Symbiosolv Clear Plus is a globally accepted natural solubiliser. Solubilisers are great fun to use, but can be tricky to work with if you don't know what you're doing! Here, we share the low down.
What Is A Solubiliser?
A solubiliser is an ingredient that will dissolve essential oils into a water base, or 'solubilise' them. Since water and oils don't mix, if you add essential oils to a water based product such as a room spray, they will just sit on top of the water. This can be problematic because the essential oils aren't evenly distributed in solution so you won't be getting an even amount of actives with every spray, and the nozzle may also clog up from the undissolved oils.
When Do I Need A Solubiliser?
Whenever you need to add essential oils to a water based product but aren't using an emulsifier, use a solubiliser. This can be in toners, spritzers, room sprays, bathroom sprays, linen sprays, body splashes, etc.
Do I Also Need A Preservative?
Yes, wherever there is water or water based substances, you will require a preservative.
Interestingly, preservatives can assist in increasing solubility. For further information on working with preservatives, please read Quick Guide To Preservatives.
Is It Normal For My Solubilised Solution To Foam If I Shake It?
You may be surprised to learn that a solubiliser is a type of surfactant, in the same way that a square is a type of rectangle. Surfactants foam and therefore a solubiliser can foam too! This is also why surfactants can solubilise oils. When shaken up, your solubilised solution may foam a bit. But the beauty of using a solubiliser is that once your essential oils are solubilised, shaking the bottle is no longer a requirement. So it's best to avoid shaking the bottle if you don't like the foamy effect.
Will I Get A Clear Solution With A Solubiliser?
Every essential oil has a 'golden ratio' of solubiliser that will fully solubilise it, resulting in a clear solution.
If the solution is still milky, the essential oil may be solubilised enough that you don't see droplets in solution, but not 100% fully solubilised so that the solution is clear. For some purposes you may not need 100% clarity in solution so the milky look won't matter, but most prefer the clear solution. You will need to find your chosen essential oil's 'golden ratio' in order to achieve this clarity.
Factors That Affect Solubility
If you took chemistry classes you will know that a couple of factors can impact solubility. Some factors include:
- Temperature
- Pressure (not really applicable in this case)
- Polarity (we already know that oils and water don't mix)
- Stirring/agitation (you will be doing this when mixing your water and solubiliser blend together)
- pH
Probably the most important factor affecting solubility here is pH.
I discovered an interesting phenomenon when adding my preservative to test samples. Because the pH of the preservative is fairly low, it lowers the pH of the whole solution, and a lower pH can increase the solubility in this case. I added Geogard 221 to a milky solution and it went clear! This can come in handy when you don't want to use too much solubiliser - adding a preservative can help your case.
Does A Solubiliser Affect Scent?
Probably the main reason you are blending essential oils in an aqueous base is to benefit from the essential oils' scent. Fortunately Symbiosolv doesn't impact the scent at all.
The only thing that may impact the scent is the preservative. For instance Geogard and Euxyl both have relatively strong scents of their own. Essential oils do mask this scent but it still may impact the final scent. You may prefer a powdered preservative such as Geogard Ultra in this case.
Does A Solubiliser Affect The Colour?
Symbiosolv won't affect the colour of your solution. You may want to have a coloured solution, or maybe the essential oil adds some colour (as is in the case of chamomile blue), and you can rest assured the solubiliser won't impact this.
