What is/are the emulsifier/s?
1. Is the hand cream formulation an emulsion?
2. If it is, which ingredient/s might possibly be the emulsifier/s?
Please explain these in terms of chemical structure. Thanks!
Answer:
Emulsifiers are :
Soluble in oils & soluble in water also. Molecule of emulsifier's tail is water soluble and head is oil soluble. Emulsifier is a mediator to make emulsion of water insoluble oils.
An emulsifier (also known as an emulgent) is a substance which stabilizes an emulsion, frequently a surfactant. Examples of food emulsifiers are egg yolk (where the main emulsifying chemical is the phospholipid lecithin), and mustard, where a variety of chemicals in the mucilage surrounding the seed hull act as emulsifiers; proteins and low-molecular weight emulsifiers are common as well. In some cases, particles can stabilize emulsions as well through a mechanism called Pickering stabilization. Both mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce are oil-in-water emulsions stabilized with egg yolk lecithin. Detergents are another class of surfactant, and will chemically interact with both oil and water, thus stabilising the interface between oil or water droplets in suspension. This principle is exploited in soap to remove grease for the purpose of cleaning. A wide variety of emulsifiers are used in pharmacy to prepare emulsions such as creams and lotions.
An emulsifier is an agent that helps bind the water and the oil together in a formula so it will not separate. Emulsifiers have different strengths or HLB values (hydrophilic lipophyllic balance) and therefore you need to choose your emulsifying agent carefully. Emulsifiers with low HLBs (3-7) are good for w/o creams or recipes that tend to separate slowly. A good example of a low HLB emulsifying agent would be a beeswax and borax combination. Higher HLB (10 - 18) emulsifiers are required when making o/w lotions. Emulsifying wax, liquid or solid soap and polysorbate 20 are examples of high HLB emulsifiers and are necessary when trying to make lotions or recipes that separate readily.
Soap is a emulsifier, ethoxylated castor oils, ethoxylated nonyl phenols, lecithines and so many...
try looking it up on wikipedia. hope it helps.
Take home test, eh?
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