Keep it simple or must it be complicated?
Charlene
Member
I was and am always been interested in skincare, cosmetics, and internal health.
Since I'm on this website I feel a little bit overwhelmed.
I finished this course just for fun and I always think you can learn more.
https://www.learncosmeticformulation.com/course/introtomakingcosmetics/
The thing I get from it keep things simple but I see formulas on this website that are as big as the bible.
Isn't it that simple like:
What product will I create?
What is my audience?
What skin type?
What price tag?
What ingredients do I need to accomplish this as well and productive as possible?
And so on.......
Where do you make the choice of a 5 ingredient product or as I said the bible?
What is right and what is wrong?
My humble opinion is that we sometimes make things more complicated than they actually are.
No I'm not a defender of the websites that use tablespoons, drops, and teaspoons as a measurement and stay far away from it but isn't the opposite also a "danger"?
I like to hear different points of view or opinions.
Since I'm on this website I feel a little bit overwhelmed.
I finished this course just for fun and I always think you can learn more.
https://www.learncosmeticformulation.com/course/introtomakingcosmetics/
The thing I get from it keep things simple but I see formulas on this website that are as big as the bible.
Isn't it that simple like:
What product will I create?
What is my audience?
What skin type?
What price tag?
What ingredients do I need to accomplish this as well and productive as possible?
And so on.......
Where do you make the choice of a 5 ingredient product or as I said the bible?
What is right and what is wrong?
My humble opinion is that we sometimes make things more complicated than they actually are.
No I'm not a defender of the websites that use tablespoons, drops, and teaspoons as a measurement and stay far away from it but isn't the opposite also a "danger"?
I like to hear different points of view or opinions.
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Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS) should be your guiding principle. Only use the ingredients that you need to accomplish your objective.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
That is easy to remember
I am happy to read that I'm on the right path.
Thank you very much
Thank you for sharing this it needs guts to admit you made a mistake
I understand if you have so much experience and are a pharmacist or a professional well trained formulater your knowledge base is so big that you want to try everything right?
Lessons in live taught me that you sometimes have to step back a little and ask yourself " hold on a moment what is my goal?" How do I get there as good and easy as possible.
It's just like food you can eat in a 5 star restaurant where you have a fancy meal with all kind of fancy dressings and sides but if you compare it with a 4 ingredient home made stew with mashed potatoes smelling like the old good days I know what I will choose
Start with the functional & structural ingredients, then add/replace the "actives", additional modifiers, additives as required. That's how i normally start with when i learnt it on my own, trying to spot the functional and structural ingredients to evaluate what ingredient does what. You will learn over time to have a structure or format / build. This would pertain to your question of "What ingredients do I need to accomplish this as well and productive as possible?".
For the other questions, it's something you need to decide based on your target audience or who you are formulating the product for.
It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish, if you are just looking to hydrate your own skin....you should be able to do that in less than 10. If you are trying to slay the billion dollar cosmetic industry it will take a few more.
I think I tackle a project in a similar manner as Jermolian, I break it into pieces...and build the pieces with some autonomy, and then bring them together.
So I look at humectancy....how do I build that?
I look at barrier function...how do I build that?
Look at lubrication....and how do I build that?
Look at marketing, and claim ingredients...and how does that factor in?
I look at texture...and here is where the wheels come off the bus....and how do I build that.
I look at preservation....and I am a nut in this area....and this can easily bump that number in a hurry...as you are adjusting pH, chelating, adding glycols, and finally a preservative/s.
Pharma might have given you a sneak peek behind the curtain, with mentions of cascading emolliency and NMF....and it just snowballs from there. But back to your question....when starting out...absolutely keep it simple. Learn your simple ingredients inside and out...and how adjustments of them change your product. Then later if you get more creative....you know what will happen when you tweak this or that. I have to be nearing 100 iterations of the face cream I am working on. But for me....if I was not experimenting....what else would I be doing?
I will say this...if I had kept it simple...I would have never discovered Pelemol 899 (Isononyl Isononanoate (and) Ethylhexyl Isononanoate)....and let me just say....OMG!
Either 5 or bible++, always make sure your product is safe.
Self-preserved or no preservative is not my cup of tea.
simple or complicated? - be yourself, create product that represent your brand identity.
Yes, never stop learning.
Happy formulating
Fewer chemicals = less chemical exposure = less likely to cause negative reactions
This is why I'm not a fan of natural extracts and things because they are made up of dozens or even hundreds of chemicals many of which we haven't even identified.
Now you might say, "what about preservatives? Consumers don't notice those."
True, at least you hope consumers don't notice your preservative. But they would notice if their product gets contaminated by microbes and starts to smell, discolor or spread disease.
I don't agree with a philosophy in formulating which involves throwing as many active ingredients as you can in a single formula. First, the evidence that most active ingredients really do anything is scant. Second, the evidence of whether there is an interaction (negative or positive) between actives is practically non-existent. Finally, very few if any consumers would notice any difference between a good moisturizer and a good moisturizer + some active ingredient.
The only other good reason for including an ingredient consumers don't notice is for marketing. And if you're adding an ingredient for marketing purposes, you only need to put a tiny amount in so you can have it on your label.
I want to thank you all very much for the response and give me your personal insight and approach to developing a product.
For now, I will keep it simple and with two CPSR forms in my pocket this week I am very happy and proud and very grateful for all the nice people here that take the effort to respond to my questions.
I hope to give a little bit more back in the near future when my knowledge gets a little bit better and bigger.
BTW... I liked the blend MUCH better than just the straight II. And yes...I tried both components separately as well. II was too occlusive by itself...but the synergy...was stunning....I guess that is why they sell it as a blend.
I was only able to get them from ULP. Therefore I stayed with Isoamyl laurate, after making a formula with every possible combination...and just barely being able to detect a difference.