Rheology and stability of phospholipid‐stabilized emulsions

Abstract Lecithin in cosmetic emulsions produces a unique “skin feel,” which can be related to its rheological properties. In this study, water‐in‐oil (w/o) and oil‐in‐water (o/w) emulsions were made from a cosmetic‐grade caprylic/capric triglyceride with deoiled lecithin and hydroxylated lecithin. Synthetic surfactants commonly used in commercial cosmetic products were used as controls. Optical light microscope investigation showed significant differences in the structures of the w/o and o/w emulsions made with the lecithins. Freeze/thaw tests were conducted to evaluate emulsion stability. The o/w emulsion (oil/water = 20:80) was stable with 3% hydroxylated lecithin at room temperature. However, 4% hydroxylated lecithin was needed for stabilizing the emulsion with an oil‐to‐water ratio of 20:80 or 30:70 through the freeze/thaw treatments. With 4% deoiled lecithin, the w/o emulsion showed a water‐holding capacity up to 80%, which was also stable through two freeze/thaw cycles. All emulsions in this study exhibited pseudoplastic flow, in which a minimum shearing stress, a yield value, was required before flow became linear. In general, the emulsion viscosity increased as lecithin content increased. Changing the oil‐to‐water ratio also affected the emulsion viscosity. The deoiled lecithin‐based w/o emulsions had higher yield values than hydroxylated lecithin‐based o/w emulsions. Therefore, more force was needed to spread the w/o emulsions. In addition, because w/o emulsions had more viscous continuous phases and a greater volume of internal phases, the w/o emulsions were more viscous than the o/w emulsions.