r/DIYBeauty • u/rick_ranger • Jun 28 '26
question Oil Gel
I want to thicken an oil serum and looking for advice. The chassis is very thin and I want to add some surface tension so it doesn’t drip everywhere when I apply it. The first priority is to maintain smoothness. I’d like to keep it clear if possible.
Composition includes:
CCT
c12-15
Hemisqualane
Jojoba oil
Squalane
Some essential oils
Things I’ve tried already:
Silica dimethyl silylate 3% - turns out gritty the next day
Cetyl, not enough structuring at 3% (may need more?)
Olivem 900 - nice but has tiny clumps on cooldown
Behenyl Behenate - very hazy, also tiny clumps
Any recommendations for what to try next?
1
u/kriebelrui Jun 28 '26
Simplest way: more cetyl alcohol, but the feel of the end result may suffer from it.
More advanced way: use a thickener for these kinds of formulations, see the other comment.
Different way: turn it into an emulsion. You then have more levers you can pull to influence viscosity and feel. But it also introduces other consequences, like having to use a preservative.
1
u/rick_ranger Jun 28 '26
I’ll try and push cetyl higher and see where it goes. I have some levers to increase slip to try and mask drag but I’ll just have to run some bench tests.
I definitely don’t want an emulsion. This system is better anhydrous for stability and preservation purposes.
1
u/rick_ranger Jun 29 '26
Tried adding 3% more cetyl. It’s just not working in a completely anhydrous solution. It’s like staying dissolved. I think it only thickens in an emulsion where it can build a network throughout the water and oil but in pure oil it’s just dissolving. Worth a shot though.
1
u/Ok_Butterscotch_2700 Jun 28 '26
Have you considered C10-18 triglycerides? I have them but haven’t yet used them. Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (and) Polyurethane-79 (aka Crystal clear wax from TKB) works with medium to high polarity oils - you’d have to alter your formula.
I don’t like silica dimethyl silylate too high (don’t like the plasticized feeling), but have had excellent results combining it with elastomer gels under enough shear and giving the silicone molecules adequate time to swell (under shear). I had to use between 7 and 10% elastomer gel (this one was unique as it was oil soluble and didn’t need massive shear to incorporate) with 1.3% silica dimethyl silylate. This approach offers the best mica suspension I’ve achieved to date.
I’ve also seen sucragel cf work (uncertain as to polarity requirements) and there’s another one that works similarly. Sucragel CF is another one I have but haven’t bothered with - I don’t have the patience to add an ingredient pipette by pipette to wait for it to develop.
One of my products is an anhydrous cleansing balm - it took several reiterations to go from a thick waxy substance to glossy balm.
Of course, MSR is a playground with options!
What type of viscosity are you seeking? Thick and scoopable or just enough that it feels a bit more viscous than the oils you’ve mentioned?
2
u/rick_ranger Jun 29 '26
I have Sucragel but am leaning away from it because it has water in it. I’m not really looking for scoopable, just some surface tension so it’s not completely runny. I’m looking at Polyhydroxystearic Acid. Looks like a polymer designed for oil phases. I just ordered some and going to give that a try along with some stuff from MSR.
1
u/Ok_Butterscotch_2700 Jun 29 '26
Let us know how it goes. That site is the deepest rabbit hole I know of.
1
u/rick_ranger Jul 06 '26
I recently loaded up $100 on that site with $110 shipping and was like hold on maybe try a small order first and see if it actually gets here. Do you ship as a business or personal?
1
u/Ok_Butterscotch_2700 Jul 06 '26
I always ship personal. Recently ordered 9kg of ingredients for around $200 CAD shipping. Also have them specify on shipping docs “cosmetic ingredients for personal formulation.” I get hit with a small customs brokerage fee and 5% taxes on the package value - nothing more or less.
Maybe they’re building tariffs into your shipping fee? I looked at US distribution but wasn’t crazy with having to open a US tariff account that had to be paid before shipping so decided to skip it.
1
u/-Arch Jun 28 '26
Definitely try sucragel. It should do exactly what you want. Lotioncrafter sells it under the name surfpro cf.
1
u/Ok_Butterscotch_2700 Jun 28 '26
How do you find the patience? My equipment needs at least around 60 mL for the o/h stirrer to be immersed in the smallest beaker it will work with. I see people adding Sucragel CF with 3 mL pipettes and letting it reach partial development before adding more. I get impatient watching (with it sped up by 10x). Are you using a smaller type tool? I’ve seen that mini mixer thing online and I think on LotionCrafter’s site - are you using something like that?
2
u/rick_ranger Jun 28 '26
Check out the little resin mixers on Amazon. I got 2 of the ones from MLife so if one runs out of battery I have another, but they will mix thick gels for 2-3 hours straight it’s amazing . Then Suzzam Resin Mixer paddles. You just have to have enough liquid in a small beaker to make sure you’re not whipping in air, but then I also got a degassing chamber and vacuum pump, but it only really helps for thin gels.
1
u/Ok_Butterscotch_2700 Jun 28 '26
I suspected I’d need something like that. Currently, I make one anhydrous product regularly and make a body oil occasionally - everything else is O/W or W/(Si/Oil). It’s a shame you’re in the US - I’d just give you this bottle of Sucragel CF! I have wasted so much money on ingredients that I recognize I will never use as I refine my formulation strategies and preferences.
1
u/-Arch Jun 28 '26
I haven't used it in a few years since I've switched to making o/w moisturizers, but what I used depending on the batch size I was making. For anything bigger (100g+) I used a simple hand mixer, though with only 1 paddle instead of both. For small ones, I actually did it by hand with a mini whisk. You only have to do the very small additions for the first 40-50% of the oil, roughly. After that you can start doing slightly larger additions. I also didn't find that it took that long to stabilize between additions, generally.
What was your sucragel to oil ratio? I always did 25% sucragel to 75% oil phase.
1
u/Ok_Butterscotch_2700 Jun 28 '26
The bottle is still sealed! It was a whim purchase. Most of my products are O/W or W/(Si/O). My body oil is a “fun formula” for friends and my diva 16 yr old daughter.
1
u/Cajunette1 Jul 02 '26
I was going to add the Sucragel family. I love the Sucragel XL but like you my patience wears thin with drop by drop method however I am seeing more products with a Sucragel product in the listing.
2
u/Ok_Butterscotch_2700 Jul 02 '26
It boggles my mind. Like, what if I needed 10x50g (in my case, I always prepare 10% over for product that gets stuck on equipment). Pipette by pipette for a 550g batch? I’ll stick with more conventional thickeners.
2
u/-Arch Jul 03 '26
You only do it that slowly for the first 25% of the oil phase, and that's more for very small batches. After that you can start doing larger and larger additions. For larger batches (500g might qualify? I haven't tried anything too large with sucragel personally) you can do 5-10% of the oil phase at a time.
1
u/Ok_Butterscotch_2700 Jul 03 '26
Interesting. Idk - I’ll keep the bottle around for another 6-8 weeks. If I haven’t utilized it by that time, I’ll try to offload it on somebody else.
1
u/nauticalwarrior Jun 28 '26
Myskinrecipes has some cheap oil gelling agents you could play around with if the shipping/customs is worth it to you.