As the saying goes, oil and water do not mix. No matter how much you shake, stir, or blend a water-based preparation, oils will inevitably separate from the base. Polysorbate 80 Solubilizer is a common fragrance emulsifier that allows you to add fragrance oils to water base products such as our Hydrating Botanical Mist, Conditioning Detangling Spray and Pure Fresh formulations.

THE ISSUE

You have a water-based preparation such as a water-based hair treatment, a body spray, or a room spray and you want to add an oil-based fragrance. You will find that without a solubilizer the fragrance will just float on top of the water-based formula.

The Solution is to use a solubilizer like Polysorbate 80.

Both Polysorbate 20 and Polysorbate 80 are surfactants/emulsifiers used in the cosmetic industry

The number after Polysorbate is not a reference to its potency or strength. The number is assigned to differentiate its fat dissolving ability.

Polysorbate 80 is typically used to emulsify heavier, more complicated fats, such as natural oils: (argan, almond, olive, etc.) It can also be used as a thickener. Polysorbate 80 can be used to emulsify large amounts of fragrance in a product if Polysorbate 20 is not achieving the desired result, but it’s not guaranteed to work with every fragrance. It is a bit more finicky.