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Honest reviews on the institute of personal care science
So, I personally would not consider myself a beginner in cosmetic formulation but definitely not a professional. I’m about getting done with my programme in Biology/education. My course offers a Bsc.Ed degree hence I do have some science background.
Besides that, I’ve done a lot of self tutoring for about three years or a little more now. And lots of practice of course.
However, I wish to expand my knowledge in cosmetic formulation and I’ve got my eyes on the institute of personal care science. Specifically the certificate in cosmetic preservatives, certificate in advanced cosmetic science and probably a certificate in cosmetic quality and stability.
I’m not interested in earning a cosmetic chemistry/scientist title. I’m specifically interested in what the course offers. If you’ve taken any of these courses, I’ll sincerely appreciate an unbiased review. Thanks so much.
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19 Replies
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There are some of their tutorial videos in youtube. You can check them and see if you like their method.
But i always think they are advertising or selling specific Products on you or encourage you to buy from this supplier and not that supplier. This is my personal opinion about there videos that i have seen.
I would prefer courses from chemist corner over them.
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Hi Jasmine,
I too have a science background (BS in Biological Sciences). I did the advanced certificate in cosmetic science. I thought it was a good program and worth it. Very hands on and your science background will help you understand the information to its entirety. Best wishes to you and your endeavors.
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“Hands on”? I thought the course was online.
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Whoops, good catch! I mean practical, as there are practical assignments that require students to formulate products.
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This comment is not related to the course you ask about, just a general statement….
If you were to select a University to attend, I would assume you would look at the slate of professors that were in the department of your area of study. Your education will reflect what they teach you. You can only learn as much as they know.
With that….if you are looking for supplemental course work to enhance your knowledge, apply the same parameters… review the background of the course creator/s.
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Absolutely, when considering any educational institution or course, it’s crucial to look at the faculty or course creators. The expertise and background of the professors or instructors can greatly influence your learning experience. In the case of a university, the reputation and qualifications of the faculty members in your chosen field of study are essential. They will be guiding your education and imparting their knowledge, so having experienced and knowledgeable professors can make a significant difference in your academic journey. Similarly, when looking for supplemental courses or online learning opportunities, researching the credentials and background of the course creators is vital. The quality and relevance of the content often depend on the expertise of those who design and deliver the course. In both cases, a thorough evaluation of the faculty or course creators can help ensure you receive a high-quality education and gain valuable knowledge and skills.
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Good points. I’m developing an online course - cosmetic manufacturing hygiene focused on microbiology - for the Spring semester at a university. Of the many lectures, I’ve prepared only a few. All the many others are by some of the most experienced industry folks I believe in the world. Re. these experts, I know content is right and delivery is my primary worry. Great expertise is not always accompanied by great communication skills and these folks are not educators. In fact, I’ve something of a bias against “professors” . Most publications by academics addressing cosmetic microbiology are poor to total crap. For my lecturerers, this is not their day job so one can only ask limited revisions by these busy, proud folks.
I’ll see how the course is received, test and poll students. If it continues, i hope student comments re. indovudal lectires can improve the effort.
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I can completely relate to the challenges students face, especially when it comes to navigating the complex world of personal care science. I’ve encountered my fair share of difficulties in understanding the intricate concepts and staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends.
Fortunately, I stumbled upon the mysupergeek service, which has been a game-changer in my studies. Their team of experts specializes in a wide range of subjects, including personal care science. They’ve not only helped me grasp challenging topics but have also provided invaluable insights and resources to excel in my coursework.
If you need some help with your stadies mysupergeek.com is like having a dedicated mentor at your fingertips, and it’s been an indispensable resource for students seeking academic support. It’s made my journey in personal care science far more manageable and rewarding. I highly recommend giving it a try!
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This discussion does address the questions of education for cosmetic science and technology. Foods have departments at universities devoted to their science and technology and pharma has close regulatory, pharmacopoeial and professional organizational oversight and direction.
Cosmetic science and technology is arcane, often counter-intuitive with few resources to train or support. Experts are few and typically isolated. My expertise is based on 40 years in the industry and I’m one of the very few who has published in my narrow area. I’ve run into some other impressive experts here that I would not know at all but for this forum. Graillotion is one.
Graillotion - how did you gain your expertise?.
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Oh Dr Geis, you are too funny!!!
But in an attempt to answer your question….I’ll give a little backstory and insight.
Personality….pretty much the embodiment of Spock from Star Trek…. only logical things register in my brain. Education: Went to the toughest (most academic) English speaking grade school, middle school, high school on the planet (not in the US…and same one as Ken Jennings). I did not even realize that something other than academic excellence existed, until I returned to the US.
