[MJL]

@Perry Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. I have often been conflicted about the things I am adding to my creations, not sure as to whether or not they can actually have an effect. 

On the the other hand, I have read hundreds of anecdotes on places like Reddit’s “SkincareAddiction” forum on the positive benefits people have seen after using products with ceramides. Although I certainly know that anecdotes do not prove anything! But the chatter about it makes me want to give it a shot. However, I’m definitely going to continue more research before I go ahead and buy a bunch of expensive ingredients.

[MJL]

Thank you so much @MarkBroussard for the helpful information and ingredient suggestions! I appreciate it! 

Thank you @ngarayeva001 also suggestion the complex. 

I wasn’t sure I could use it because it contains carbomer, which gives me acne. Although I know it’s a quite a minute amount in the complex, so it may not affect me. It’s definitely something I will keep in the back of my mind as I am deciding on my formula.

[MJL]

@Normasegovia55 What oils are you using and how much do you apply every day? “Big” looking pores are usually a sign of 2 things: 

1) Pores are clogged with too much dead skin and sebum, making them appear larger. 

2) Skin is irritated, causing tight skin, which can cause pores to look larger.

If you are using oils that promote clogging and excess build-up of sebum, then this may be causing your pores to look larger. In this case, you need to rethink your choice of oils and how much you are applying. 

If the oils are irritating your skin (which may be possible due to addition of essential oils) then your skin may be pulling tight/stretching and causing your pores to look larger. When skin is healthy it is plump and does not show pores as much. 

Possible Solutions:

- Consider using “dry” oils (oils that are fast absorbing). These are oils higher in linoleic acid and lower in oleic acid. Google the “fatty acid profile” of the oils you are using, or want to use, and look for higher % of linoleic acid. 

- Make sure you are not applying too much of the oil each day. You do not need to slather it on. Use only a few drops and press gently into the skin. 

- Exfoliate your skin once every 2 weeks with an AHA (alpha-hydroxy-acid) solution (glycolic and/or lactic acid). These are natural acids that can be found in fruits and milk. They help slough off excess dead skin cells. Also consider rotating this with BHA (beta-hydroxy-acids) which can exfoliate within the pores. (AHA’s do not exfoliate within pores but work on the surface.) WARNING: DO NOT over-exfoliate. Over-exfoliation can lead to skin irritation, dryness, and inflammation. May also cause any underlying acne to come to the surface. Start slowly and build up tolerance to exfoliating products. 

- Reconsider the essential oils in your blend. There is not a significant enough body of research/evidence to show that essential oils can affect any real/significant physiological changes (ex: “healing properties”) to the skin (other than irritation). Mainly they are useful for adding scent. In truth, essential oils more often have the potential to irritate skin. You need to make sure you are using properly diluted proportions in your facial oils. You should only be adding oils at a very small fraction (less than 1%) of the total volume of your solution. Unless you are determined to have a nice scent, I would just remove the essential oils. 

Additional thoughts…

- Remember that the actual size of our pores is genetic and cannot be changed by products. Only the appearance of the pores can be slightly altered by skincare habits. 

- Remember that oils do not hydrate the skin. Oils are occlusive emollients which serve as a barrier to help keep moisture that is already in our skin, inside. Skin needs water to be truly moisturized, so if you are using only oils, this is not a long-term solution for hydrated skin. Consider using a water-based product containing humectants (water attracting substances such as hyaluronic acid, panthenol, propanediol, or glycerin) in conjunction with your oils. (Water-based product goes on first, oil goes on top.) 

[MJL]

Hello everyone! I ended up not logging on for the majority of August (thinking this post wouldn’t get much more activity than the first few comments) and was very surprised to come back to a full discussion on this post!

I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who posted here with such helpful and insightful information and discussion. It means so much to me that you all took the time to come here - whether to respond directly to me, or to contribute to the discussion amongst members here. So thank you very much again, I so much appreciate the opportunity to learn from all of the information gathered here! 
 
