What is Emulsifier in Skin Care?
To take the best care of skin, several people use moisturizers like body lotion, body oils, and glycerin, etc. These skincare products are giving softness and smoothness to the skin and have a very good effect on the skin.
Emulsifiers has great importance in our daily life. It is found in daily use products. I like the emulsifiers and its action. It is very good for my skin. When I buy any product for skincare, I focused its emulsifier because emulsifier is the soul of any beauty product.
Emulsifier is any type of ingredient that gives the help to unite two films of unlike ingredients like water and oil together in an emulsion. All the emulsifiers that most commonly used throughout the cosmetic industry help to unite two immiscible films together. They give help to maintain the intact look of any cream, lotion, or any other beauty product.
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What is Emulsifier in Skin Care?
Emulsifier is any type of substance that stabilizes the mixture of two insoluble products and give a good finished look to the skincare product. Emulsifier is very commonly used in the cosmetic industry and a necessary product for health care.
In other words, an emulsifier is also most commonly known as an emulgent. It is an agent whose surface is very active, and it should act as a barrier between the two immiscible liquids like water and oil.
Water and oil never mix together when water added in oil; it forms small globules that damage the look and effectiveness of both the ingredients. If any kind of emulsifier is added in the mixture it will help to mix both the ingredients uniformly and give a proper look to the product.
ACTION OF EMULSIFIER
Emulsifier starts its work by forming a physical hurdle that helps to keep the droplets a safe distance from making coalescence. It is the type of surfactant that has a separate nature head and tail.
If an emulsifier has a hydrophilic tail, its head must be of hydrophobic and vice versa. Oil loving part is known as hydrophobic, while the water-loving part is known hydrophilic. So all types of polar and non-polar compounds are attracted to the emulsifier.
TYPES OF EMULSIFIER
Emulsifiers obtained from both sources natural and synthetic. Monoglyceride and diglycerides compounds of fatty acids obtained from glycerol and many other natural fatty acids. They are semi-synthetic in nature obtained from plants or any animal sources.
NATURAL EMULSIFIER:
Natural emulsifiers can be any ingredient that has the capacity to bind with water into the oil to make an emulsion that is used for skin care. The emulsifiers that are obtained from the natural source are following olives, egg yolk, mustard seeds, etc.
BEESWAX:
Beeswax is the best natural emulsifier that has great and wide use to provide superb care to the skin. It is proven that it shows many activities like anti-inflammatory property is the most commonly accepted activity of beeswax.
It is a very good stiffening agent in all types of beauty products. It is obtained from the honeycomb of bees, and it provides the best natural protective barrier against diseases and infections.
Its texture is tacky and thick due to which it is a good stiffening agent in beauty products. It is used most commonly in lip balms, salves, body butter, and also in lip gloss.
It is used most commonly in massage bars. Due to its smooth touch, it gives great smoothness and softness during the massage, so it is commonly used over here.
LIQUID LECITHIN:
Liquid lecithin is fat that is obtained from animals and plants. It is a naturally occurring emulsifier that has a charming effect on the skin. It gives a good and attractive look to the skin. It reduces the flakiness, dryness, and dullness of the skin.
It is used in beauty products as a thickening agent. It also used as a stabilizer, the best moisturizer, and somehow as a preservative in the beauty products. It also gives an emollient effect on the skin when used in beauty products.
It is the most common natural emulsifier that has so many effects on the skin, and it is used widely and vastly in the cosmetic industry.
CARNAUBA WAX:
It is obtained from the Brazilian palm tree. It is also known as edible wax that is used in various food items for the purpose of storage of food and enhance its smoothness. It is one of the natural hardest wax that provides a glossy finishing to the products.
It has very good moisturizing action on the skin. It gives nourishment and smoothness to the skin. It is emollient at high intensity. It is used most commonly in lipsticks and other skincare products in the cosmetic industry. It is used extensively in the daily use of skin care products.
SYNTHETIC EMULSIFIER:
Synthetic emulsifiers are those who are not obtained from natural sources. It is prepared synthetically in the pharmaceutical industry to fulfill the demand for its use. The following are the various examples of synthetic emulsifiers that are used most commonly; benzethonium chloride, alkali soaps, etc.
Here are the main types of synthetic emulsifiers:
ANIONIC EMULSIFIERS:
Anionic emulsifiers are those that are used most commonly in oil in water (o/w) emulsions. They are compatible with organic anions. They are most commonly used in beauty soaps.
Triethanolamine stearate is an example of amine soap in which anionic emulsifier is used. Similarly, sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate and sodium lauryl sulfate is the example of detergents that are stabilized when an anionic emulsifier is added.
CATIONIC EMULSIFIER:
Cationic emulsifiers are those who are not properly compatible with the organic anions, and it is not most commonly used in emulsions.
Common cationic emulsifiers are; benzethonium chloride and benzalkonium chloride.
NON IONIC EMULSIFIER:
They include polyoxyethylene extracts of sorbitan esters. This emulsifier is commonly used in cosmetic industries. It is ideal for the process of emulsification of those substances which are very difficult to soluble in each other.
It is a viscous liquid that is oily in nature, and the color is pale yellow. It is completely and properly soluble in water.
IMPORTANCE OF EMULSIFIERS in Skincare Products
Emulsifiers are widely used in the food and cosmetic industry. For the mixing of two necessary substances, emulsifier is very important. It is a necessary part of almost every beauty product because it is exceptional in its action and effect on the skin.
It is used in lip balms to make it smooth and soft. It is also used in lotions and creams to provide softness and thickness. It gives glossy texture to the lip gloss and gives a soft touch to the lips. It is also used in soaps to give the finished look.
Without emulsifier, it is impossible to prepare any skincare product. It plays the role of the backbone in the manufacturing and stabilizing of skincare products.
I suggest you must focus on emulsifier while buying any skincare product because it has great action on the skin, and it gives nourishment and protection to the skin, so never compromise on its quality.
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