Issues Adding Lactic Acid and Iron Oxides to Lotion/Cream Base

Hello,

Regarding your question about mixing Lactic Acid and color into a lotion base:

1. Mixing Lactic Acid: You cannot mix Lactic Acid directly into many standard lotion bases. Lactic Acid has high acidity, which can destabilize or thin out various cream/lotion bases because many common emulsifiers cannot tolerate such a low pH.
2. Recommended Solution for Lactic Acid: If you want to create a lotion containing Lactic Acid, it is recommended to use an emulsifier specifically designed to withstand high acidity, such as Butter Cream Maker. The staff provided an example formulation using Butter Cream Maker and Lactic Acid.
3. Mixing Color (Iron Oxides): Powdered colors like Iron Oxides typically need to be dispersed in the oil phase of a formulation before being incorporated. When adding them directly to a pre-made lotion base, it's difficult to achieve proper dispersion, leading to clumping as you observed. For pre-made bases, using colors that are already dispersed or designed for easy incorporation might be necessary, depending on the base's composition.

In summary, the issues you encountered are due to the incompatibility of Lactic Acid's acidity with the base's emulsifier and the need to properly disperse powdered colors before adding them to a finished product like a lotion base. Using an acid-tolerant emulsifier for Lactic Acid and ensuring proper color dispersion are key.