Your browser is out of date.

You are currently using Internet Explorer 7/8/9, which is not supported by our site. For the best experience, please use one of the latest browsers.

Cosmetic & Personal Care Manufacturing

Consumers all over the globe rely on Personal Care and Cosmetic products to look their best and feel their finest. As a producer of these products, you need to be able to meet this demand by efficiently producing high-quality, high-performance products. Scott Mixers understands the challenges you face in meeting these needs;

Productivity

  • Your capital equipment investment cannot be sitting idle, maximum uptime is a necessity in today’s competitive environment and must be flexible enough to support the production of a wide range of skews.
  • Equipment must be able to produce products quickly and efficiently, maximizing the yield from the raw ingredients and minimizing waste.

Production of quality products

  • Repeatable manufacturing delivering consistent color and performance ensures retention of your customer base.
  • Hygienic, easy to clean equipment and systems ensure no cross-contamination from batch to batch.

Speed to market

  • Speedy development of new products and reliable scale-up to full-scale production.

Hot Process

The hot process is typically a two-phase product with a water and an oil phase. The oil phase will be a combination of melted waxes and oils mixed with dry ingredients that are soluble in oil. Water phase preparation often involves the incorporation and dispersion of gum thickeners and stabilizers which require high shear mixing to properly hydrate these ingredients. The two phases are brought up to temperature in separate vessels and then homogenized together in a processor to create a stable emulsion. While blending and the proper application of shear are key components to hot process products, thermodynamics and crystallization rates play an important role as well. Some products like lipstick and mascara need to be filled into their final containers hot so that the product will flow and take the shape of the mold, while others like face creams and serums need to be cooled under gentle agitation to keep the product from separating or crystallizing. Proper mixing and precise temperature control are paramount to a successful hot process.

Scott Mixers provides mixers for oil and water phase preparation, including complete turnkey processing systems for the production of your final product. Ask our application experts and we can assist you with your current processing challenges.

  • Lipstick
  • Mascara
  • Eye cream
  • Hand and face creams
  • Clay Masks

Hot Process Applications

Lipsticks are commonly created in small batches by mixing oil, wax, pigment, and other ingredients. Oil is heated to between 175 - 185ºF. Wax is melted separately, then added to the oil and mixed. 

The pigment is made by dispersing powder into part of the oil. It is then added to the oil/wax and mixed until homogenized. The mixture is cooled and fragrances, preservatives, and other ingredients added.

Our high shear mixers ensure agglomerate free dispersion of pigments that are essential to color consistency in the final product.

Learn More

Many makeup products are made in a two-step process with water and oil. Typically, the water and oil are heated in separate tanks, then added together when they reach the same temperature. Pigments and binders are added and mixed to create a stable emulsion.

Use our high shear mixers to create agglomerate free dispersion of pigments for color consistency in the final product.

Bentonite clay is mixed with water to form a paste that can be applied as a facial mask.  The clay in contact with the face absorbs oils and dirt from the skin surface and pores. The clay must be rapidly incorporated and dispersed lump-free into the water to ensure the efficacy of the mask.

Products are created by mixing the oil phase of oil-soluble waxes, emollients, and active ingredients. This formulation is then mixed with water-soluble additives containing stabilizers, thickeners, and other agents to emulsify. The two phases are combined together and homogenized to produce a stable cream. High shear mixing is used to disperse lump-free stabilizer/thickener additives with a fine droplet oil-in-water emulsion to produce a stable product.

Cold Process

Cold processing is common for hair care and other water-based formulations. One of the key components of these products is water-soluble viscosity modifiers more commonly referred to as gums and thickeners, used to control viscosity and provide stability. Ingredients such as Xanthan gum, guar gum, CMC (Carboxymethyl Cellulose), HPMC (Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose), and Carbomers are some of the more commonly used modifiers. Efficient incorporation and lump-free dispersion of these ingredients into water are key to a stable and quality final product.

Complete utilization of expensive active ingredients and gums can be aided by applying shear to the process. Most of the motion in the tank will be provided by a sweep or impeller style mixer but these are not suitable for the proper wetting and dispersion of these dry ingredients. Processors stand to improve their products by using high shear mixers for these demanding applications. As many of these cold process products are produced in large volumes, Scott Mixers recommends the application of high shear inline mixers as the most efficient and economical approach for these applications.

  • Shampoo, conditioners
  • Body wash and moisturizers
  • Topical gels
  • Liquid soap
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Serums
  • Essential oils
  • Sunscreen lotions

Cold Process Applications

Shampoos and conditioners are made up primarily of surfactant, or surface-active components for cleaning, mixed into a water base, and involve the addition of other functional ingredients to thicken, preserve, emulsify, add fragrance, and color. Active ingredients may also be added for a specific purpose such as dandruff control. 

