When choosing ingredients for a formulation, one question comes up again and again:
Natural or synthetic?
At first glance, natural might sound like the obvious choice. But when you’re formulating a cosmetic or personal-care product, there’s more to consider than how an ingredient sounds on the label.
Your formulation needs to be stable. It needs to perform consistently. It needs to deliver the texture and experience you intended.
So, when it comes to emulsifiers, is natural actually better than synthetic – or is it simply different?
Welcome to Part 4 of Emulsifiers Explained.
What Are Synthetic Emulsifiers?
Synthetic emulsifiers are manufactured ingredients designed to provide specific and consistent functionality within a formulation.
Examples include:
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
One of the main advantages of synthetic emulsifiers is their reliable and consistent performance.
According to our in-house chemist, key advantages can include:
- Good stability
- Cost effectiveness
- Consistent quality
- Reliable performance
For someone developing products commercially, consistency can be particularly important.
If you’re making the same lotion again and again, you want your formulation to perform as consistently as possible from one batch to the next.
What About Natural Emulsifiers?
Natural emulsifiers are derived from naturally occurring sources.
Examples include:
- Lecithin
- Lanolin (wool fat)
- Beeswax
These ingredients can appeal to formulators developing products with a more natural positioning.
Some of their advantages include:
- Being sourced from renewable resources
- Their use in natural skincare formulations
- Marketing appeal for naturally positioned products
But choosing a natural option comes with its own considerations.
Depending on the ingredient and formulation, natural emulsifiers may require higher usage levels, some can present allergen considerations, and an effective preservation system remains important.
This is why the word “natural” shouldn't be the only factor guiding your formulation decision.
Does Natural Mean Better?
Not necessarily.
And synthetic doesn't automatically mean better either.
The better question is:
Which option is more suitable for the product I’m trying to formulate?
Think back to what we’ve covered throughout this series.
Your emulsification system needs to work with your product type, oil phase, water phase, desired texture, manufacturing process and other ingredients.
Your decision may also be influenced by your brand positioning.
For example, a business developing a range centred around naturally positioned skincare may place greater importance on ingredient origin.
Another business may prioritise consistency, cost effectiveness or specific formulation performance.
Neither approach automatically makes one formulation superior to the other.
The important thing is understanding why you’re choosing an ingredient.
Look Beyond the Label
This is an important habit to develop when you're learning to formulate.
It can be tempting to categorise ingredients as simply:
Natural = good
Synthetic = bad
But formulation isn't quite that simple.
An ingredient should be considered according to the job it needs to perform within the complete formulation.
Does it work with your other ingredients?
Does it support the type of product you're trying to create?
Will it help you achieve your desired texture and performance?
Does it align with the positioning of your finished product?
These questions tell you far more than the word “natural” or “synthetic” alone.
Make Your Ingredient Choices With Purpose
If you’re starting your own beauty or personal-care business, you don’t need to become a cosmetic chemist overnight.
But understanding the ingredients you're working with can help you make more informed decisions as your products and business grow.
That’s exactly why we created Emulsifiers Explained.
With technical input from our in-house chemist, we want to make formulation knowledge easier for small businesses and start-ups to understand – while also supplying the raw materials you need to put that knowledge into practice.
And now that we’ve covered what emulsifiers are, how they’re classified, the different jobs they perform and natural versus synthetic options, there’s only one thing left to do:
Put it all together.
Coming Next: Emulsifiers Explained Part 5
In the final part of the series, we're taking a closer look at the emulsifiers, co-emulsifiers and solubilisers available from BrightPack.
Ceteareth-20. Cetearyl Alcohol. Cetyl Alcohol. Stearic Acid. BTMS-25. Polysorbate-20. PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil.
What does each one do – and where might you use it?
Next week, we're bringing everything you've learned together.