Ifyskin&hair

How to choose the right preservative for a certain formulation?

I am afraid, there's no simple answer to this question. The preservative choice is going to depend on many different factors such as:

- anhydrous or hydrous product

- leave-on or rinse-off product

- your country's safety regulations (e.g Liquid Germall Plus is not allowed for leave-on products in the EU)

- what is the PH of your final product (many preservatives are active in a certain PH range, for example, Optiphen Plus performs best in slightly acidic formulations (PH 6 or below)).

Euxyl PE9010 : This preservative can be inactivated by certain ingredients (like sodium lactate, the high load of surfactants, water-soluble esters like Olivem 300, water-soluble shea, polysorbates,PEG-hydronated castor oil, etc) and it has to be mixed with glycerine or propanediol 1.3, or propylene glycol or sorbitol because it's water solubility is limited.

Hope this helps...

Let's talk about Sepimax Zen

Sepimax Zen is a versatile anionic emulsifier for gels, cream gels, serums, toners, surfactant-based products like face cleansers and body washes, etc. It is stable in a wide pH range (2-8) so this emulsifier can be used in acidic skincare products.

Usage rate: 2% for gel masks
Emulsion stabilizer and thickener - 0.2%- 0.5%
1% for toners

Please note Sepimax Zen is not compatible with cationic ingredients such as BTMS-25, BTMS-50, Polyquartenium 7, Homeyquat, etc.

Good day people
I'll be talking on how one can make skincare products more effective.
1. Have a stable formula.
2. Make sure that u add 1-3% of any anti-aging oil in the cool down phase of your formulation. Ensure that it is included in your formula.
For example, rosehip oil is heat sensitive , so it should be added to the cool down phase.
3. Know the property of your oils. Ensure u know the properties your carrier oil has in the product u are making.

Adding an anti oil to the cool down phase will boost the efficacy of your skincare products. Keep this in mind.
Examples of anti-aging carrier oils are : Rosehip , borage oil, strawberry seed oil, raspberry seed oil, evening primrose oil, moringa oil.

To start your journey as a skincare Formulator,

1. Developing a product concept:
Break your ideas of a new product. This is the point at which you should begin your planning. You'll need a new product concept or idea before you can do anything else. This could be sparked by current trends, something you've already tried but wishes to improve, or just anything that makes you think.
Your immediate environment can also have a significant impact. Research is the key ingredient here.

2. Designing a formula:

This is where you'll need to know what goes into your product. It's simply a desired outcome of all the new product's ideal qualities, characteristics, or elements such as its form, appearance, efficiency, and feel.

The essential ingredients, ratios, makes a claim, labelling, and expense are all factored into the formulation design at this point.

It's also a good idea to think about where you'll sell the goods and how you'll use it.

3. Ingredient research:

Ingredient research is the key to an efficient formulation. The research and understanding becomes easy eventually. It’s not a one-time tone-time learn. You can spend up to several hours researching ingredients since you need to know what kind of formula you want before you can find the proper ones. It's critical to get your materials from the right places.

Selection of ingredients obviously depends on the desired product, its desired efficacy, properties and purpose.

4. Formulate the product:

A formula can be made perfect only if you assure that it fulfills its desired properties, it has a good stability, it’s non-toxic, non-irritant.

This is when you go from a formula on a piece of paper to actual product creation. This is the exciting part! From your first draft, you create the first physical batch.

5. Evaluate the product

Every Formulator should be able to answer this question👇👇
Why did you put that ingredient in your formula?

If you don’t know how to answer this question, the risk is that at some point you will use something useless in your formula (and waste your time and money).

If you know exactly the role of every single ingredient in your formula, you will get a lot of advantages:

👉 You will not waste money by buying ingredients just because you saw them in a formula but without really knowing if you can use them or not.

👉 If something is weird in your final product when you test it out, you can have an idea of what you should change (is it the consistency factor? is it something in the spreadability? is it too fat? etc.)

👉 You will be able to make necessary substitutions

When formulating products for rosaceous skin, ensure to add anti-inflammatory ingredients and antibacterial ingredients like azelaic acid.

Rosacea is believed to be caused by an immune reaction in the skin, and azelaic acid fights bacteria that causes acne rosacea breakouts. It also helps with exfoliation.

To learn more, join my advanced skincare class, specifically for formulators with experience.

When Is a Gel Preferable to a Cream?

Since creams do not contain thickeners, they need to contain a higher amount of fatty base in order to achieve the same degree of viscosity and adherence as a gel. Gel products can contain
up to 70% water, and very low oil content.

Therefore, gels are usually designed for use on oily
skin, on which we do not want to use an oily substance but prefer a more watery preparation.

Similarly, preparations intended for the skin of the scalp are usually gel based, in order to avoid
excess oiliness of the hair.

Note that certain active ingredients mix better in a cream (or ointment) while others mix
better in a gel.

DID YOU KNOW?

♡ Cocoa butter contains natural antioxidants. It helps with dry or itchy skin, stretch marks, skin elasticity, holding moisture in the skin, easing wrinkles, and fading scars and burn marks.

♡ Try it in lotions, creams, balms, body butters, bath products, and soaps. It has a shelf life of up to 5 years.

♡ Cocoa butter is solid at room temperature but quickly melts when it comes in contact with the skin. It is sometimes used to thicken products.

You can buy cocoa butter in two forms: natural or deodorized.

THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT SAY ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTS

When advertising your products, avoid using these words:

1. This cream will make you look younger

2. Our moisturizer repairs the skin's moisture barrier.

3. This soap cures poison ivy(itching rashes)

4. Try this lotion, it will soothe your irritated skin and relieves bites.

If you make health claims, your product becomes a drug. This will require safety testing.

Important notes

♤ To make a Lotion less greasy, reduce the overall Level of oils and butters and change out the oils and butters for dry feeling ones like mango butter, hazelnut oil and macadamia oil.

♤ To make your formula more moisturizing, increase the percentages of the oil phase ingredients and also Glycerin.
Add occlusive ingredients to help guard against transepidermal water loss.

Do you find this helpful?

Season with a reason

DID YOU KNOW?

Cocoa butter contains natural antioxidants. It helps with dry or itchy skin, stretch marks, skin elasticity, holding moisture in the skin, easing wrinkles, and fading scars and burn marks.

Try it in lotions, creams, balms, body butters, bath products, and soaps. It has a shelf life of up to 5 years.

Cocoa butter is solid at room temperature but quickly melts when it comes in contact with the skin. It is sometimes used to thicken products.

You can buy cocoa butter in
two forms: natural or deodorized.