HLB Emulsifier Calculator
Pick the right emulsifier blend for a stable lotion. First find your oil phase’s required HLB, then blend two emulsifiers to match it.
Step 1 — Required HLB of your oil phase
Add each oil/butter in your oil phase and its share of the oil phase (not the whole formula). Percentages here should total 100% of the oil phase.
Step 2 — Blend two emulsifiers to match it
Choose one emulsifier with an HLB below your target and one above it. The calculator works out the ratio.
Common total emulsifier usage is 4–7% of the whole formula for lotions (higher for rich creams). The percentages above are the split within your emulsifier amount — e.g. 60/40 of 5% total = 3% of one + 2% of the other.
What is HLB, simply?
Every oil needs a certain “grip strength” from its emulsifier to stay mixed with water instead of separating. That number is its required HLB (Hydrophile-Lipophile Balance), on a scale of 0–20.
Your whole oil phase has one combined required HLB — the weighted average of its ingredients. Your emulsifier (or blend of emulsifiers) should match that number. Too far off in either direction and the lotion can separate, feel greasy, or go grainy.
Single emulsifiers rarely land exactly on target, so makers blend a low-HLB and a high-HLB emulsifier. This calculator does that ratio math for you.
