Emulsifying Water, Oil, and Silicone in Formulations

Question

When formulating a product containing Water, Oil, and Silicone, what is the correct emulsification method? Is it necessary to first emulsify the water and oil phases using an emulsifier like Tween 20 before incorporating Silicone and SiliSolve™ or SiliSolve Plus? What emulsifiers are suitable for combining these three phases, what type of emulsion do they create (e.g., water-in-silicone), and which should be chosen based on whether water resistance is required?

MySkinRecipes Expert · Accepted Answer

Based on the information provided, you don't need to emulsify water and oil first with Tween 20 and then add silicone and SiliSolve™. There are specific emulsifiers designed to handle water, oil, and silicone phases together.

Here's a summary of the recommended approaches:

If your formula contains Water, Oil, AND Silicone and you need water resistance: Use SiliSolve Plus. This will create a water-in-silicone/oil emulsion.
If your formula contains Water AND Silicone (but no oil) and you need water resistance: Use SiliSolve. This will create a water-in-silicone emulsion.
If your formula contains Water, Oil, AND Silicone but water resistance is not required: You can use a general cream maker.

An example formulation using a general cream maker like Light Cream Maker is: