Cold-Process Massage Oil with Alcohol-Extracted Black Chicken Bone Extract

The separation is not mainly because the oil base is wrong. The root cause is that your black chicken bone extract still behaves like a water / residual ethanol phase, so it will not truly dissolve into white oil (mineral oil) and the essential oils.

Key point

• If the extract is still watery, the realistic target is dispersing it as very fine droplets in oil using a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsifier.
• A clear true oil solution is difficult to achieve while using about 95 mL of extract that still contains water/alcohol.
• Heating the extract in oil does not solve the incompatibility between water and oil, and it may still leave alcohol odor if residual ethanol remains.

Most suitable materials for your case

• PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate: the strongest first choice here. Our product data describes it as a water-in-oil emulsifier, usable at 0.5–3%, with 2.5% as a recommended starting point, and it can work with formulas containing high ethyl alcohol up to 25%.
• PEG-30 Dipolhydroxystearate and Sorbitan Sesquioleate: another very suitable high-performance W/O emulsifier, usable at 0.5–5%, with 3% as a good starting point.
• If you prefer a more naturally derived / PEG-free direction, start with Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate (PGPR) at 1–3% together with Sorbitan Oleate (Span 80) at 1–3% as a trial system. This route is possible, but stability may require more optimization.

Materials not recommended as the main solution

• PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil and Polysorbate 80 are higher-HLB solubilizer/surfactant types. They are more suitable for helping oils go into water, not for carrying a large water/alcohol phase into an oil massage base as the main system.

Cold process approach recommended

1. Prepare the oil phase first: white oil + wintergreen oil + cajuput oil + eucalyptus oil.
2. Dissolve menthol, camphor, and borneol into that oil phase as completely as possible before adding the extract.
3. Add the chosen W/O emulsifier into the oil phase.
4. Then add the black chicken bone extract very slowly in a thin stream or in several small portions while mixing continuously.
5. Continue mixing until the system looks uniform.
6. Let it stand and check separation after 1 day, 7 days, and 14 days.

Recommended starting trials

• Trial A: PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate at 2.5%
• Trial B: PEG-30 Dipolhydroxystearate and Sorbitan Sesquioleate at 3%
• Trial C: PGPR 2% + Sorbitan Oleate 2%

If you want thicker oil

• For a true no-heat process, do not use Oil Thick™ Transparent as the main thickener, because our product data states it must be dissolved into oil with heat until fully dissolved.
• In a fully cold process, the better first step is to increase thickness by optimizing the W/O emulsion structure: reduce extract load if possible, add extract more slowly, and adjust emulsifier level within the product usage range.
• If you can accept heating only the oil phase while keeping the extract unheated, Oil Thick™ Transparent can be tested at about 0.5–3% as a starting range, dissolved fully in the oil phase first, then cooled before incorporating the extract. However, the final product should still not be expected to become a fully clear oil if the extract remains aqueous.

Important practical notes

• Do not pour the extract into the oil all at once.
• If alcohol odor is still noticeable, the better fix is to reduce residual ethanol in the extract first before formulating.
• Your formula contains relatively high levels of menthol, camphor, borneol, wintergreen oil, cajuput oil, and eucalyptus oil, so a small-batch safety and irritation check is strongly recommended before larger production.
• Also check whether menthol, camphor, and borneol stay dissolved after storage, because they may recrystallize when the temperature drops.

If you want, we can help draft a 100 g pilot formula from your current composition using one of the W/O systems above.