@Chemist77
@Gunther
@Microformulation
@EVchem
@Sibech
@Perry
@jeremien
@ngarayeva001

[MJL]

Thank you @ChemicalPyros and @Gunther for your comments and the information!

[MJL]

@Gunther I’ve been thinking about this for a while and after reading your response again, I hope you don’t mind if I ask a few more questions? (You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.)

Could a primarily water based formula ever work with these powders - if the amount of powders was reduced (by both removing some from the formula altogether, and also reducing the percentages of remaining ones)? If so, how many would have to be knocked out for this to work?

Or… is the fact that the water evaporates so quickly from the skin always going to be a problem regardless of how little powder there is?

Also, you mentioned that the Panthenol remains on the skin as an oily liquid. If I increased the Panthenol, would this actually help with absorption of the other powders?

[MJL]

@Doreen Very interesting, thank you for sharing!

I wonder if some formulas just don’t do well being layered? I know I’ve purchased many commercially produced creams that didn’t work when I tried to layer. From my experience it always seemed that the more moist or oily the product was, the less trouble I had with flaking, caking, or pilling. The more “lightweight” a formula was, or the more it was designed to absorb quickly and leave a “matte” finish, the less I was able to layer it successfully. And I think that kind-of ties into what Gunther was saying as well. But that’s just my layman’s observation. And of course I don’t know the other ingredients or the consistency of your product. It may very well be an oily and/or rich product, in which case - my hypothesizing is of no help! Haha.

Anyway, I hope you find a solution to the piling/powder residue for your formula. Best of luck! 

[MJL]

@Doreen (Apologies for the separate comment), but I’m curious - which powders are you using in your formula?

[MJL]

@Gunther Thanks for the additional comment and recommendation to check out studies on Niacinamide skin absorption. I’m very interested to read about this — off to Google! 

[MJL]

@Doreen Thanks for adding to the discussion!  Interesting to know someone else out there is having the same troubles. Aren’t powders so tricky!? Well, I’m glad this post might have helped point you to some useful advice (courtesy of Gunther)! 

I’m thinking about splitting up the ingredients from my original recipe into two different formulas, with different purposes. Maybe the formulas will do better if there’s only a few powders per each. 

[MJL]

@MarkBroussard Thank you so much for your comment, for all of the information provided, and for your suggestions! This is very helpful! 

[MJL]

@Perry Thank you for your comment!  I do understand that changing the amount of water (increasing or reducing) affects the concentration of all other ingredients in the formula, and thus any changes would mean the ingredients would no longer be at the concentrations in this example.

I guess what I mean to ask is that, in a formula with so much water (91%) and relatively few other ingredients, does the high water content have any affect on how well the Panthenol will incorporate and thusly how sticky it will be?

Does that question make sense, or is my logic still broken here? 

I do apologize if I am awfully ill-informed! I’m still learning. 

P.S. The formula is meant to create a hydrating serum. It’s apparently supposed to hold moisture in the surface of the skin. The brand “SkinCeuticals” makes a very popular and expensive version of this with only a few extra ingredients, which apparently people rave about. 

[MJL]

Thank you for your comment, @Gunther. Gives me something to think long and hard about. May have to scrap formula or greatly reduce powders.

I was trying so hard to avoid a cream; my skin just freaks out if I put oils, butters, fatty alcohols, silicones - just about anything - on it. So frustrating. 

[MJL]

In case anyone else comes here to read this, I should mention that all ingredients appear to be fully dissolved in the finished product; it is a totally clear gel. But after it dries on the face is when the white/powdery residue appears. It mainly appears when a larger amount of the product is applied. It also “cakes” on my eyebrows and comes off in flakes. 

[MJL]

@Chemist77 Thank you for your reply! No, I haven’t taken out the Allantoin. This was my first batch with it in! I had read that it is very hard to dissolve beyond 0.5%, so I only put 0.5% and it dissolved, but perhaps it is causing the issues still. I will look more in the forum here for those discussions surrounding Allantoin. Thank you for mentioning this!