Sapogel Q
02382
Exfoliants/Thickeners, Emulsifiers/Solubilisers
Description
Sapogel Q
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INCI |
Glycerin, Aqua, Quillaja Saponaria wood extract, Sapomaria officinalis leaf/root extract |
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Certification |
COSMOS approved, NATRU approved |
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Appearance |
Viscous brown liquid |
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Solubility |
Oil and small amounts of water based ingredients |
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pH range |
4 - 6.5 |
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Usage rate |
15 -25% |
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Vegan |
Yes |
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Palm oil |
No |
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Animal tested |
No |
Palm-free, completely natural solution to gelling oils and butters to make rich, smooth gel textures without the use of water and gums.
Sapogel Q is particularly suited to gelling vegetable oils (triglycerides) but most non polar materials can be gelled, including silicones and esters. In addition it can be used with butters to create rich gel textures without crystals forming. Virtually transparent or semi-transparent gels can be formed.
- 100% natural origin
- Palm free
- COSMOS approved
- NATRUE approved
- Enables the creation of palm-free textures without wax
- Creates variable textures from honey to thick balms
- Cold process manufacturing
- Lip balms
- Balm cleansers
- Body balms
- Scrubs, including sugar and salt
- Face masks
- Concentrated skin serums and creams
- Hair/beard balms
CHECK OUT OF VIDEO FOR WORKING WITH SAPOGEL Q
Notes from the Go Native NZ team on working with Sapogel:
Here at GN NZ HQ we like to personally test new products before choosing to stock them, to work through any possible difficulties that may arise when working with the product so we can help customers troubleshoot.
Here is what we have found:
Usage rate for Sapogel ranges from 15% - 25%. Contrary to what you would think, less Sapogel results in a firmer gel and more in a runnier gel. So 15% = firm while 25% = a viscous, honey-like texture (works well in a lotion pump). See photos for reference.
Basics formulation method
- Weigh your chosen percentage of Sapogel Q into a beaker and slowly add your oil percentage.
- If using butters they must be melted first as oil phase must be liquid.
- The mixture will get thicker as more oil is added.
- Each time oil is added make sure the mixture has “recovered” before adding more.
- The type of oil added may considerably affect the colour and texture of your final product.
- Fragrance and water based additives can be added at the end.
Immersion blender trial
Ideally Sapogel Q would be used with an overhead stirrer, however we don’t have any equipment that heavy duty here and we suspect that most of our casual DIY customers don’t either, so we wanted to see if we could make it work without the use of one.
First we tried an immersion blender (standard kitchen style handheld stick blender). This was semi-successful though we had to have it running for so long that it nearly over heated. Also we had to make quite large batches purely because the initial Sapogel Q had to be covering the blades which on the stick blender sit quite high. (Unlike an overhead blender where they can be adjusted to sit right at the bottom of the beaker.)
The oil has to be added very slowly, allowing the gel to “recover” after each addition. This is quite time consuming as we were adding one pipette (approx. 3ml) of oil at a time. As we’re only human, this got boring and frustrating so as we got going we started adding more at a time, small pours, to see how much the gel could take, turns out not much! The gel sort of curdled and no amount of stirring or blending would make it come right again. We did managed to solve this and safe the batch, will pick this back in a “Troubleshooting” below.
Hand blending
We also tried simply hand blending the formula with a mini silicone spatula and this was actually very successful. We were able to match a much smaller batch this way, 50g rather than 250g with the blender, and because the batch was much smaller the amount of oil that needed to be added slowly was much less overwhelming. (I will admit my arm still got quite tired but as it’s a cold process at least I could take breaks!) We added one pipette worth of oil at a time and vigourously stirred it until it was combined, and continued this until all the oil was incorporated. It never curdles and in this manner it felt like we were much more in control of the process than with the blender.
In summary, for small batches we recomend hand blending, for larger batches the stick blender is useful to a point but a combination of both give you the most control.
Troubleshooting
When our first attempt with the stick blender failed, this is how we saved it. Let the formula sit for as long as it needs to (we let ours sit overnight) until it separates, with the oil on top. Then pour/pipette out as much of the oil as you can and transfer is back into a separate beaker. Stir what is left and with the excess oil gone it should start to gel up again now that it’s not overwhelmed. Then simply start adding the oil back, one pipette at a time, stirring and allowing to recover between each addition. Using this method you should be able to bring it back to a smooth gel.
Check out our formula for Rose gold body shimmer with Sapogel Q
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