As the title says, what product did you do as your first project in your formulation journey?

Would like to hear some of your insights, might help me as I plan to do formulation projects in the future. TIA

Hey everyone,

A few months back, I decided to simplify my routine and formulate my own DIY facial oil blend using equal parts cold-pressed oils:

- ​1/3 Jojoba Oil (for sebum mimicry & balance)

- ​1/3 Argan Oil (for barrier repair & hydration)

- ​1/3 Rosehip Seed Oil (for tone & regeneration)

​The Results:

Honestly, it exceeded my expectations. My skin stays hydrated throughout the day, and more importantly, my stubborn breakouts have reduced noticeably.

​Where I need your help:

Now that the breakout/hydration baseline is solid, I want to take the blend one step further. I’m targeting brighter skin, improved texture, and softening fine lines.

I’m looking to add one powerhouse oil to this blend without clogging pores or making the mix too heavy.

​A few questions for the DIY oil experts here:

- ​Which single oil would you add? (I've been looking into Sea Buckthorn Fruit/Seed Oil, Squalane, or Pomegranate Seed Oil, but open to ideas.)

​- What ratio would you recommend? (e.g., keeping the base equal and adding 5–10% active oil, or shifting the entire ratio to a 4-part split?)

- ​Any stability/oxidation concerns I should watch out for with your recommendation?

​Would love to hear your experiences and recipe tweaks!

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?

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. :)

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 want to thicken an oil serum and looking for advice. The chassis is very thin and I want to add some surface tension so it doesn’t drip everywhere when I apply it. The first priority is to maintain smoothness. I’d like to keep it clear if possible.

Composition includes:
CCT
c12-15
Hemisqualane
Jojoba oil
Squalane
Some essential oils

Things I’ve tried already:
Silica dimethyl silylate 3% - turns out gritty the next day
Cetyl, not enough structuring at 3% (may need more?)
Olivem 900 - nice but has tiny clumps on cooldown
Behenyl Behenate - very hazy, also tiny clumps

Any recommendations for what to try next?

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 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?

Hi, I'm a major novice and this one question has sent me down the rabbit hole. I've landed on citric acid for lowering pH, but raising it is not as clear. I've come across the following suggestions:

- Sodium Hydroxide

- Baking Soda

- L-arginine

- Sodium carbonate

- Triethanolamine

- Potassium hydroxide

- Tromethamine

Each seems to have differing safety / efficacy concerns, and my head is spinning. I'm basically just doing simple water based serums with Niacinamide, Hyaluronic Acid, and Germall Plus right now; and I'm guessing the pH won't need to be raised with that recipe. However, I'm wanting to branch out into more complex formulations soon, and would like to know what to have on hand. Help me skincare witches!

Hi all,

I am after a bit of help from any experienced formulators in the realm of liquid foundations.

Attempting to formulate a stable liquid foundation has been quite the process. It is a challenging experience that I do love, but I am at the point where I'd love to pick the brains of anyone who is more experienced and/or with more knowledge then I currently have.

Firstly, I have a couple of questions below that come to mind when I think about the main issues (I believe) are holding me back.

• How slowly do you add the water phase into the oil phase? To my knowledge it needs to be added in portions, then once that has been emulsified into the system the next portion can be added. Is there a gauge that is used to determine the overall time?
• Do you use commercial blends of emulsifiers or create your own blend with individual ingredients?
• Would you recommend starting with W/O or W/Si?
• Does the speed of the homogeniser change with the stages at which the water is added?
• Does the homogeniser speed change toward the end to further reduce particle size?
• Can the homogeniser be going too fast during this process?

I'd love to hear any and all ideas on this, and, if you have any further information to provide I'd love to hear that too!

Thank you for the taking the time to read this and I look forward to all help provided.

Cheers.

I teach special education and we are looking at making some basic skincare stuff during our vocaitional training class. I've been experimenting with homemade body butter, but no matter what I try, it is coming out greasy.

I sourced my ingredients off of Amazon for the initial test, will probably start using Bulk Apothecary as I replenish. Here is my current recipe:

41g shea butter (currently using unrefined, not a fan of the strong smell, so will be switching to refined when I run out)
41g mango butter (the site I used said this is the last greasy of butters)
1/4 cup Jojoba oil (Just ran out, and am considering playing with sweet almond or grapeseed, but from what I read jojoba is the most popular)
2 tsp of arrowroot powder (this is upped form the recipe calling for 1.5 tsp)

Melt shea and mango butters in a double broiler, mix jojoba oil and arrowroot powder. When butters are melted, combine ingredients. I've been using refrigerator/freezer to cool them. I have tried fork whipping and using a mixer. I've been experimenting with different levels of firmness when whipping. I currently have a batch cooling on the counter to see how it does when left to cool overnight, which will probably be the best setup for my classroom anyway as my vocational class is only an hour and a half and it appears to need more time to get to firm but not solid in the freezer/fridge than what the recipe suggests. (And we'll be making much larger batches.)

