I’m back to the old grindstone. The Skin Glow Facial Moisturizer is completely sold out, and now I need to reformulate because I couldn’t get oil soluble green tea extract anymore. I have a water soluble variety now which has to be added to the water phase instead of the oil phase. Well, of course that throws everything off.

I like to work with percentages so that no matter what size the recipe is, I can duplicate it proportionately. I went back to my original recipe with the percentages and re-calculated a few things. For one, I’ve had some issues with the emulsion breaking down over time (most notably in the summer months), so I thought I’d try increasing the cetyl esters which are supposed to add stability. I also recalculated the water phase with the green tea extract added in, and increased the squalane and macadamia nut oil to make up for the loss of the oil soluble green tea extract. Of course, I also decided to try out a different natural preservative while I was at it, so there are now at least three different variables that have changed. Then I started making test batches.

The first one turned out too thick and a little bit grainy. For the second batch, I changed a few things and the consistency was good, but it was still grainy. So I decided it might be a small batch issue. Like perhaps the oil phase wasn’t melted long enough or staying hot, so I tried making a regular sized batch. Now it was SUPER grainy:

Seriously? Now I’m thinking it has to be the new preservative, so I reformulated again with my original preservative. The fourth batch wasn’t too bad, but still seemed a little bit grainy. I finally backed down the cetyl esters to where they had originally been for the fifth batch, and now I have some decent looking moisturizer:

The texture still isn’t quite the same as the original formula, but it’s close. And in case you were wondering, the golden color comes from organic sea buckthorn berry extract. It’s a mega-nutrient for your skin and has been used traditionally in skin care for hundreds of years. In addition to aiding in skin regeneration, it also offers some protection against the harmful effects of UV radiation.

I’m not exactly thrilled with the amount of ingredients that have been “wasted” in this reformulation adventure. These aren’t exactly your inexpensive soaping oils. I’m not even sure I’ve changed the stability issues, but I do know that this is one fabulous unscented facial moisturizer which should be back in stock very soon!