Is Aloe Vera Effective in Cosmetics?
Aloe Vera. Aloe Vera Gel. Aloe Vera Juice. Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Leaf Juice. There are even more names here for this nearly ubiquitous ingredient found…
Three levels of Natural Formulating
While perusing the Twin Cities Holistic Cosmetic show last week I noticed lots of different types of cosmetic raw materials targeted towards the “natural” cosmetic…
Episode 41: Mark Broussard - Formulating to a Natural Standard
Interview: Mark Broussard - Starts at 10:00 Mark Broussard is a cosmetic formulator and entrepreneur who has a BS degree in Microbiology & Immunology, a…
What to ask about your new cosmetic raw material
At some point in your cosmetic chemistry career, if you haven’t already, you’ll be introduced to new ingredients. The supplier will probably furnish you with…
5 Things That Cosmetics Can Do
While there are hundreds of types of cosmetics and thousands of cosmetic brands, there are really only 5 things that cosmetics do. If you want…
How do moisturizing ingredients work?
This is a pretty good summary of how skin moisturizers work on dry skin.
Why formulators should pay attention to beauty bloggers
In the cosmetic industry beauty bloggers seem to be gaining in their influence and big brands are beginning to take them more seriously. This is…
What is Polyquaternium?
This is a post by Nitesh Rajput A product is considered to be a conditioner if it improves the quality of the surface to which…
Did you know about this source for finding cosmetic information?
Although you can find lots of great formulating advice here on Chemists Corner and on our cosmetic formulating forum, there are numerous other places you can…
SDS Guide for Cosmetic Chemists
There are a few standardization organizations that you’ll come across in the personal care industry; two that you may see are referred to as ISO…
Misconceptions about cosmetic animal testing
I read this heartfelt article in the Edmonton Journal encouraging the Canadian government to ban animal testing of cosmetics. It’s a laudable goal and something…
Will cosmetic formulators become food scientists?
There’s a trend in the beauty industry called “beauty from within.” This is a growing segment (representing about $5 billion in annual sales worldwide) which…
Types of Water Used in Cosmetic Formulating
There are a wide variety of water types that you can use when formulating cosmetics. Distilled, deionized, purified or tap water are all options for…
Cosmetic formula VOC restrictions - are your products legal?
Environmental rules are often strange. Here is a story where L’Oreal was fined over $160,000 for selling a product that contained 55% volatile organic compounds…
Episode 40: Dennis Abbeduto - Green Surfactants for Cosmetic Formulators
Interview: Dennis Abbeduto has nearly 20 years surfactant and formulation chemistry experience and currently works for Colonial Chemical, Inc in Southeast Tennessee as a Senior…
Have you formulated with dry water?
Here’s a technology I had never heard about, dry water. It sounds fascinating and could result in the creation of truly surfactant free cosmetic products.…
Cosmetic colorants - the safest cosmetic ingredients
Recently we received a request from someone who wanted to make their own face paint for children. Specifically, they wanted to know how to make…
When is a cosmetic ingredient considered safe?
While surfing the Internet looking for information about cosmetics you can’t help but stumble onto negative information about the “toxic” chemicals evil corporations put into…
Weekend science - surfactants
Here’s a nice video I found on Youtube that explains the chemistry of surfactants in a solution. It’s a nice way to spend 5 minutes…
Surfactant sources - Making detergents without using crude oil
Crude oil is pretty amazing stuff. It’s a mixture of a variety of hydrocarbon molecules and can be used to create any number of…