How to Thicken Your Liquid Formula into a Cream

To transform your liquid formula into a cream texture, you need to add a thickening agent. Based on common cosmetic formulation practices, fatty alcohols are effective thickeners and texturizers for creams and lotions.

• What to add: You can add Cetyl Alcohol or Cetearyl Alcohol. These ingredients help increase the viscosity and body of the formula, resulting in a creamier texture.
• How much to add: A typical starting point is to add 3-5% of the total weight of your formula. You can adjust the amount within the recommended usage range (typically 1-20%) to achieve your desired thickness.
• Which step to add: You will need to incorporate the fatty alcohol into your formula using heat.
  1. Heat your water phase (DI Water, Dehyquat C 4046, Microcare PHC, and SI6020z if it's water-soluble and heat stable) to around 70-80°C.
  2. Separately, melt the chosen fatty alcohol (Cetyl Alcohol or Cetearyl Alcohol) by heating it to the same temperature. If your formula contains any oil-soluble ingredients (like SI6020z if it's oil-soluble), it's best to melt the fatty alcohol together with these oil components.
  3. Once both phases are heated and the fatty alcohol is completely melted, slowly add the melted fatty alcohol/oil phase into the heated water phase while stirring continuously.
  4. Continue stirring the mixture while it cools down. The formula will thicken as it cools, forming a cream.

Remember to perform a small test batch first to ensure compatibility and achieve the desired texture.