oil – q.s. (Quantum Satis)

IMPORTANT!
pH – As you already know from previous posts, the ingredient “Niacinamide” needs a stable and quite neutral pH, so in this case I have made sure the pH was 6.
Preservative – As you can see I have used “Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin”, you can use other preserving systems (keeping in mind that vitamin E, for instance, is NOT a preservative) but make sure that the pH 6 is compatible with the system you are using.

The HOW TO: 
NOTE: for this post I have not taken pictures of the process, because it had become quite tedious to keep taking the same pictures over and over again. I have written many formulas of creams and lotions which follow the same steps and I have written posts about how to practically make an emulsion, so you can check the pictures there if this is the first post you read 😉 Thank you! 

1. Add Glycerin and Xanthan gum into a beaker. Slowly add the water to it (add a little water, stir until smooth, add a little water, stir until smooth, add a little water…). Eventually add all the ingredients of Phase A. Put it in a double boiler to start warming up.
2. Measure the Phase B in a second beaker and add it to the double boiler.
3. When both Phases reach 70°C slowly pour the Phase B into the Phase A mixing with an immersion mixer (same thing as a stick blender). Doing this in two or three takes would be best.
4. When all looks homogeneous, keep mixing it a little more (just to be sure), then stop using the stick blender and keep stirring the cream with a spatula. At this stage the cream looks not too thick but very white.
5. When the temperature is lower than 40°C, add the Phase C and eventually the Phase D. At this stage you can give it a quick mix with the stick blender again, just to be sure that the preserving system is well spread throughout the cream.
6. Add the fragrance oil if you want to. As it is a face cream, I wouldn’t add more than a couple of drops.

This formula doesn’t really need any colorant as the Q10, which is in a quite high concentration, is already giving the cream a good yellow color! 🙂

Now a few words about this formula extra from the simple sensation given by the emulsifier: I must say that I am more and more in love with Niacinamide! It brightens the skin a little and it gives an overall healthy and fresh look!

Hope you enjoyed this formula, let me know if you have any questions 😉 Bye bye for now!