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Formulating products in general
Hello everyone
Ive always loved the idea of simplicity yet achieving it is quite challenging.Steve Jobs said that simple is harder than complex;It takes a lot of iterations to make things simple sometimes.
In regards to formulating products i learned that starting with the least amount of ingredients and working our way up until we fall on the right formula is the right approach. How many ingredients should we start with
There are 3 types of ingredients: functional/aesthetic modifiers/marketing ingredients. So is it possible to start with 2 functional that dont serve the same purpose and 2 aesthetic modifiers and 2 fairy dust ingredients?Then id observe the texture, the smell, the consistency; and ultimately the result and work my way up by adding more ingredients until i reach the desired texture/smell/efficacy, Should i give to people to test between each ingredient i add or no?Your feedback is very much appreciated.
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11 Replies
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For a simple formula, here’s a reasonable starting place.
One functional ingredient
As many aesthetic modifiers as needed
Zero claims ingredients
Consider the development of a shampoo.The starting formula would be
1. Functional - Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
2. Aesthetic - Water (solvent)
3. Aesthetic - Preservative systemYou make this and you decide it’s too thin and the foam isn’t good. So, now you add
4. Aesthetic - Cocamidopropyl Betaine (secondary surfactant)
5. Aesthetic - Salt
6. Aesthetic - Citric acid (to adjust pH)Now, you try this and it’s better but you don’t like the yellow color and it smells funny.
7. Aesthetic - Color
8. Aesthetic - Fragrance
9. Aesthetic - Polysorbate 20 (fragrance solubilizer)Ok, now you have a formula that works. But you want to be able to tell a story about it. You come up with a story about Aloe Vera and Honeydew melon
10. Claims - Aloe vera extract
11. Claims - Honeydew melon extractBoom, your formula is done.
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Do whatever you want.
I make a lot of samples too. Sometimes it is worth giving to people to try, sometimes it is not worth it. -
OH my Goodness Perry i loved it.Thanks a lot dear 🙂
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Hello everyone
As im starting to learn about minimalist skincare formulation i cant help myself but wonder why do big brands like Fenty Skin have almost 40 ingredients in their products? Rihana can afford to have the most innovative lab producing products with the least amount of ingredients yet they chose to have a lenghthy list of ingredients.
Drunk Elephant Micellar Water
https://www.drunkelephant.com/collections/cleansers/e-rase%E2%84%A2-milki-micellar-water-999DE00000102.htmlThese are big brands so why are they falling into the maximalist formulation option?
Thank you
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Because it gives their marketing department the most flexibility in the stories they want to tell about a product. If you put 10 claims ingredients in a product, you have at least 10 different stories to tell.
Stories are much better at selling beauty products than formula performance. -
@Perry I understand better now. I used to feel inferior by lookign at those long lists of ingredients telling myself wow these brands are using all these ingredients how can i compete but now i understand that smaller INCI’s are better 🙂
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I was reading an article about skincare brands that have formulas as light as a feather and they mentioned a cream by Avene
D.E.F.I. Exomega emollient cream by Avène Number of ingredients: 7 A-Derma are the founding fathers of sterile cosmetics, using only active ingredients and not a preservative or paraben in sight, meaning their formulas are gentle enough for all the family. In particular, the emollient cream will be a sizeable ally this season to soothe sensitive winter skin.
Ok based on everyhting i have learned how is it possible to only have active ingredients because aesthetic modifiers/excipient/inactive ingredients role is
help a product to look and feel nice when applied, they help deliver the active ingredients to the skin or can be a preservative to increase the shelf life of a product.Also not having a preservative in the product will make the shelf life short and not safe for the product.Thank you all
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In case you haven’t figured it out by now, companies lie. You cannot rely on the accuracy of what beauty magazines say about a product nor what the companies say themselves. And even when they don’t directly lie, they say the truth in such a way that it is misleading.
Take this DEFI Exomega emollient cream for example.
Here is their ingredient list.
INGREDIENT
Water (Aqua). Mineral Oil (Paraffinum Liquidum). PEG-12. Glycerin. Cyclopentasiloxane. Glyceryl Stearate. PEG-100 Stearate. Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil (Oenothera Biennis Oil). Myreth-3 Myristate. Cyclohexasiloxane. Polyacrylamide. Niacinamide. 10-Hydroxydecenoic Acid. Avena Sativa (Oat) Leaf/Stem Extract (Avena Sativa Leaf/Stem Extract). BHT. C 13-14 Isoparaffin. Disodium EDTA. Laureth-7. Sodium Acetate. Tocopherol.
So, most of this is “aesthetic modifier” ingredients. If you want to call functional ingredients the “active” ingredients then it has Mineral Oil, Glycerin, and Cyclopentasiloxane.
They might argue that the Oils are active and the Niacinamide, leaf extract, Tocopherol, and 10-Hydroxydecenoic Acid are “active” but I don’t believe them. Any effect those might have are going to be overwhelmed by the first three ingredients I mentioned.
So, they don’t have just 7 ingredients. They also don’t have 7 active ingredients. Most of this formula is aesthetic modifiers for the Mineral Oil and the silicone.
You just can’t rely on what you read about products in beauty magazines!
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Thank you so much Perry
The thing is that i always like to give the benefit of the doubt to brands and i like to think okay they might be saying the truth until i ask and do my research; So i find this disrespectful on their end to lie to consumers, its like saying to people: i know you dont know anything about cosmetics so im going to take advantage of that and lie to you, this is DISRESPECT to me, knowing someone doesnt understand a topic and me telling them lies voluntarily about a topic they dont know about -
another possibility is that the chemist(s) involved didn’t really know what they were doing and just threw everything bar the kitchen sink at it - which is particuarly likely if the product was formulated in the UK
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Hello @Bill_Toge thanks for your reply but im not sure i get it
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