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Storing cosmetic ingredients
I am interested to hear how people typically store their cosmetic ingredients, specifically those who do not have a separate lab for storing and making cosmetics, although I am curious to hear how they are usually stored in a lab setting as well. Do you use storage lockers? temperature and humidity controlled? Refrigerators? Totes with or without adjustable compartments? A combination of the above?? Any information is appreciated!
I searched through the archives on here but didn’t have any luck finding anything on this topic.
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12 Replies
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Check with specific suppliers - be aware, some raw materials are not physically stable at low temperature.
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PhilGeis said:Check with specific suppliers - be aware, some raw materials are not physically stable at low temperature.
Ah yes, this is true. So say you have 30 ingredients, all with the same storage temperature requirements, do you keep those ingredients stored in a lockable cabinet or deep drawers with adjustable compartments for each individual bottle/bag…? I’m just curious to see how most people keep their ingredients and inventory organized for safety, ease of access/use, space saving, etc….
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We maintain very few samples in inventory. We are able to get samples of just about anything via UPS in 5 days or so. Also, our goal is to do R&D, not store keeping. Except for the most common staples, we maintain little inventory and it has never slowed down a project. The project samples are maintained in a climate and humidity controlled space.
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Microformulation said:We maintain very few samples in inventory. We are able to get samples of just about anything via UPS in 5 days or so. Also, our goal is to do R&D, not store keeping. Except for the most common staples, we maintain little inventory and it has never slowed down a project. The project samples are maintained in a climate and humidity controlled space.
And when you say “climate and humidity controlled space” are you talking about a small room, locker, cabinet, large humidor….? 😊 sorry if this is a silly question..it’s just I’m in such early stages of all this and I have quite a large number of samples and ingredients that I would like to store in the best way possible to avoid spoilage as well as to be more organized…
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The easiest way is to store all of the ingredients you need for each product you are making in a plastic project box … you can get these are The Container Store, for instance. That way you don’t have to hunt for the ingredients you need, just open the project box and get to work. Just store everything in an air-conditioned space. If you working with Retinol and other temperature sensitive ingredients, store those in a refrigerator.
For samples, I would advise you store those, likewise in an air conditioned space … that’s going to most closely mimic the conditions in which the product will actually be used by consumers.
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My entire lab is cooled/heated with it’s own zone and we track humidity. It is 1200 sq ft so we have plenty of space. Again though, as @MarkBroussard mentioned, you should keep samples in a project bin. If you are a credentialed lab it is easier to get samples for each project than to enact a store keeping/inventory program in my experience.
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@Microformulation and @MarkBroussard thank you! I appreciate your feedback immensely!
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abierose said:Microformulation said:We maintain very few samples in inventory. We are able to get samples of just about anything via UPS in 5 days or so. Also, our goal is to do R&D, not store keeping. Except for the most common staples, we maintain little inventory and it has never slowed down a project. The project samples are maintained in a climate and humidity controlled space.
And when you say “climate and humidity controlled space” are you talking about a small room, locker, cabinet, large humidor….? 😊 sorry if this is a silly question..it’s just I’m in such early stages of all this and I have quite a large number of samples and ingredients that I would like to store in the best way possible to avoid spoilage as well as to be more organized…
If you are maintaining an inventory, are you maintaining MSDS’s and TDS’s for the materials? (You may not believe this is a requirement, but my local Code Enforcement has the requirement AND it is the proper way). Also, are you reinspecting samples at their projected “use by date?” These (and many other issues) are why maintaining a sample stock can be time consuming. Also, even if you are small, you should be still completing these requirements.
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Check this out. Cabinet Cigar Humidors - Affordable Prices - The Lemans (1stclasshumidors.com).
It is temp and hum. controlable. -
For cheaper version. Audew JC-23C1 Electronic Cigar Cooler Humidor,150-Cigar, with Spanish Cedar Wood
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@Dtdang thank you for the links 🙂 I’m still in the process of organizing all of my inventory but I think if I have a humidor or something similar, along with a locking storage cabinet, and a mini fridge that will be a good start for organization and storage.
Thanks again for the info!! -
We are GMP Certified and store our ingredients in a dedicated ingredients store room that id temperature and humidity controlled.Best to read the storage parameters for each of your ingredients and ensure compliance.
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