The key to the efficient production of these large volume products is the rapid incorporation, lump-free dispersion, and effective blending together of these ingredients.  Many of these ingredients are not easily mixed into a solution with traditional agitator style equipment and will benefit from the application of a suitably sized high shear mixer. We can integrate the process with a tank and multiple mixers to be a one-stop-shop for the entire production process.

Body wash or shower gels are made up primarily of surfactants, or surface-active components for cleaning, mixed with a water base and involve the addition of other functional ingredients to thicken, preserve, emulsify, add fragrance, and color.

Additionally, moisturizing agents can be added such as Aloe, other bean/nut oils, mineral oil, or glycerin.

The key to the efficient production of these large volume products is the rapid incorporation, lump-free dispersion, and effective blending together of these ingredients.  Many of these ingredients are not easily mixed into a solution with traditional agitator style equipment and will benefit from the application of a suitably sized high shear mixer.

Toothpaste usually comes in one of two forms, a gel-based formulation or an abrasive paste formulation, and are from a similar array of ingredients.

All toothpaste has at least two key components: abrasives and surfactants. Abrasives are rough materials that aid the toothbrush in scrubbing debris such as plaque, tartar, and food particles from teeth. Perhaps the most well-known toothpaste abrasive is sodium bicarbonate or baking soda. Other abrasives include aluminum hydroxide, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, and silica.

Other inactive ingredients found in toothpaste include water (which can account for nearly 40% of what’s in the tube) and chemicals to keep the paste from drying out, such as propylene glycol and glycerol, rheology modifiers to provide flow properties and suspension, and ingredients for flavor, sweetening, and color.

A number of challenges exist for manufacturers in the production of toothpaste:

  • Rheology modifiers tend to form lumps which are difficult to break down by agitation. Some rheology modifiers require high shear in order to obtain functionality.
  • Some ingredients, e.g. hydrated silica have a low density and are very difficult to incorporate and wet out. Abrasives such as calcium carbonate need to be properly dispersed to prevent lumps which either require further processing to smooth the product or filtering from the process
  • Conventional agitators tend to cause aeration, especially when incorporating powders in the presence of a surfactant.

Deodorant kills bacteria and masks odor. Antiperspirant reduces the amount of water on the skin.

Both are made with water in oil or water in silicone emulsions, active ingredients, emulsifiers, gelling, suspending or thickening agents, waxes, emollients, preservatives, colorants, and fragrances.

Our mixers ensure you get the proper dispersion and emulsification required to save time and improve product quality.

 

 

Providing The Technology You Need

From formulation development, through scale-up, to full-scale manufacturing, Scott Mixer is an ideal partner, delivering high-performance, stainless steel mixers and processing systems for cosmetics processing.

Our mixing equipment is reliable, efficient, and easy to clean.

High Shear Batch Mixers | Inline Mixers | Mixing Modules

Expertise You Expect

Whether developing new formulations, scaling-up to production, or improving your full-scale manufacturing, our technical sales and application experts have the knowledge and experience to engineer a mixing solution to meet your toughest challenges. Our mixer solutions tackle the toughest applications.

  • Lump-free incorporation and dispersion of  gum thickeners
  • High shear mixing of immiscible phases to create stable emulsions
  • Uniform dispersion of active ingredients to maximize efficacy and ensure consistent quality
  • Hydration of carbomers & polymers without lumps, agglomerates, or fish eyes
  • Dispersion of bentonite clay for maximum thickening

Our high shear mixers and processors are ideal for producing a wide range of cosmetic products and Personal Care formulations:

  • Shampoo
  • Conditioner
  • Hair gel
  • Lotion
  • Skin Cream
  • Lipstick
  • Clay Masks
  • Soaps 
  • Moisturizing Body Wash 
  • Toothpaste    
  • Nail Varnish 
  • Pre-saturated Wipes           
  • Deodorant and Antiperspirant       
  • Sunscreen and sunblock
  • Hand sanitizer
Find A Local Representative
Over 40 Years of Experience

Delivering The Service You Deserve

Scott Mixer has the application experience and equipment to provide the mixers and systems processing you need to make high-quality products, reduce operating costs, improve product quality, and increase profitability.

Experience

Experience

Hayward Gordon Group builds reliability into every pump and mixer we manufacture to ensure your process runs smoothly.
Reliability

Reliability

We've been manufacturing mixers for over 60 years. Our application knowledge and mechanical experience can help improve your process.
Quality

Quality

From building pumps to nuclear specifications to our ISO 9001 manufacturing program, we build quality into everything we do.
Single Source

Single Source

We have the process knowledge and expertise to provide value added systems with process piping packages for our pumps and mixers.
Learn More

Ready to Get Started?

Our team provides the most complete and comprehensive portfolio of rotating equipment solutions - mixers and pumps - for your application. We are your perfect process partner.

Contact a Representative