100 g Titanium & MCT Oil Dispersion

This is a 70% dispersion of sunscreen grade Titanium Dioxide dispersed in Caprylic Capric Triglyceride. The average particle size of the Titanium is 200nm meaning this is a micronised Titanium rather than a nano sized product. 

General Formulating Advice For Sunscreens.

Achieving a well balanced sunscreen is not an easy task and requires a substantial investment in both time and money for development and testing.  It is a legal requirement here in Australia to have your SPF coveraged measured and testing costs several thousands of dollars to complete making SPF development one of the highest cost formulations to bring to market. 

A good sunscreen needs to protect from both UVA and UVB, we refer to that as 'broad spectrum protection'.  Titanium Dioxide tends to fall a little short on long-range UVA coverage and this is more defined when trying to achieve high SPF's although it is less of an issue for low SPF products or what we call 'secondary sunscreens'.

Secondary sunscreens are cosmetic products with added sun protection as a secondary feature.  These products are allowed to display a maximum SPF of 15 and this ingredient is perfect for such products.

Achieving a specific SPF requires a combination of factors including how well the product spreads, how long it sticks to the skin, how stable the emulsion is and in particular how well the particulates are dispersed.  Because all of these factors have to work together it is recommended that customers place too much weight on a specific amount of active giving a specific level of sun protection - so for example, while we know that 1% of Titanium as active can achieve an SPF of 2 units we should take this as a theoretical maximum rather than an actual given.  It is possible to add 10% of titanium as actives and achieve an SPF of 5 just as it is possible to add 10% and achieve an SPF 20.

Ingredient Breakdown:  70% Titanium Dioxide, 30% Caprylic Capric Triglyceride.

Solubility:  This goes into the oil phase.

pH Stability:  Between 5-7.5 is best for sun protection of this type.

Can be added to:  Water in Oil Emulsions, Oil in Water Emulsions,  Anhydrous (oil only)

Mixing Tips:  A homogeniser style mixer is recommended for sunscreen products based on Titanium Dioxide to ensure thorough dispersion of the active.  Failure to mix well may lead to a reduction in SPF.

Use Amounts: Typically between 6-30%  as supplied to give a titanium concentration of beween 4.2-21%

Manufacturing Tips:  This ingredient is best added to the oil phase before the emulsion is formed. It can be heated and pre-homogenised before adding to the water phase. The final product should then be re-homogenised during cool down.

NOTE:  Adding 30% of this ingredient into an emulsion will most likely mean it is the only component other than the emulsifier in the oil phase.  This will make the oil phase heavy and as such we recommend using something in the water phase to match densities.  Glycerin, Propylene Glycol or 1,2-propane diol are options and in addition to that a little salt (Sodium Chloride or Magnesium Sulfate -epsom salt) is recommended.  Generally only 0.5-1% of salt is required.  Also while this ingredient is natural it is not organically certified so it is next to impossible to reach the organic input level when using this ingredient at above 20%.