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What surprised you about the cosmetics industry?
For all the current or former working chemists here in the cosmetics business, I’m curious - what did you not know before entering this industry that surprised you the most once you got in? What are some aspects of formulating/manufacturing cosmetics that most people wouldn’t be privy to? Is there anything you wish you had known when you started?
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5 Replies
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Misinformation about the concentrations of active ingredients - for example, the product contains 50% hyaluronic acid, 15% vitamin c blend etc. The blend is still not the worst thing, sometimes I see declarations that the product contains 15% of the specific active ingredient, and in INCI that ingredient is listed for example after glycerin, which also raises my doubts.
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It is as much science as it is art, and I love this aspect. The downside is the muddied marketing which preys on human frailties.
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I was most surprised to learn about claims ingredients. For example Brands talk about the Aloe or ceramides in their products but they know that it’s petrolatum & mineral oil actually providing the benefits.
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I was surprised, and sometimes a little shocked, at the miniscule level of claims ingredients in client formulas. I came to cosmetics from pharma, and analysis of active ingredients to ensure there was the proper amount. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the justification of storytelling with ingredients.
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I was most surpriced that there was very little reliable scientific litterature about cosmetic chemsitry in general. The most simple questions such as: which ratio of surfactactants should I use? Is salt good or bad for hair in a shampoo? which “quat” is most efficient in a conditioner? were difficult to answer unless you have empirical knowledge.Then I learned these “real facts” are muddled due to the focus on claim ingredients and other commercially driven research of ingredients
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