Cosmetic Prototype Batch Size
As a cosmetic formulator one of the most common decisions you’ll have to make is to decide how large a batch you need to make.…
Category: Formulating
A Formulating Strategy That Makes Sense
There is a discussion in the cosmetic science forum asking about the stabilization of Vitamin C in a formulation. It is an interesting enough conversation and…
Whole Foods Ingredient List Clarification
The following was submitted in response to the articles we published on the Whole Foods Banned ingredient list. I am writing in response to the…
The Whole Foods Unacceptable Ingredient List is Wholly Unacceptable
This post will explore acids that are found on Whole Foods’ premium body standards list. For those that didn’t catch last week’s post, the idea…
The Whole Foods Banned Ingredient List is Wholly Flawed
I intend these posts to be a multi-part series focusing on different parts of the nebulous Whole Foods banned ingredient list. The list I’ll be…
The Beat Goes on to Hyaluronic Acid Mini
Hyaluronic Acid, the ever acclaimed naturally occurring Biopolymer, with 50% of its bodily existence in the skin is sounding good…REAL good. We have experienced the…
Limits for including a cosmetic raw material
When you look at the back of a cosmetic product label, you will see all of the raw materials included on the list of ingredients…
Stem cells and cosmetic ingredients
I’ve never thought stem cells in the cosmetic industry were anything but a marketing story. I have been, and remain, highly skeptical of the claims…
When should you reformulate your cosmetic product?
I was just alerted to this article that said J&J will be reformulating their sun cream formulation after receiving 150 allergic reaction claims. It turns…
Skin care advice from the masses
Here’s an interesting website that purports to give advice for taking care of your skin. I don’t think it is put together by a cosmetic…
How to make a survey say what you want
I just finished reading this article about a survey of people and their feelings about animal testing of cosmetics. Unsurprisingly, a large majority of people…
Natural Colorants for Cosmetics
Did you know that in the United States it is not permitted by the FDA to just add any old ingredient into your cosmetic for…
Lessons From a Natural Formulator
By: Mark Fuller As a Consultant I have the opportunity to work with many start-ups and Entrepreneurs. With the popularity of “Natural” and “Organic” Cosmetics…
Are you protecting hair from copper?
The truth about cosmetic science is that there is not much basic research going on. In fact, there are a number of questions that remain…
The Strength of the Halo Effect in Cosmetics
In your cosmetic formulating career don’t be surprised if something like the following happens. You spend months and months developing a new shampoo formulation. You…
Handling Viscosity in the Cosmetics Lab
By Bob Wilcox Fluid viscosity is a measure of resistance to deformation. Deformation can be initiated by actions such as stirring or mixing. When applied…
How to pick a cosmetic formulation benchmark
Whenever you start a new project it is a great idea that you find an existing formula that will serve as a benchmark for your…
Beginning Cosmetic Chemistry in the Internet Age
For everyone in the New York area, I wanted to let you know that I will be giving a one-day course about cosmetic chemistry. It…
Top causes of skin allergies
Many people complain of being sensitive to chemicals or even having allergic reactions. So as a formulator you’ll want to avoid using ingredients that might…
Using Knockout Experiments to reduce formula costs
I don’t know how I stumbled on the knockout experiment but it is by far the most useful formulation exercise. I think I was inspired…