Achieving a Thick, Butter-Like Hand Cream

To create a hand cream with a thick, butter-like texture using Avocado Oil, Shea Butter, and Gotu Kola, you will need to formulate it more like a body butter or ointment rather than a standard cream. This means the formula will have a significantly higher proportion of oils and butters.

Your initial proposed formula with 8% total oils/butters is suitable for a lotion or light cream, as indicated by the staff response. To achieve a butter texture, consider the following approaches:

• Increase the Oil and Butter Content: The most direct way is to increase the percentage of Shea Butter and Avocado Oil. You might consider using Avocado Butter, which is naturally thicker than the oil, to contribute to the solid phase. Aim for a much higher total percentage of oils and butters, potentially 50% or more, depending on the desired thickness.
• Add Waxes: Incorporating waxes is key to solidifying the formula and creating that characteristic butter or balm texture. Options include:
  • Yellow Beeswax
  • Microcrystalline Wax (Medium)
    
    The amount of wax will determine the final hardness of the butter.
• Use Oil Thickeners: Ingredients like Oil Thick™ Thixotropic can help increase the viscosity of the oil phase, contributing to a thicker texture.
• Consider a Water-in-Oil Emulsion: If you want to include a water phase, you will need a water-in-oil emulsifier to create a stable system where water is dispersed within the oil. Suitable emulsifiers include:
  • Water-in-Oil EZ™
  • Water-in-Oil Max™
    
    Formulating a water-in-oil emulsion requires specific mixing techniques (adding water to the oil phase gradually with high shear mixing) and often benefits from the addition of a small amount of wax and Magnesium Sulfate for stability.

Incorporating Gotu Kola:

The Pure-TECA™ Centella Asiatica Extract (Gotu Kola) is a powder that is not soluble in oil or water. To add it to your formulation, you should disperse or dissolve it in a suitable solvent like Propylene Glycol or Butylene Glycol using heat (around 70-80°C) before incorporating it into your main formula, typically during the cool-down phase.

In summary, to transform your proposed formula into a thick butter texture, you need to significantly increase the percentage of your oil/butter phase and incorporate waxes or oil thickeners. If including water, use a suitable water-in-oil emulsifier and follow the correct mixing procedure.