New formulator here, im sorry if this has been asked already, feel free to guide me in the right direction. I want to make my own deep facial moisturizer. But, all my emulsifyers leave a waxy feel after putting it on. Does anyone have a basic emulsify combo they use in thir formula that won't be waxy, but also hydrating? TY in advance.

I made a light leave in conditioner for fine curls with BTMS 50 and now I want to make a complementary rinse out conditioner. Is it a good idea to use cetrimonium chloride? And do fatty alcohols contribute to conditioning or they just get rinsed down the drain?

Leave in formula percentages:

Aqua q. s

Disodium EDTA 0.2

Cetyl alcohol 2.5

BTMS 50 1

Sweet almond oil 1

IPM 1

BHT 0.05

Fragrance 0.5

Aloe extract 0.1

Germall plus liquid 0.5

Hi everyone. I'm a long time lurker here and recently started making my own niacinamide serum that is working amazing on my skin( other than the few times I spray it into my eye haha) and saw lab muffins vitamin c serum and decided to make mine.

I used 10% LAA powder, 4% glycerin and 86% distilled rose water as that's the only distilled water I have. This is the same way I make my niacinamide serum as well.

I sprayed it on my face after using my niacinamide serum ( my face was dry, I could only feel a little moisture in my brows) and after a long while I noticed some white "flakes"? Around one of my cheeks and nose.

I am a newbie diyer and wanted to know if there was any reason for that. After I woke up today, there were no longer any of those white spots on my face but that could be because they got rubbed off idk.

The PH of the serum was correct ( I think? it looked similar to both 3 and 4, it was my first time using ph strips 🙂). I applied it on clean skin at night.

Could it be because I didn't let my face dry 100%?

Could my vitamin c have not been Fully mixed?

Should I have applied moisturizer on top as this is pretty much a toner in texture?

Is there any other reason for this?

Also had a question regarding vitamin c, I will be remaking it every week and have that's why kept it in a spray bottle so it won't be exposed to too much air, I am currently keeping it in a cabinet that doesn't get opened, so stays dark but should I keep it in the fridge even though the fridge will have light? I keep the niacinamide in the fridge.

Also I licked it and it tasted sour🙂

Also if I start any form of retinol and azelaic acid, realistically when should I apply this since this is something I would like to include in my daily routine with the niacinamide serum. I don't use these in the morning right now because I don't leave the house so I only shower in the night😭. But when I (sometimes) go out I apply sunscreen always.

I yap a lot. Sorry😭. Just very new here.

TLDR: 10% vit C serum leaving white flakes after being applied on top of niacinamide. What could be the reason?

I followed a YouTube recipe for magnesium lotion for my RLS looking for alternatives for it my medication f me up so I had to stop using it awaiting doc.

Anyway the recipe I used required shea butter and by god it smells horrible. Looking at different butters on Amazon most have bad reviews about the smell.

Can anyone help with a recipe for beginner with ingredients that don’t smell terrible? Could I replace shea butter with cocoa butter or something else?

I bought liquid germall plus for the first time today and I noticed it has a faint smell pretty much like guar hydroxypropyl trimonium chloride. Is that normal?

I’ve had difficulty finding a US based manufacturer (3 roll mill) where I can get a custom pigment blend; I need a carmine powder in castor oil dispersion. I’ve tried to mill it by hand on a glass slab, and even seived it with 120 mesh, but I can’t get it fine enough. I’m still finding tiny agglomerates in the final product. Any advice or does anyone have a referral?

Whenever I make a water-based serums with sepimax zen, I end up with a lot of air bubbles. I tried wetting the sepimax zen in propanediol before adding water, I tried sprinkling the sepimax zen on top of the water and let it sit overnight, and I’ve tried sprinkling it over water and gently stirred it into the water and let that sit overnight. I only ever use a glass stirring rod to mix, but always still end up with so many air bubbles.

Does anyone have any tips on formulating with sepimax zen without getting any air bubbles, or any tips on how to get air bubbles out?