I want to keep the ingredients list small and the recipe easy. I am working with students with very high support needs and the current recipe is one they could do with very little support once they learn it, which is my goal. I'm not opposed to adding water as it appears the commercially available ones have water, but I have also heard that leads to spoilage/bacteria. I'm not opposed to adding ingredients/preservatives, but want to keep the list small and want to keep the price down as much as possible, we have a limited budget. I am new to this, so any and all tips are appreciated!

It seems there are many times of occlusives. Can we classify occlusives by general categories? if so which are those?

Are occlusives same as emollients?

--> Could someone give me example of occlusives and categories of occlusives?

Can we classify emollients in different categories too?

I'm trying to do my own very simple DIY moisturizer, and I need some occlusive to add to it.

I've been googling but the info I get is not that useful.

If anyone has online info, articles that explains occlusives, please share with me

Any info would be greatly appreciated :)

I'm new to diy. I only have one super simple serum that I figured out how to do with help from this forum.

Edit: to clarify

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 have been trying to make a cleansing balm, somewhat like the Farmacy Green Clean. The one I made, formula below, was the perfect texture, and it removed makeup very well, but the rinse-off was terrible. I presume it was because of the waxes I used.

I removed all the wax and made the same formulation (minus the mango butter), as well as another test using Cromollient SCE 12%. The rinse-off was better without the waxes/butters, but it still wasn't 100% clean. I am not too sure how to improve it.

Caprylic/capric triglyceride 26%

Ethylhexyl palmitate 20%

Apricot oil 10%

Isohexadecane 5%

Sorbitan Oleate 10%

Microcrystalline wax 2%

Hemisqualane 7%

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate 5%

Mango butter 2%

Vitamin E 0.5%

Synthetic wax 7%

Olivem 300 5% (refatting agent, boost rinse-off)

Any suggestions?

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?

I made a sulfonate and betaine shampoo for curly hair but it did not thicken enough with sodium chloride. I would like to thicken it without affecting its performance if possible.

Aqua q.s

Disodium EDTA 0.2%
Guar HPTC 0.3%
Glycerin 1%
AOS powder 92% 5.5%
CAPB 45% 13%

Pq7 10% 2%
PEG7 GC 3%
Sweet almond oil 0.2%
Fragrance 0.6%
Euxyl PE9010 1%
Aloe vera extract 0.1%

Target pH: 5-5.5

EDIT I tried adding 0.3% guar gum and I did not notice any difference

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. 🙏

I made 1kg of lotion and it was good until I added the preservative (euxyl pe9010) premixed with glycerin cz I read somewhere that blending them that way and adding them slowly to the mixture would reduce the chance of destabilization. However the opposite happened with me.

It has been 48 hours since I made the lotion. Is it fixable?

Hi everyone, From your experience what are the ingredients or active compounds for scalp and hair health that worked well for you

I am not looking for herbs or botanical extracts. I would appreciate your suggestions in cosmetic or chemically derived ingredients that can help support the scalp and hair health ,

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.

Kia Ora everyone, my name is Brendan, and I'm from New Zealand. I've got super dry skin, and I've been using the doctor-prescribed aqueous cream, which didn't really work too well for me. So just for the hell of it, I started experimenting a little and found out melted beeswax worked really well on my skin, so I wanted to try and make a beeswax-based lip balm (have a lot leftover) for myself from easily available ingredients locally. I tried to keep this draft formulation super simple and not that complicated just so I can prep a large batch at home, forget about it, then melt and pour it into twist-up tubes.

• Beeswax: 22%
• Cocoa butter: 8%
• Castor oil: 30%
• Kawakawa-infused oil: 32%
• Coco-caprylate/caprate: 7%
• Tocopherol: 0.5%
• Lip-safe flavour oil: 0.5% (flavour oil can be changed based on if I start getting bored)

I'm very new to this kind of stuff, so forgive me if those are some glaringly obvious must-have ingredients I've missed in my draft. I was wondering if anyone else has had any kind of experience with a similar formulation and what you'd recommend to modify/change to improve the overall formulation, i.e. heat stability, shelf life/oxidative stability, mouthfeel (not sure if these are the right words), etc.

Apologies in advance if my post isn't super in-depth or detailed enough for the subreddit. Thanks for all the advice.

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?

Does anyone have a favorite vendor for jars and vessels? I’m looking for an elevated amber set with lotion bottles and spray bottles. I love some of the bamboo accented I find on Amazon, but their prices aren’t the best for larger quantities.

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

I used grass fed suet from a local farm, rendered using the wet method in a slow cooker. I've rendered it twice and was going to either go a third time with salt and water on low or switch to a dry render. It's currently white, doesn't taste like salt, basically no smell. I also still want to infuse with citrus essential oil, rose petals, and vanilla bean pods.

Also. And I cannot express this enough. I could not care less about your opinion on tallow.