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Polysorbate esters are excellent emulsifiers and surfactants. They also exhibit water solubility, which makes them environmentally safe and friendly. Due to their surfactant and emulsifying properties, they are often used in the production of natural cosmetics because they are safe and non-irritating.
Polysorbate 60 is used in the cosmetics industry. Polysorbate 60 is an orange-colored, oily, viscous liquid at room temperature. It becomes semi-solid at lower temperatures. The HLB value of PS 60 is 14.9. Due to the longer chain length of stearic acid, it has slightly stronger lipophilicity than polysorbate 20. The production method involves reacting stearic acid with sorbitol and ethylene oxide. This technique is called "ethoxylation of dehydrated sorbitol". Sorbitol is the dehydrated form of sorbitol. In the ethoxylation reaction, ethylene oxide is added to the substrate. Sorbitan with 60 units of EO reacts, hence the name. The final step in producing Polysorbate 60 is reacting with fatty acids, which are usually obtained from vegetable oils.
Due to its highly balanced hydrophilic-lipophilic nature, it is used to help blend water and oil-based components and prevent them from separating. This material is typically blended with a lower HLB emulsifier to help form water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions. Polysorbate 60 can be used in products that require foaming, inflation, and mixing of oil and water-based ingredients. In skincare and cosmetics, it is mainly used as a surfactant, emulsifier, and solubilizer. As a surfactant, it acts by lowering the surface tension of two liquids or a liquid and a solid. The hydrophilic end is attracted to water molecules, while the lipophilic end is attracted to oil molecules.
Adding polysorbate 60 helps to increase the thickness of the product and evenly distribute local skincare effects. Finally, Polysorbate 60 acts as a solubilizer, which means it can help other materials dissolve in solvents that they would not normally dissolve in. It helps to disperse oil in water, so it is an excellent essential oil solubilizer.