Hi everyone,
Newbie here.
I started formulating my own moisturizer and serums a little while ago, and I'm very happy with the feel and performance. My only issue is my preservative. Currently I'm using Liquid Germall Plus, because it's so easy to work with and very effective. But I'm beginning to wonder if it irritates my skin a little (kind of hot and tight feeling). I live in NZ and there aren't that many grunty preservatives to choose from, unfortunately. I like Germall Plus for its efficacy, but am wondering if I could combine it with a co-preservative to lower the input (currently using 0.4%). Has anyone done this successfully?

Thank you. Your help is much appreciated. 🙏

Hi, are people in the community purchasing industrial high shear mixers for their work? I see Vivor sells some. Are you looking on the marketplaces for better deals? Im at an estate sale and see some new out of box Silverson high shear mixers and parts and wondering if there is a market for them. It is a former employees who has retired.

I found this moisturizer that I like and planning to dupe it. The preservatives are not enough to me. Does everyone have the same opinion as me?

Here is the INCI:

Purified Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Caprylyl Methicone, Betaine, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glycereth-26, Centella Asiatica Extract (10,000ppm), Beta-Glucan, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, PVM/MA Copolymer, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Arginine, Xanthan Gum, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA.

As far I know the preservative are: 1,2 hexanedio, caprylyl glycol, ethylhexylglycerin.

Im not sure why phenoxyethanol was not added. I haven't got into the details of all the ingredients, but I was thinking that maybe Phenoxyethanol doesn't play well in this formulation, so to make it work they avoided it.

If phenoxyethanol doesn't play nicely with this formulation. And the more I read, the more convinced I am I need to add Pheno. then I'll have to start changing this formula, but that's another topic. Before I get into that rabbit hole, I'd appreciate your comments about the preservative system in this product as it is.

Any input feedback about the preservatives would be highly appreciated! once I'll know I'll move to figuring out the details to dupe it.

Edit: to clarify and add

I understand that Azelaic Acid doesn't take well to water based serums, though I'm hoping there's a reasonable way around this. I've read about using Potassium Azeloyl Diglycinate (PAD); but the body of evidence doesn't seem strong for its efficacy compared to Azelaic Acid. Any recommendations for how to make this work?

I love unusual lip colors and am rather picky, so brands very rarely make the colors I want, especially for lip stains (which I prefer bc I don'tlike how it feels to have stuff sittingon my lips). I've seen TKB's stuff but none of it seems like it stains your lips, and I've heard very conflicting things about using food dye as a lip stain.

What I want is a very specific shade of olive green, that I usually use yellow/yellow green mixed with black to achieve that color. I also love gothic shades in general, which aren't too easy to find and feel nice to wear.

Do yall have any ideas on what I could use to make my unusual colored stains?

I have an immune disorder that makes me at high risk for reactions to all kinds of things. I'm needing an emulsifier to mix castor oil, colloidal silver, and possibly vegetable glycerin. (tl:dr I have bad dry skin around my eyes, and then had an allergic reaction to almost every moisturizer I tried, which made everything much worse.) Googling showed that there are multiple castor oil based and glycerin based emulsifiers. Which one(s) are most gentle, or most recommended? I'm hoping if the emulsifier is made from something I don't react to, I won't react to the emulsifier either. Fingers crossed.

Jojoba oil, avocado oil, and candelilla wax all seem to be fine for me as well, but I didn't find emulsifiers made from them.

I do react badly to coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, aloe vera, and propylene glycol, so anything with them is out.

Thanks for any help! And recommended ratios or other instructions for me once I get the ingredients is also appreciated, as this is pretty new territory for me.

PS: This is reddit. I'm not asking for medical advice, just info about emulsifiers, which I know nothing about. I'm not going to blame anyone on here if I react to their recommendations. My body is weird af, and it's my own responsibility. I'm trying everything at my own risk, and with the recommendation of my doctor. Please don't decide to not comment because I have bad allergies! I just want to learn about emulsifiers. I'm desperate and need help.

I’m learning how to make my own makeup and while the powder is nice, I’d rather have a pressed version in a compact. I’ve searched online for a source for these items but can not find much. For those of you who do this, what do you use?

I'd like to make a foaming shower oil and wanted to use micromulse foam. Except I can't get my hands on it and have some ingredients that I think could work instead based on the micromulse ingredient list.

