How stable are your formulations?

I once made a shampoo formula that I kept for about 17 years.  It was my first batch of anything and for some reason I just never disposed of it.  It stayed stable for about 7 years before it striated into three layers.  I suspect if it were a clear shampoo that would not have happened. ancient-skin-cream-cosmetic

Anyway, 17 years seems pretty impressive but not nearly as impressive as this cream which is just about 2000 years old.  The formula contained animal fat, starch and tin dioxide.  Even more interesting, the scientists who analyzed it made a copy of the formula.

Perhaps the 2000 year old sample wasn’t completely stable (no one said whether they tried it or not) but it doesn’t look separated in the picture.  That’s an impressive feat by an ancient cosmetic chemist.

Related Articles

How to Become a Cosmetic Chemist

The job of a cosmetic chemist, or as they call it in the UK a cosmetic scientist, requires you to do a wide variety of things both in and out of the lab. Your main responsibility will be that of a formulator. This means you mix raw materials together to create cosmetic products like lipstick, nail polish, skin lotions, shampoos, toothpaste and any other type of personal care product.

Free Report

Sign up now to get a free report "How to Duplicate any cosmetic formula". Plus a 4-part introduction to cosmetic science mini-course.

We respect your email privacy