Cosmetic Formulating Blog Series | Formulating Basics

Have you been making your own skin and/or hair care products? Or do you aspire to make your own? Developing a good, basic formula is a must. Cosmetic Formulating can be very confusing and overwhelming. At Joan Morais Naturals we have two in-depth courses on developing your own professional natural skin or hair care products. In these courses you will learn all about cosmetic formulating. In this blog series we will be exploring some of the basics about cosmetic formulating- what is it, how to build a formula, and testing your formulations.

Formulating Basics

The formula is basically your “blueprint” on how to make your product. It will include the percentages of the ingredients and specific instructions, the procedure on how to manufacture the formulation. Prior to building your formula, you should do research on the ingredients your using, their effect on the skin and hair and how they interact with other ingredients in the formula.

You will also need to decide your vision for your products. Do you want it to be organic, natural, and/or cruelty-free? While there is no specific definition for what is “natural” according to the cosmetic industry, there is a lot of information available on what can be considered “natural” etc. Do your research and develop your definition of natural to better clarify the ingredients you won’t allow in the formulation and the ones you will allow. There are standards for organic cosmetics that must be followed.

Understanding Measurements

There are two different ways to measure ingredients- by volume or weight. Volume is using a liquid measuring cup and adding the ingredient to the cup. Weight is weighing the ingredient on the scale. You will also need to decide to measure in grams or ounces. Having accurate measurements is very important in order for you to replicate and have a consistent product. It is also important that you have reliable and accurate tools for measuring that will be consistent in your measurements. You also must pay attention to detail and make sure to write everything down in your lab notebook! Often you think you will remember, but you can easily forget!

Know Your Ingredients

As mentioned previously, it is very important to know your ingredients. You should know the purpose of each ingredient and how it looks, feels and smells. Also, how do your ingredients blend together? Do they have synergy? Synergy is when the whole is greater than the individual parts. When your ingredients are combined together, they should create a superior product.

Making Professional Natural Skin and Hair Care Products

As you can see, a lot goes into building a formula and all of this is before you even start putting your ingredients together. Some people just like to jump right in by experimenting with different combination of ingredients. There is nothing wrong with this method, however it is important for you to obtain the knowledge you need to produce a professional-grade natural skin or hair care product. At Joan Morais Naturals, we offer two courses on making your own professional natural products. We have our Professional Natural Skin Care Product Making Course and our Professional Natural Hair Care Product Making Course.  In these courses you will learn all about formulating, including more in-depth information on natural, organic, and cruelty-free cosmetics, how to measure with accuracy and consistency, and in-depth information on natural and organic ingredients and developing a synergy in your products.

 Professional Natural Skin Care Product Making Course and our Professional Natural Hair Care Product Making Course enrollment is soon. Joan Morais will be mentoring these courses and they will include weekly module overviews where you can ask your questions on formulating and more! 

Have questions on our courses? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions for our Professional Natural Skin Care Product Making Course and our Professional Natural Hair Care Product Making Course or feel free to email us.

Join us for our next blog post as we go over building your formula!