Throughout my career, I have taken several paths, some very unusual, but all very beneficial. I ended up in agricultural chemistry, even though my degrees do not reflect this. So my day to day life became chemistry, which I learned the good old fashioned way. At 50 I sold to Dupont, and retired to the islands.
For 20 years, my hobby has been plant breeding, mainly hibiscus, and the company that was sold to Dupont also dabbled in this field (not hibiscus ????). One of the other areas of my studies was nutrition, which I think lends nicely into cosmetics and cosmeceuticals. So in retirement, I chose a location/elevation in Hawaii, that almost never breaks 80F (26.6C), and annual rainfall exceeds 300″ (762 cm). This climate dictated an additional hobby that could be done indoors.
Cometics and cosmeceuticals became the indoor passion. I actually took the standard path…for lack of a better term…. we’ll call it the ‘mommy blogger’ path. Well………….it didn’t take more than a few weeks….to determine this was not the correct path…or EVEN a path. My searches landed me on this site. At first, I just read all the old threads. I would speculate….I am in the top five….(maybe higher) for having read the most old threads. My skill set in learning….has always been…. 1) Asking the right questions. 2) Having a very sensitive BS meter. Reading old threads was very valuable, and I quickly learned who held the intellectual assets. With a bit of time, I made good friends with two of the most brilliant minds that were at the time frequently on the site, and good acquaintance with several others. Two in particular, privately mentored me for a couple of years, up to and including now. They have invested I would have to estimate…more than a thousand hours each! I consider them now….as dear friends. The beauty of this type education….it focused entirely, 100% on the topic at hand. Not huge amounts of peripheral information that would never be used. (Hence, if you get me very far off topic…. I quickly become clueless.)
The other thing that has rounded me out, even the most brilliant minds have their specialties. I was able to gather the information, and essential compile and compound it. In the area of haptics, brilliance does not always equate to excellence. Our group used to have a non-chemist, that I considered the wizard of haptics. So I could take the brilliance of phytochemistry and pharmacognosy, and combined it with the haptic wizard….and create a function gem.
I will not name my mentors, as I fear this would invite throngs to their doors, and it is not my place to donate their time. And I think many of you know who some or all of my mentors have been. This process did NOT occur in open forum, but outside these walls. Their giving spirit has been instilled in me, and I have dedicated many hundreds of hours on a beginner site. Mainly I try and instill in them a sense of urgency in the area of preservation…as they naturally do not want to take that path. It is at time incredibly frustrating, and I have to take breaks. But, to those whom much has been given, much is to be expected.
Sorry for the expose…. but I mainly wanted to write this as a tribute and honorarium to those that have given me so much, which includes you Dr Geis ( @PhilGeis ). Current reading is: Harry’s Cosmeticology 8th edition.
Aloha!
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Thanks! I spent Match in Hawaii - we could have talked.
In addition of course to Perry, I think pharma and chemical matt are also excellent resources.
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Yes, Pharma and Matt are brilliant and have been tremendously helpful.
I should also mention….nothing replaces experience. I quickly achieved 1,000 emulsions made….often time with the change of one ingredient. This creates an intimate knowledge of ingredients, and what things do, and how they alter the result.
One of my friends says….my style is ‘Italian formulation’….(probably not meant as a compliment)….as I chase the tiniest of nuances. When my mentors say….”perfect”…. that means…at least 20 more iterations are in order. ????
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I took the IPCS diploma since i wanted to see what else i have missed out from learning by myself. I have a business degree, started DIY in 2018, and took the IPCS diploma in 2020. I consider it as learning new knowledge since i like to work on some hands on stuff.
If it’s specific information that you need, i’d recommend looking at the scope and what you will learn closely and do a comparison. The certificate in advanced cosmetic science should cover the modules for the preservation & stability, you can confirm with the module number. I can send you my version of the table of contents for the preservation & stability units if you wish to find out more. You can send me a PM.
I think it really depends on the style of learning & teaching. You can look at the sample videos or live streams related to the course to see if Belinda’s style fits your needs because it can vary based on personal preference.
As the others have mentioned, you should also compare the qualifications of the person who teaches or designed the course besides from the course material. Perry does also have this own course. I’ve not taken it myself but his course does also over the 2 aspects. So if you can request for the table of content for a comparison, i think it should help to a certain extent.
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I also finished the Diploma.
I was in the “business” for maybe 2 years and felt like I needed some upgrade and as I am close to AUS, I decided for this one.
This is the only program I took so I cannot compare it with anything [Except some free ones from Botanica and similar and loads of YouTube videos and articles]. I believe the program is quite nice and will definitely teach you something new.
I believe Belinda has three kids and one of them is autistics, so she has some kind of “touch” when teaching as she understands different feels and needs. She usually goes with the provided text in the videos and explains things along.
