Emulsification of Vegetable Oils using a Blend of Nonionic Surfactants for Cosmetic Applications

Sunflower oil and sesame oil contain fairly high percentage of tocopherols and tocotrienols. These oils were emulsified by using a combination of non‐ionic surface‐active agents viz. Span‐80 and Tween‐20 surfactants to get cosmetic emulsions. Stability of the emulsions was enhanced by using natural polymer additives. The effect of various parameters such as pH, oil content, emulsifier content, HLB of blend of emulsifier concentration of additives and temperature on the stability of cosmetic emulsion was studied. These emulsions are “skin compatible” being stable at neutral pH. Xanthan gum was found to be the most effective additive as compared to the other natural polymers. The emulsions showed a “pseudoplastic” flow behavior.

Keywords:

• Emulsification
• vegetable oil
• nonionic surfactant
• Span 80
• Tween 20
• cosmetic emulsion