Sepinov EMT 10
INCI: Hydroxyethyl Acrylate / Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

What: Polymer, Emulsifier, Thickener
pH range: 3 – 10
Charge: anionic
Incompatibilities: Do NOT use it with cationic ingredients (BTMS, CETAC etc)
Solubility: dispersible in oil or water
Usage rate suggestions: 0.5 – 5%

Sepinov EMT 10 is “ethylene oxide free” anionic pre-neutralized polymer that can be used at a very wide pH range and is easily dispersed at room temperature. It doesn’t need to be neutralized and is supposed to be resistant to clumping.

Use it to create lotions and creams at room temperature (no heating) because it’s said to “emulsify and stabilize formulations with up to 50% oil phase”. As of this writing, I’m not sure if I’d solely rely on this one ingredient to emulsify a mix that’s 50% oil. But who knows!  It may surprise me. To that end, it can be used with other emulsifiers to further stabilize the mix.

It’s said to create a non-sticky gelling effect which is very good, especially if you’re going to be creating skin creams or body lotions with this ingredient. It’s said to give a “satin-like skin feel”⁽¹⁾ that has been described as “velvety softness”⁽²⁾. Depending on your percentage, it can be used to create sprayable ingredients as well as thick gels and creams.

Sepinov EMT 10 can used to create clear, water-based (aqueous) gels if you don’t use any oil-soluble ingredients. Use it to also create hair care products, facial cleansers, shower gels, “baby care”, and suncare products along with creams and gels.

Cream gels are usually created by mixing this polymer ingredient to the oils first, then adding water into the combined sepinov+oils.

This ingredient can make cream gels that include very volatile ingredients like glycolic acid. I haven’t yet found whether or not there’s a cut off percentage of how much glycolic acid you can use with this ingredient. For example, glycolic acid can only be used up to 4% with Sepimax Zen.  However, I have found this ingredient in the ingredients list of products marketed as “10% AHAs”.

According to EWG’s Cosmetics Database, the score for “Hydroxyethyl Acrylate” is 2 ⁽⁴⁾. The score for “Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer” is 1 ⁽³⁾. The score for the combination of these two ingredients (sepinov emt 10) is 1. The lower the score, the better. From what I can tell (as of this writing), Sepinov EMT 10 is generally regarded as safe for use in personal care.

As a side-note, the main ingredients in Sepinov EMT 10 are present in “GelMaker EMU”, which is sold at makingcosmetics.com. The GelMaker EMU is liquid and also contains Polysorbate 80 and isohexadecane. The powdered Sepinov EMT 10 is just “Sodium acrylate / sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer”. But if you’re looking for a liquid form of this ingredient and you don’t mind the additional components in GelMaker EMU, you may want to try that one.

I’m trying to find out about the best usage rates for this ingredient. At Seppic’s website (the manufacturer), I see recipes where they’re using Sepinov EMT 10 at anywhere from 0.3% to 2%.

You may want to start at 0.5% and work your way up depending on the purpose of the formula you’re making and how you want to store it. I’m assuming if it’s too thick, it will have trouble being used straight out of a pump bottle. And if it’s too thin, you don’t want to put it in a regular screw top jar. Thus, you’ll have to finish your final product, test the viscosity and decided how best to store it depending on how thick you want it.

Products this ingredient is found in (as of this writing):
Eden BodyWorks Almond Marshmallow Therapy Leave In Conditioner
Revlon Realistic Strengthening Butter Creme Leave-In Conditioner
Melisa Laboratorium Cleansing Milk
Briogeo Farewell Frizz Rosarco Milk Leave-In Conditioning Spray
COSRX One Step Moisture Up Pad
Neon and Co. Bamboo And Agave Silky Face Serum
Beauty Pie Fruitizyme™ Five Minute Facial
Envy Medical GlycoPeel 10%
Epicuren Discovery Glycolic Lotion Skin Peel 10
Caudalie Glycolic Peel Mask

Related
1. Seppic – Sepinov EMT 10
2. Truth in Aging – Sepinov EMT 10
3. EWG – Sepinov EMT 10
4. EWG – HYDROXYETHYL ACRYLATE

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