At this point, you may realise that you have discovered a new hobby, or perhaps even see yourself in a new career as a cosmetic formulator. Either way, as you progress on your journey as a formulator, there will be times when you feel uncertain about what ingredients to use and when, why or how to formulate with them. You can even feel overwhelmed by the amount of research and information available online.
We know this from experience, as we guide more than 7, cosmetic formulators from all around the world through their studies, helping them grow their skills as cosmetic formulators.
Find out about just some of our graduates who changed career, progressing from beginners to competent cosmetic formulators and founders of their own natural skincare brands. Formulating is a combination of science and art, where there is room for creativity and research and a combination of practical work and theoretical study. We cover this blended learning approach on our foundation Diploma in Organic Skincare Formulation.
In this post, we focus on the core technical aspects of formulating that we cover in our Diploma in Organic Skincare Formulation and highlight the 5 key skills of a cosmetic formulator. One of the first steps in building competent skills as a cosmetic formulator is to study the skin. For instance, learning how the skin renews itself and how the ageing process works and how it impacts the appearance of the skin are important factors in creating anti-ageing products which are designed to prevent or rectify skin damage.
Learning about the internal and external factors that impact our skin health and what we can to do to avoid or mitigate these factors, can help you formulate appropriate, effective products. You might, for example, formulate anti-pollution skincare designed to fight environmental pollution; one of the factors that contributes to the skin ageing process.
Learning about the structure and needs of the skin and its ideal pH, hydration and protection are fundamental to helping you formulate safe, effective products. This is a key skill that distinguishes a proficient cosmetic formulator from someone who follows DIY recipes found online.
A cosmetic formulator has the know-how, learning and ability to design a formulation that is both stable and effective. A good cosmetic formulator should know what ingredients are necessary to create different types of formula such as emulsions, balms, gels and toners and understand what differentiates one product type from another.
Tight, competent formulation design helps reduce waste and speeds development time. You also need to learn which formulating phase is the optimal time to add each ingredient. You should be aware of any incompatibilities among ingredients and about any special requirements they have such as needing to be added to the formula at or below a certain temperature or within a certain range of pH.
For instance, a good cosmetic formulator should know when it is necessary to add a preservative , a chelating agent or an emulsifier to a formula, and if they have any particular instructions to follow or if they require additives to improve their performance. Way before jumping in to the fun of mixing ingredients, and even before starting the design of your formula and manufacturing process, you need to research the best ingredients for a given product type and the function you want it to have.
Your research will help you find the best botanical extracts, the correct functional ingredients and the optimal way of adding them to the formula. This is where you will discover new ingredients, learn the properties of your botanical ingredients and how to use them in the best way possible. Experimenting helps you, the formulator, understand the impact an ingredient has on the stability or skin-feel of a formula.
This constant striving for improvement and the best possible product performance, stability, look and feel differentiates the experienced cosmetic formulator from the hobbyist. The adage practice makes perfect applies here. At Formula Botanica, we encourage our students to experiment as much as possible, but also to start out as simply as possible. We recommend just taking one step at a time on your journey in cosmetic formulation. You can create multiple formulas with the exact same structure while using different emulsifiers, for example.
In the same way, you can test different stabilisers, preservatives and botanical extracts. You can reproduce a formula removing one of the functional ingredients, or compare how different gums behave when alone or mixed in different ratios, and how they impact the skin feel or stability of an emulsion.
We also have information about the price of these components, which allows us to factor in the cost or benefit of adding or removing certain components to any new formulations. If it is available, other data entries can also be factored in such as temperatures and conditions under which production took place.
DataStories helps to identify the main drivers or in this case the most important components in the formulation. After they are defined we can visualize, through useful 'what-if analysis' what will happen if we change any of the variables, thus changing the formulation.
These models allow the personal care industry to determine their optimal formulation while maintaining product quality and keeping in check with compliance regulations. Book a demo Log In. Products Use Cases About us Contact. The challenge There are many different goals to achieve in cosmetic formulation. Being sustainable often does not mean having to compromise on efficacy. In fact, the compounds which are unwanted or unnecessary in other industries are often desirable in cosmetic applications due to their bioactivity.
For example, the high polyphenol content in olives imparts a bitter taste to olive oil , but these same compounds are invaluable in cosmetic products for their skincare properties. Similarly, the food industry uses the juice and pulp of tomatoes for the distinctive taste, but the discarded peel contains the highest percentage of bioactive compounds such as the potent antioxidant lycopene.
Other industries can also provide valuable feedstocks. A novel Canadian company is approaching the problem of waste from the forestry industry — where tree bark is regularly being burned or buried, leading to an increasing problem of pollutants leaching into the air and soil.
The tree bark is rich in polyphenols that, when extracted in the correct manner, can be repurposed into active ingredients that offer multiple benefits for skin and hair. One of these active ingredients imparts anti-pollution benefits, offering a satisfying solution of saving the planet from further pollution, whilst simultaneously protecting your skin from its harmful effects.
Even looking inwards to the cosmetics industry, new sources of ingredients can be found. Vetiver roots used to make fragrance for the perfume industry have been repurposed as skincare actives for anti-ageing and hydration claims and can actually boost the endurance and intensity of fragrances within a formulation — bringing new meaning to long-lasting fragrance.
The rising trend towards upcycled ingredients is not limited to just active ingredients but encompasses functional ingredients too. Citrus peel has traditionally been used for essential oils within the cosmetics industry but with the upcycling trend focus has shifted to its main structural component — pectin.
Frequently used in the food industry for setting jams, cosmetic ingredient suppliers have drawn inspiration from this and developed a new texturiser and emulsion stabiliser from the side stream, able to create unique jelly textures in skincare formulations without harming the planet. Increasingly, the cosmetics industry is not just looking at sourcing new ingredients but providing ingredients for other industries too. The by-products of emulsifier production have previously been sent to landfill but are still incredibly rich in nutrients, making them ideal to use as fertilizer for the agricultural industry.
This is growing in popularity as a concept that moves us closer to the ideal goal of achieving zero-waste, with many active ingredients using the waste from their production to fertilise the next crop.
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