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Advice and Tips for Newbie
Hi All,
I am quite new to the cosmetic space, any good general rules and advice for across-the-board formulation? Unexpected interactions between common ingredients would also be a plus to know.
Thanks!
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3 Replies
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I worked myself up from the bottom over the last 7 years. I have also contributed to some beginner sites, and see the pitfalls they tend to fall into.
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The errors most beginners make can be summed up as follows:
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Use WAY TOO MUCH GREASE (oils and butters). A little goes a long way….and more is always worse…not better. (What ever you think is right…cut it by 50%….and you’ll already be a better formulator.
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They rarely use enough emollient/esters….what makes good commercial stuff good….is the emollient/ester cascade. (And a fast-break polymeric is nothing to sneeze at.)
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Believe the plant extracts actually do something. They don’t. They just add to the preservation burden. You include them at .1% and market the crap out of them….but not much more.
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Rarely use enough humectants….and don’t use multiple forms. Most products…..customers will appreciate….if they simply moisturize. This is done with humectants….and humectants that are different. There is no ONE humectant. Glycerin is a good start …. but way better when you give it some friends.
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And the most important for last. Get your preservation from those that know, DO NOT DO A SURVEY OF OTHER BEGINNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the most important aspect. The thing you will find in common with the cosmetic blogs are these: No formal education in a related field. Never worked a day in the cosmetic industry. These are NOT the people you want to be getting your preservation information from.
- Learn what the hurdle approach / hurdle technology is in cosmetics.
Until you understand that the preservation sellers are in a B2B format, and not required to tell you the truth….you will be completely lost. They will ALL say…. ‘Broad Spectrum’ ….. which literally means absolutely NOTHING. (Means kills or inhibits two or more things.) On a site like this, you have one of the most brilliant people in the field, on the topic, Dr Phil Geis. He is very generous with his time, and if you put a preservation type question in the header….he will usually jump in. Of course, preservations that pose as a dead ferment, nut, tree bark or berry…..are ludicrous cons that have been around forever, to feed the imaginations of the ignorant.
Good luck….and Aloha.
PSS: For bonus points….NEVER call anything a recipe… and formulas are done in grams and percentages. 😆
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For interactions…. keep your cationics and anionics for the most part…. apart from each other.
Preservatives that use an organic acid, pretty much need to be formulated at 5.5 or below to have any efficacy…NO MATTER WHAT THE BS MARKETING MATERIAL SAYS.
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Thanks Graillotion, I appretiate it.
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