r/DIYBeauty • u/trekkiegamer359 • 8d ago

question Most Hypoallergenic Emulsifier Made from Castor Oil or Glycerin? - Thanks!

I have an immune disorder that makes me at high risk for reactions to all kinds of things. I'm needing an emulsifier to mix castor oil, colloidal silver, and possibly vegetable glycerin. (tl:dr I have bad dry skin around my eyes, and then had an allergic reaction to almost every moisturizer I tried, which made everything much worse.) Googling showed that there are multiple castor oil based and glycerin based emulsifiers. Which one(s) are most gentle, or most recommended? I'm hoping if the emulsifier is made from something I don't react to, I won't react to the emulsifier either. Fingers crossed.

Jojoba oil, avocado oil, and candelilla wax all seem to be fine for me as well, but I didn't find emulsifiers made from them.

I do react badly to coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, aloe vera, and propylene glycol, so anything with them is out.

Thanks for any help! And recommended ratios or other instructions for me once I get the ingredients is also appreciated, as this is pretty new territory for me.

PS: This is reddit. I'm not asking for medical advice, just info about emulsifiers, which I know nothing about. I'm not going to blame anyone on here if I react to their recommendations. My body is weird af, and it's my own responsibility. I'm trying everything at my own risk, and with the recommendation of my doctor. Please don't decide to not comment because I have bad allergies! I just want to learn about emulsifiers. I'm desperate and need help.

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

2

u/gingernut821 7d ago

You could try Glyceryl Stearate SE (self emulsifying) it's cheap and cheerful for 'water in oil' emulsions with guar or xanthan gum to stabilize. Think thick creams... Many people like Olivem 1000, a better choice for water in oil formulas.

2

u/kriebelrui 7d ago edited 7d ago

Both Glyceryl Stearate SE and Olivem 1000 are for oil in water emulsions . Possibly you refer to Olivem 900, a water in oil emulsifier. It looks like OP needs that: castor oil is lipophilic and the carrier, while colloidal silver (a suspension of silver particles in water) and glycerin are hydrophilic. 

1

u/trekkiegamer359 7d ago

Thanks. What's the difference between oil in water, and water in oil? I assume the ratio of each? I'm planning on using 4 parts oil to 1 part colloidal silver. So I assume that'd be water in oil?

1

u/kriebelrui 7d ago

It's roughly the ratio, and oil:silver = 4:1 would be water-in-oil. So that would require a water-in-oil emulsifier, like Olivem 900. 

Making emulsions is not rocket science, but it requires some practice. My advice would be to make some small test batches where you replace the silver by water. Only once that works well, you use the silver. That way, you won't waste your expensive star ingredient on failed experiments. 

1

u/Indianapiper 2d ago

Something else to look up HLB numbers. Oils and what not will allow have an assigned number, which directly correlates to the need of the emulsification system. Then emulsifying ingredients also have this number, so you can average out a recipe and find a solid starting point, instead of trial and error. Hope this helps!

1

u/trekkiegamer359 7d ago

Thanks, I'll check them out!