What is an emulsifier?

Creams and lotions are referred to as emulsions – a stable state of mixed water and oil (two elements that do not mix in their natural states). Emulsifiers make that happen.
An emulsifier is a key ingredient in creams or lotions that helps water and oil mix. All creams and lotions are made by mixing water components (hydrosols/ juice/ teas) with oils and  butters with the help of emulsifiers. It’s that simple.
Every cream or lotion has an emulsifier. Products that do not need to use emulsifiers can be oil based serums, facial oils (mixture of oils), body butters (mixture of butters, waxes and oils), balms or even some toners. However, if a product is classified as a cream or a lotion, it most likely has an emulsifier.

Just how natural are these emulsifiers?

Emulsifiers can be naturally derived or completely synthesised. Due to advances in cosmetic science and growing consumer interest in natural ingredients, sophisticated nature (plant) derived emulsifiers have become available for manufacturers and skincare formulators.
Some emulsifiers are completely synthesized from a variety of chemicals. Although completely synthesized, they can be quite effective in rendering good products. They are economical for mass-producing products and easy to use. However they have even come under scrutiny because most of them include ethoxylated ingredients (look for PEG in the ingredient list) that have raised multiple health/ allergy concerns when used in skincare. Some are even considered hazardous. This is where nature derived emulsifiers truly shine and outweigh their completely synthesized counterparts

With increased public awareness of natural products and concern for safety in skincare, naturally sourced emulsifiers are becoming increasingly popular for natural formulators like us. These are derived from plants (like olives, coconuts, etc.) with some level of processing to create eco-friendly and skin-safe options that are natural, yet functional. These green, eco-certified emulsifiers are more expensive, yet highly valued by natural formulators for safe-skincare and environment-friendly solutions – a true win-win situation for our customers.

At Subtle Green, we use such nature derived emulsifiers - developed from olive chemistry and coconuts. Here is a list of our nature derived emulsifiers

• - Sorbitan Olivate (olive oil derived)
• - Cetearyl Olivate (olive oil derived)
• - Cetearyl alcohol (coconut derived)
• - Cetearyl glucoside (corn derived)

These are the constituent chemical names for our naturally derived emulsifiers that help us derive luxurious skincare with a silky finish. This is what you will see on our ingredient list.