PolyAquol™-2W

PolyAquol™-2W is a natural liquid crystal emulsifying wax that creates oil-in-water emulsions.

It really shines in the skin feel department; emulsions made with this emulsifier feel amazing! They’re soft, creamy, rich, and are not prone to soaping.

Polyglyceryl-2- Stearate (and) Glyceryl Stearate (and) Stearyl Alcohol

Brittle white flakes

1–5%

Creates rich, smooth emulsions.

Nothing noticeable.

~70°C (158°F)

Compatible with pH 4–9

Non-ionic

Oil and water; it’s an emulsifier.

PolyAquol™-2W is an emulsifier; it brings oil and water together to create stable creams and lotions.

No, but it is really lovely! If you are a fan of natural emulsifiers, this one is fabulous.

PolyAquol™-2W only exists as a refined ingredient.

PolyAquol™-2W creates beautiful, creamy, soft, stable emulsions that don’t soap (a common challenge with many other natural emulsifiers). It thickens and emulsifies, is very versatile, works across a wide pH range (4–9), and “could help stabilizing the integrity of the skin barrier function” (source).

Not terribly widely available.

PolyAquol™-2W emulsions decrease in viscosity when electrolytes are included. 5% sodium lactate is enough to take a formulation from a semi-solid cream to a fluid lotion.

You’ll need another self-thickening emulsifying wax. This is not a complete list, but all of these will be easy 1-to-1 alternatives.

If you want to keep things natural:

• Olivem 1000 (this emulsifier soaps quite a lot)
• Ritamulse SCG (this emulsifier is quite a good swap; it is anionic, so if the formulation contains anything cationic you may need to make some changes)
• Montanov 68 MB (this emulsifier soaps quite a lot)

Otherwise:

• Polawax
• Emulsifying Wax NF

You could also try a cationic emulsifying wax like BTMS-25 or BTMS-50, though this will be introducing a cationic/conditioning element that may or may not be desireable/compatible with the rest of the formulation.

If you want to use a non-thickening emulsifier like Glyceryl Stearate (and) PEG-100 Stearate you’ll need to use less and add a fatty thickener; please read the Humblebee & Me DIY Encyclopedia entry on Glyceryl Stearate (and) PEG-100 Stearate to learn more.

Include PolyAquol™-2W is the heated oil or heated water phase of your formulations. It needs to be melted in order to incorporate/work.

Adding PolyAquol™-2W to the oil phase will result in a thicker emulsion; adding it to the water phase will result in a thinner emulsion.

You can emulsify PolyAquol™-2W directly into water to create a stable gel.

This ingredient “emulsifies oils up to a 1:4 ratio without the need for thickeners” (source). This means for every 4% oil in a formulation, you’ll want to include 1% PolyAquol™-2W. 20% oil would require 5% PolyAquol™-2W to emulsify.

Stored somewhere cool, dark, and dry, PolyAquol™-2W should last at least 2 years.

Learn tons about PolyAquol™-2W with this helpful PDF from the manufacturer, Innovacos.

Here are some helpful blog posts on formulating with PolyAquol™-2W:

• How To Make A Natural Cream Cleanser With Polyaquol 2W (Formula Botanica)
• How to work with Polyaquol 2W (Skin Chakra)

100g (3.5oz)

Buy it from an online DIY ingredient supplier. Mine is from Skin Chakra (gifted). You can also purchase it at Formulator Sample Shop (USA), Bay House Ingredients (UK), Alexmo Cosmetics (Germany), and Soapmakers Store (UK).