Making your cosmetic brand stand out
One of the best books on marketing by Seth Godin is his book The Purple Cow. It’s an easy read and I recommend it to…
Nail design can prevent date rape?
Sometimes it seems innovation in cosmetic formulation is nonexistent. Most of the new products that are launched every year are simply minor adjustments on current…
Chemical Reactions in Cosmetic Science
In college, most chemistry classes were focused on creating chemical reactions. We were constantly challenged to figure out what reaction would happen when you mix…
Sunscreen formulas may be hazardous to sea life
Here is a story that caught my interest about the ingredients in sunscreens harming ocean life. It turns out that the active ingredients in mineral sunblocks,…
Market Research Basics for Cosmetic Chemists
In any big company there will be a group known as Marketing Research which every cosmetic formulator will have to interact with eventually. In this…
Cosmetic Science book review - Sustainable Cosmetic Product Development
Allured has a new book out about Sustainable Cosmetic Product Development. If you are interested in formulating for the Natural, Organic or Green market, this…
How will natural ingredient replacements affect cosmetics?
Here’s an interesting trend that will affect cosmetic chemists and formulators in the future. More and more, natural ingredients are replacing standard cosmetic raw materials.…
The hardest things a cosmetic chemist has to do
There are some aspects of cosmetic chemistry that are easy but there are others that can be a but difficult. This list refers to the…
Cosmetic Chemist Jobs - Where to find them
Here on Chemists Corner we get a number of requests from people who are looking for jobs. In fact, we’ve written a number of articles…
Episode 34: Chemists Corner - Ginger King
Hello and welcome to Chemists Corner. I’m your host Perry Romanowski and this is a podcast about the wonderful world of cosmetic chemistry and cosmetic…
Why the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is bad for formulators
This article about the upcoming ban of Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo has me concerned. We cosmetic chemists are being attacked and told by people…
Human Skin - The Ingenious Creation of Nature
This article was written by Vitaly Solomonov In this article, we take a short trip deep in our skin in order to understand clearly how the…
The Chemistry of Fireworks explained
It’s not quite cosmetic chemistry but I always found the chemistry of fireworks interesting. It’s a bit like formulating but instead of making creams, liquids…
9 Topical Cosmetic Compounds That Work
Last weekend I had the opportunity to speak at the Face and Body show in San Jose. It was a great show and I was…
Why do people buy cosmetics?
You work hard as a cosmetic formulator. You research the ingredients, you optimize the levels, and you do it in an affordable way. Then you…
Strategies for formulating green products
Previously, we talked about how sustainability will effect the formulating efforts of cosmetic chemists. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the different formulation strategies…
Why a cosmetic chemist should learn about toxicology
I recently got a request from a website to write an article about the dangers of parabens. At first, I declined because I do not…
7 Tricks for Saving a Bad Body Wash Batch
This will happen to you at some point in your career as a cosmetic chemist. You’ll either get a call from the QA people telling…
How to Decipher Cosmetic Claims - Hair Conditioner
In the United States cosmetic companies are not prevented from making almost any claim they want. However, there is a significant rule they must follow.…
How do you know if a cosmetic raw material works?
I saw a science article that indicated in a mouse study that a compound in apple peals (ursolic acid) was good for helping build muscles.…