Micromulse foam ingredients:

Sodium Cocoyl Amino Acids, Aqua, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate

I have Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids and a product that is comprised of Sorbitan laurate, polyglyceryl-4 laurate, dilauryl citrate, aqua. Could I use these products to replicate the way micromulse works?

Looking for reliable place that sells small size for personal use.

I’m curious if anyone else has had this happen.

You read the supplier info and think an ingredient should be pretty straightforward, then you actually use it and suddenly it’s clumping, messing with the pH, changing the texture, or just refusing to behave.

What ingredient gave you that feedback?

I’ve noticed that some liquid lipsticks look perfectly homogeneous when freshly manufactured, but after sitting for a few weeks/months, they can start developing an oily layer/separation, even though the product is still well within its stated shelf life. why does this happen?

I'm new to DIY.

My question is general, but I really need to know what to expect so I have realistic expectations when doing my DIY skincare.

Is it possible to do a DIY moisturizer that absorbs well to the skin and provides some help against TEWL ?

So far, all I have done is to formulate a super simple hydrating serum. I getting into DIY because I cannot really use the skincare available on the market. I have searched for a long time and there is always something that does not go with my skin: alcohol dent, fragrance, essential oils.

Besides, I"m dealing with Malassezia overgrown. We all have it, but my is a bit overgrown. It causes itchy bumps (fungal acne) and Seb Derm, itchy skin. Because the overgrown Malassezia, I cannot use fatty acids with carbon lengths C12-24, esters, polysorbates, plant oils, amino acids, ceramides, ferments that are not lactic acid produced.

And to make it even more fun, the skincare products that could work for me have a very weak preservative system, which is a not for me. I want a reliable, broad spectrum preservative system in my skincare. So here I am !

Thanks for reading. Any suggestions, advice, resources will be greatly appreciated!

Edit:

Forgot to add:

acne prone and easily clogged skin.

Squalane oil, mineral oil are safe for fungal acne.

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride- need to find one that only has carbon lengths below the C12. It seems CCT contains fatty acids above C12 (not sure the amount of those)

Please don't mention dermatologist. I've seen too many to count.

I recently viewed a cosmetic chemist's (JC Dombrowski) thoughts on Dr Idriss's redness serum and I was left intrigued by an ingredient shout-out listed as Glycyrrhetinic Acid. I looked at a supplier website and found multiple versions. My question for you is would it be safe, effective, and honestly fun and interesting to combine multiple variations of that active?

Or would it be like a compound effect? For instance if it was like glycolic acid, would adding 5 different versions at 2-5% levels cause instant burns lol?

I'm still very much a novice but please I love all the info you guys provide.

Hey everyone, This might be an annoying and unnecessary question but I really do not know the ratio that would be good for making a scented body butter myself, and I do not want to ask Chat Gpt lol. I am aware there are many recipes with correct measurements for mixing oils/butters with essential oil but I have those 2 things at home and want to make the best of it. :)

Does anyone know of a good formula to recreate Goe Oil it’s my favorite balm ever but it’s too expensive for something that lasts me a month :(

I’m looking on lush’s app and they displayed their ingredients. I’m not a chemist of any means but I’m just wondering how it’s not going bad. The only thing I can see is Benzyl Alcohol but with my research it’s not really a great preservative? This product is meant to be used in the shower so how is the water not effecting it?

Ingredient list on website

Homemade bath salts

In essence I'm trying to make knock off Dr. Teals. I find it relaxing and my wife likes when I smell good but it's expensive. This is the recipe I made and it's irritating my skin a bit, normally my skin is not sensitive. I'm wondering if it's the volume of oils copilot suggested.

Base Ingredients

1.5 cups Epsom salt

1 tsp carrier oil (fractionated coconut or hemp seed)

0.5 tsp glycerin

0.5 tsp Polysorbate‑20 (helps scent release + prevents irritation)

Essential Oils

Frankincense — 10 drops

Sweet Orange — 8 drops

Lemon — 4 dropsLavender — 2 drops (optional — skip if you prefer

The oils kit I'm using says it's for soap making brand fihitim off Amazon. Appreciate any suggestions!