Cosmetic science forums

[Chemist77]

I have seen few like linkedin and others but trust me I am yet to hit on a more user friendly and responsive forum than this. 

[fareloz]

LinkedIn is not actually a forum, it is a social network for job searching, right?

[Bobzchemist]

This group is fairly unique, both for the variety of questions asked and the helpfulness of the replies. The majority of other chemists in the industry that are on other sites seem to be quite reluctant to share experiences and advice. 

I’ve definitely heard from a few people who’ve said flat out that when the give information/advice, they feel unappreciated due to the lack of thanks, and that they also resent questions that ask/demand information that the questioner should really have to pay a consultant for answers to. I’ve actually had a few folks get mad at me for giving answers that are too detailed - and they have a point.

As a result, I only rarely give answers that cannot be found on the internet by a determined person with a basic knowledge of the industry. After all, why would someone hire me as a consultant if they can get their questions answered for free?

On the other hand, since I don’t really have the ability or resources to attend meetings or publish articles, I don’t have any other way to become more widely known…

Other than this forum, there are several groups on linked in that are helpful. I even manage a group, but I have a lot of trouble getting others to contribute - it takes a surprising amount of time.

Robert

[MakingSkincare]

Robert - what is your group - I’d like to join? and I promise I WILL contribute!!

I also run an active group/discussion forum which incl cosmetic chemists - - https://www.facebook.com/groups/makingskincare/

[Chemist77]

@Robert why yesterday only I was on this forum where someone raised a query and the other one commented that the guy is trying to extract free info, strange people with stranger thinking.

[Duncan]

There are parts of any industry that can get a bit like that at times. I think sometimes the worry is getting the balance right between getting interest and the ball rolling, and not doing consultants out of their bread and butter work.

That said, If someone bats a few ideas here and gets a better vision of what they want to do, they’ll get better value out of a consultants time by being able to ask appropriate questions

Swings and roundabouts?

[Chemist77]

@Duncan there are better ways for denial to info but putting it boldly on a public forum is a bit discouraging at times. But as you said it’s all about bread and butter and at times some topping  

[Bobzchemist]

The group I’m managing on LinkedIn is here:

Cosmetic Formulation & Development Professionals:

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=821027

I could definitely use some help getting more discussions going. Please feel free to join, comment , discuss…

Robert Zonis 

[MakingSkincare]

Thanks Robert - I’m not on Linkedin but I will join. 

If you’re on facebook we would love to have you (and anyone else who wants to join) (a couple of your cosmetic chemist pals here are also members) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/makingskincare/

[mayurdave]

I have yet to find a better site than this one.  I love the openness and how people share information - a very nice community!

[mikebavington]

I dont think it is right when members ask for complete formulas - from A TO Z - from other members. This happens most often with novice members asking for a complete formula from professionals. I understand why a professional would get upset with this.

Regarding my participation on this site, I try to answer to the best of my ability, even though I am an amateur and learning as I go along. When I give an answer, I usually have to do research, myself. This always enables me to learn something new that I didnt know before. Hence, I benefit by answering other people’s questions. For a professional, this might not hold true.

I would like to see professional formulators offering their advice on this forum, but allow novice members like myself to pay for that advice in smaller increments. For example, instead of paying a formulator $2,000 to help with a formula that I am 80% finished composing, I would like to be able to pay $100 - $150, maybe even $200; for specific advice regarding a specific problem with my formula.

It might take me two consultations with two different professional formulators on this site, and if I paid them $150 each, $300 total; I could finish any particular formula issue that might be holding me up. Many times, I dont need advice from the beginning, but I might be stuck on a preservative issue or an emulsifier issue.

Medical doctors do this on today’s medical internet sites. They charge anywhere from $17 - $50 and they answer patients medical questions online. I think it would be great to do something similar here. Perry would obviously get a fee for hosting the transaction.

.

[Ayla]

@mikebavington :  I’m not sure I understand what you wanna say… (maybe it’s just me or my english), bit I’m a “professional formulator” and I give advice here for free… It will work as long as I get advice back when I need it. And I’m not alone. I don’t think you have to pay for that.

[Microformulation]

You do see it come up often. I give limited advice and guidance. I share others issue when someone posts “I need Formula X and it needs to be unique, safe, Natural…” (Add adjectives here.

Many of us do this for a living. You wouldn’t call a mechanic and ask him to walk you through how to fix your car for free. You wouldn’t call a plumber and ask him to tell you how to repair your sink for free. You wouldn’t call your Doctor and ask for free advice (successfully at least).

That said I think there is a great deal of advice and guidance given on this website up to that point. You just need to be aware that most of us WORK in this area.

[MakingSkincare]

Many of you here know I spend a great deal of my day giving free formulation advice both on my forum, other forums and answering emails. I love to share my passion and help where I can but if people ask for a free recipe, I usually direct them to swiftcraftymonkey or my website (if they are beginners) or places like innovadex, happi etc which will give them starting formulations. 

It doesn’t help that there are so many unstable/unsafe DIY formulas on the internet and in books.

[Rahma]

@Mike, I am not sure I get what you are saying!

It is unfair for someone to ask for a complete formula for a product ( I am not sure this happens however, I can be oblivious at times!) however, don’t change the way this forum operates, it seems to work just fine as it is. In fact, I think it is a great place for people to connect and work together and do business. 

[mikebavington]

I am saying that if we paid formulators for advice, we would get better responses than not paying. But, I dont want to pay thousands for one or two problems I face with my formula. I am however, willing to pay a few hundred dollars for specific help.

[Polymergirl]

@mikebavington  I am willing to provide a service such as you described, if you ever have the need.  I actually prefer that kind of work oftentimes to the larger scale projects. 

[Bati]

I find this topic fascinating because I had never really considered it before. A few months ago I asked what I thought to be an intriguing question that I hadn’t seen addressed in a previous thread (https://chemistscorner.com/cosmeticsciencetalk/discussion/93/efficacy-of-water-based-actives-in-a-wo-emulsion). It was in regard to how a w/o vs. an o/w emulsion might affect the skin’s ability to receive actives from the formula. I did not receive any responses.

Do you guys think this kind of question is inappropriate or that it is something we should try to answer ourselves through independent research (something I did and am currently attempting to do)?

[Bobzchemist]

@Bati - it is an intriguing question, and not at all inappropriate. I strongly suspect that one of the reasons you didn’t get an answer was because none of us could point to any published results to help you with.

Another reason is probably that this is a fairly advanced question. While I suspect that chemists who are more on the pharma side could answer it, I know that I personally, for example, have no direct experience with this problem - and I hate to make a guesstimate and then be proved wrong.

If you ask a question, and no one answers, I don’t think a small amount of nagging about it would be out of line, either.