Top 10 Water-in-Oil (W/O) Emulsifiers in Cosmetics

Brief introduction of W/O emulsifiers used in cosmetics, partial list:

1.Polyglyceryl-2 Dipolyhydroxystearate

A slightly yellow, turbid viscous liquid emulsifier with excellent emulsifying performance, suitable for cold processes, and has good compatibility with various molecular weights and polarities of oils as an emulsifier, dispersant, and stabilizer, significantly improving product quality. When compounded with Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate or Glyceryl Oleate to prepare W/O creams, it can emulsify high molecular weight or high content plant oils, with a usage of 3% to 5%. It has good biodegradability, excellent skin compatibility, and low irritation.

2.Polyglyceryl-2 Behenate

Can be used to make oil-in-water gel cream formulations, with a gentle and refreshing skin feel, improving the cream characteristics of the cream, easy to operate, and good emulsifying stability even at low usage levels.

3.Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate

Suitable for oil-in-water (O/W) creams and emulsions, it has a bright white appearance and is compatible with various cosmetic oils and commonly used active ingredients. It also contains abundant lipophilic groups, and when compounded with other emulsifiers, it exhibits a good synergistic effect. When applied in makeup removal products, it can significantly enhance the makeup removal efficacy.

4.Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate

A yellow opaque viscous liquid, suitable for W/O creams, lotions, foundations, and other product formulations. It has good dispersion and stability for pigments and titanium dioxide, and is very suitable for preparing W/O foundation creams and foundation honey, as well as physical sunscreen formulations.

5.Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone（SQ-SE 1090）

A silicone-modified W/O emulsifier with a light skin feel and good stability. A high molecular weight emulsifier with particularly outstanding stability, very effective even at low usage. Application in cream, emulsion and gel under W/Si, W/O, W/O/W or O/W/O system, sunscreen cream, foundation, BB cream, hand cream, etc.

Recommend Dosage：0.1-10%

6.Lauryl PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone（SQ-SE 1200）

Bright, refreshing, non-greasy, and wax-free, low usage, suitable for high water content formulations. It can be prepared both in cold and hot process with good stability. For W/Si or W/O creams, lotions, gels and W/Si or W/O sunscreen.

7.PEG-8 Dimethicone

A special hydrophilic-lipophilic-silicone balanced structure, capable of preparing oil-in-water creams with high oil content. It is particularly suitable for foundation, BB cream, and other products, with a refreshing skin feel, good cream stability.

8.PEG-10 Dimethicone

An organic silicone emulsifier, a colorless transparent liquid, used in personal care products, with moisturizing and emulsifying functions, can also adjust viscosity, making the product easy to spread and form a moist, light protective film, with a soft and comfortable touch.

9.Lauryl PEG-10 Trisiloxane

An organic silicone emulsifier that can form a low viscosity oil-in-water emulsion, with oil phase flexibility, capable of emulsifying silicone oils, organic oils, and their mixtures, and can be widely used in various personal care product formulations.

10.Bis-Isobutyl PEG/PPG-10/7/Dimethicone Copolyol

Designed as an oil-in-water emulsifier for W/Si and W/Si+0, easier pigment dispersion, can be cold-prepared, no homogenization step is needed, small emulsification particle size, with a creamy touch that is moisturizing and non-greasy.

11.Cyclopentasiloxane, PEG/PPG-20/15 Dimethicone

Siloxane polyether dispersed in cyclopentasiloxane forms an organic silicone emulsifier with a 40% content, which can prepare highly stable silicone oil-in-water emulsifiers, suitable for low-temperature emulsification processes, with good water resistance and durability, and good pigment dispersion.

12.PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate

A W/O emulsifier that can emulsify a higher internal phase, especially with strong tolerance for polar oils, suitable for high-ion and high-concentration ethanol (25%) systems, with a small amount, can be compounded with other emulsifiers to enhance system stability. A polymeric W/O emulsifier, suitable for flowable lotions and medium-viscosity creams, with a very high water phase content, can be used in unstable formulations. The minimum viscosity of the products made can reach 2000 MPAS. It can be used to prepare silicone oil-in-water emulsions.

13.Sorbitan Olivate

A W/O emulsifier without EO, capable of emulsifying oils of different polarities, auxiliary emulsifier for W/O or W/Si systems, improving system stability and viscosity, improving skin feel, a very small amount can improve the spreadability of the formula, can contain a large amount of oil, but can provide a refreshing non-greasy skin feel. It has excellent dispersion for various conventional materials, physical sunscreens, and other powders, enhancing the adhesion of powders to the skin, increasing the richness of makeup products, and providing a lightweight and comfortable skin feel.