Study on the influence of oils on the formation of liquid crystal structure of hydrogenated lecithin system

Hydrogenated lecithin (HLC) is a liquid crystal emulsifier which can be oriented at the oil-water interface to form a long-range ordered and short-range disordered liquid crystal (LC) structure. In this study, the effects of oils commonly used in cosmetics (white oil, squalane, caprylic/capric triglyceride, Jojoba seed oil, shea butter) on the formation of LC structure for HLC system were investigated. The results showed that the numerous LCs was formed when the mass ratio of cetostearyl alcohol/HLC exceeded 8/2 in a single oil system. Among them, the liquid crystals formed by white oil and shea butter were more orderly. Meanwhile, the content of different oils also had a certain impact on the amount of liquid crystal. In this regard, the influence of compound oil system on liquid crystal was further studied by regulating the proportion and type of oils. It was found that the LC area was the largest and the LC structures were relatively regular when squalane/caprylic/capric triglyceride/shea butter was compounded. This study provided certain experimental basis and references for the development of LC emulsion formulations of hydrogenated lecithin system.