Creating Water-in-Oil Emulsion with Whitening Ingredients

Question

I want to create a Water-in-Oil (W/O) emulsion using Fractionated Coconut Oil as the oil base.

I plan to incorporate the following water-soluble whitening ingredients:

N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine (4%)
Niacinamide (5%)

I have the following questions:

Which Water-in-Oil emulsifier should I use? I am considering Water-Capsule™ and Water-in-Oil EZ™.
How much water is needed to dissolve these ingredients?
Do I need to add a preservative?

MySkinRecipes Expert · Accepted Answer

Subject: Regarding Water-in-Oil Emulsion

Hello,

Thank you for your question. It is indeed possible to create a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion to incorporate water-soluble whitening ingredients like N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine and Niacinamide into an oil base like Fractionated Coconut Oil.

Regarding your questions:

Water-in-Oil Emulsifier Choice: Both Water-Capsule™ (ID 666) and Water-in-Oil EZ™ (ID 726) can be used for your formula.
- Water-Capsule™ (ID 666) is suitable for creating thicker cream textures.
- Water-in-Oil EZ™ (ID 726) is better suited for serum textures and works well with ingredients that have high electrolyte content (though your chosen whitening ingredients are not high in electrolytes, so this difference is less critical here).
  Choose based on the desired texture (creamier vs. more fluid serum).
Amount of Water: N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine (ID 116) and Niacinamide (ID 74) are water-soluble. You will need enough distilled water (ID 838) to fully dissolve both ingredients at your desired concentrations (4% and 5%). The exact minimum percentage of water required will depend on the overall formula, but a typical water phase percentage in a W/O emulsion (e.g., 10-30% or more) should be sufficient to dissolve 9% total of these actives. You should prepare the water phase by dissolving the powders in the water before combining it with the oil phase using the chosen emulsifier.
Preservative: Yes, since your formula contains water, it is essential to include a preservative to prevent microbial growth and maintain product safety and stability.

Additionally, the staff recommends considering the addition of PE-1 Aqua (ID 856) at around 3% to help enhance the penetration of the whitening ingredients into the skin.

We understand that Activated Resorcinol™ (ID 493) did not yield the desired whitening results for you. N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine and Niacinamide are known to work synergistically for skin brightening, so this combination is a good approach.

Please ensure you follow proper formulation techniques for creating stable W/O emulsions, which typically involves heating both the oil and water phases separately, adding the water phase slowly to the oil phase while mixing vigorously with the emulsifier present in the oil phase.

We hope this helps!