Some people learn by listening, some by reading some by writing it down.
Also, the text is usually detailed and after she sums everything in a nice table.
I typically watched the video and read the text after.
The videos are boring sometimes. She does repeat stuff a lot.
The good thing about this program is that you get access to their Dropbox for life. They always update their texts with new information and also add new information.
Another good thing is you have access to FB group for Students and Graduates and can ask anything, share your brand etc. Plus once a month there is a live video where they answer your questions.
The only thing I didn’t like was the email support. Not sure if all trainers are like this, but Tasmin wasn’t always super helpful. I did not get usually like proper answer. Or at least didn’t feel like it. And it wasn’t only my feel as I am in touch with others [we do have a group in AKL] and they agreed.
But yeah, if you have the money, time and will, do it. The more information you get the better 🙂
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Tl:Dr: Yes, it is decent. You will get out of it, what you put into it. It’s great base I believe.
I know this is a month old. But like @Graillotion I started my journey on mummy blogs. I like learning, so that helps. But I also quickly realised that “the blogs” weren’t the way to go. However unlike @Graillotion I have had a step learning curve as I was a primary school educator. My knowledge of science stopped at primary school level. I have not done any science degree. I married a dr of mathematics so I didn’t have to do any maths. Which is laughable now. I’ve spent the past 3 years trying to learn as much as I can from textbooks (which aren’t always helpful) and by reading here and a couple of other places. But, because I go down rabbit holes, I needed something to focus on.
@Jasmine2 I started the diploma program March 27th with IPCS after first starting with another programme and switching to IPCS (which took months, and lots of drama, it’s easier just to redo units.)
I don’t like Belinda’s videos - at all. I’m hearing impaired, so never a fan of videos (you’d think live captioning was getting better, but it’s not), but the course content is decent and from what I’ve looked into, I believe other than other programs listed by IFSCC, IPCS are the way to go.
My only issue thus far has been language related which is funny considering someone mentioned that Belinda has autistic children? That’s my education background - special needs, specifically ASD. I have worked with 100s of kids with ASD. I have three children whom are all on the spectrum - I actually believe everyone is a little bit - it’s just a brain thing - a way of thinking. You could have 100 ASDs in the same room - everyone of them will be different. Some might have similar traits but everyone learns differently. My husband and my son are used as “case studies” by Pr Tony Attwood (have been so since 2007). One of the reasons I came home to Brisbane is due to Tony being in Brisbane, anyway I digress. All of that to say, I don’t think she has a special needs teaching method, she is softly spoken but I don’t know if I’d say she has a special needs type of teaching. She does understand that everyone learns differently and you should expect that from any educator. All educators should know this now and should be teaching in a way to support this. It’s been a big focus in the last 20-30 years. We know now.
ASDs would struggle with a lot of the language because it’s not concise. I honestly feel that the “text” has come from several sources and when it’s been written, it hasn’t been rewritten to “flow”. The text has no real flow to it, and as a reader that’s frustrating. For instance, @PhilGeis ‘s microbiological book (which I’m currently reading) flows well even though there are several contributors.That said, the knowledge is there and if you want the knowledge you will get it. I agree with the comment about Belinda favouring certain suppliers but she’s not telling us to go buy them, in fact all the formulas from IPCS are usually basic and designed not for copying but for you to learn how to formulate. Like Doug said, that’s all about trial and error. I do think it’s a decent course - it better be with what I’m paying and I believe I will only get out of it, what I put in.
The other issue, I might have is, in Australia we can register with ASCC no issues, but getting an IFSCC membership - I believe the credentials you get from IPCS aren’t enough for full membership? I have to look into this more, I wasn’t thinking of applying until after I finish anyway. It’s just something I’ve seen mentioned on the student and graduate FB group, that might be worthwhile to mention. You would have to check your local SCC to see if they accept it or not.
I think with all education, it’s about what you put in. I do think it’s a good course. I am hoping it will give me a broader basic understanding and to gain work experience while doing the course. I think people often forget that any learning, in a classroom of any type, is only ever going to give you the basics. The knowledge comes from experience and continued learning. So if you look at it that way, you are golden!
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I looked over the courses from a client, I would much rather go to a university than obtain a certification from any online school
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I know this one is good, I liked it.
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Have you still decided to apply here?
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It’s great that you have a background in biology and education, which could certainly provide a foundation for understanding cosmetic formulation. While you may not consider yourself a beginner, your self-taught experience and practice over the years have likely contributed to your knowledge.
Considering your goals, the courses you’re looking into at the Institute of Personal Care Science seem to align well with your interests. They could enhance your understanding of cosmetic preservatives, advanced cosmetic science, and quality/stability aspects.
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