Big fail II: Rose and almond cream redux
I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing wrong. I tried the same recipe tonight for the rose and almond hand cream, except that instead of using borax as an emulsifier, I used cetyl alcohol. I followed the instructions, pouring the rose water and cetyl mixture into the melted oils very, very slowly, then stirring until everything had cooled.
As I stirred, the mixture took on a creamy consistency, turning into what was looking like actual cream. Then, as I kept stirring and the concoction cooled, it started going "cottage cheese" on me (for lack of a better term). Then it separated and the rosewater leaked back out (see pic).
Perhaps I should have treated this like actual cream and stopped stirring once it had taken on the right consistency. I believe the continuous stirring caused the cream to seize and turn into "butter."
Guess I'll try again tomorrow night.
As I stirred, the mixture took on a creamy consistency, turning into what was looking like actual cream. Then, as I kept stirring and the concoction cooled, it started going "cottage cheese" on me (for lack of a better term). Then it separated and the rosewater leaked back out (see pic).
Perhaps I should have treated this like actual cream and stopped stirring once it had taken on the right consistency. I believe the continuous stirring caused the cream to seize and turn into "butter."
Guess I'll try again tomorrow night.
Comments
Jenny Welch has a good summary of oils versus emulsifers - http://www.lotioncrafter.com/store/HLB-Calculator-pr-16505.html
That ewax they rec is usually cetearyl alcohol + polysorbate 60 - it's a foolproof kind of thing. Lotioncrafter has that too if you can't find it locally. :) Good luck!