Natural cosmetic preservative ingredients and strategies
One of the most common type of questions we get asked here on Chemists Corner is about natural preservatives. On the one hand this is…
Natural surfactants for cosmetic products
Cosmetic surfactants are the most versatile and important ingredients in cosmetic formulations. Unfortunately, there are not many surfactants that naturally occur so trying to make…
What are claims ingredients?
There are some ingredients that you include in cosmetic formulas to provide a benefit to consumers. These we call functional cosmetic ingredients. There are other…
The addition of colorants in cosmetics
Today we are having a special webinar examining the use of colors in cosmetics. You can sign up for the webinar here. Sign up for…
Fatty Acids and the Formulator
In our recent post on cosmetic emollients I mentioned that many of them were derived from triglycerides. Triglyceride molecules are made up of two segments including glycerin…
Formula adjustment ingredients for cosmetics
When creating cosmetic products in a lab it is easy to have control over the final characteristics of your formula. Under this setting you get the…
Humectants – Cosmetic Formulating Basics
This month we are focusing on cosmetic raw materials. In this post we continue our look at functional cosmetic ingredients specifically on humectants. During much…
What are emollients in cosmetic formulas?
This month we are focusing on cosmetic raw materials and in this post we’ll talk about emollients. In a previous post we talked about the…
Naming cosmetic ingredients – part 2
In the first part of this cosmetic ingredient naming series we covered how the ingredients got their official names and some of the regulatory framework…
Guide to naming cosmetic raw materials – part 1
In the US and most places around the world, it is a requirement that you include a list of ingredients on any cosmetic product that…
Cosmetic ingredient expiration dates
We recently did a webinar on cosmetic emulsions and asked people for questions prior to the event so we could cover the most important information. Here…
Cosmetic Formulating – How much of an ingredient should you use?
As a formulator one of the hardest things to do is to create new formulas from scratch. This is because formulations are a mixture of…
Cosmetic Science – What is known and unknown
One of my Facebook friends posted a question looking for advice about which sunscreen she could use for her child. It turns out her daughter…
Where to get raw materials for making cosmetics
When I was working for a company it was pretty easy to get the raw materials I needed for making cosmetic formulas. I would just look up…
Functional raw materials in the cosmetic industry
We’ve previously discussed cosmetic raw materials on this website and have even come up with a classification system which demonstrates that there are only 3…
What is the best ingredient to use?
On a few occasions we’ve gotten a question that goes something like this…. “What is the best preservative to use?” or “What is the best…
What to ask about your new cosmetic raw material
At some point in your cosmetic chemistry career, if you haven’t already, you’ll be introduced to new ingredients. The supplier will probably furnish you with…
The Three Types of Cosmetic Raw Materials
Did you know that there are only 3 main categories of cosmetic raw materials? Really all of the ingredients used in cosmetics can be put…
How to Prevent Contamination in Cosmetic Products
This recent article about scientists discovering bacteria living in hairspray provides a good example of why cosmetic products need to be preserved. Microbes can grow…
The award for the most innovative cosmetic ingredient goes to…a non cosmetic
This report in Cosmetics Design about the award recently granted to a researcher for his development of a new “cosmetic” ingredient left me feeling a…