education
Vital formulation information - click the heading below
Did you know, despite what the supplier says, very few natural preservatives actually work.  Learn which natural emulsifiers are effective, how much to use and how to pair them up. As stabilisers are vital for any emulsion, we teach you which ones to use.  Do you know how to scientifically access whether an active truly works? Â
Preservatives
Very few natural preservatives actually work, despite what the supplier says. Click the heading above to learn which natural preservatives are effective, how to pair them up and pass preservative tests
Lotion & Cream Tutorial
Most lotion formulas are unsafe, Click the heading above to learn how to make emulsions properly and safely
How to make an emulsion stable
Click the heading above learn how much emulsifier to use, which natural emulsifiers are effective, how to pair them up and why stabilisers are vital
How to formulate like a pro
Click the heading above to learn how to formulate professionally - how to know which actives really work, how to make improve your lotion, which resources to use, which natural preservatives actually work.
Ingredient Suppliers
Click the heading above to access our worldwide ingredient supplier list
Lotion & Cream Calculator
Click the heading above to access our formulation calculator for different skin types including ingredient costs
Surfactant calculator
Most surfactants are diluted so working out how much to use can be challenging, even for formulators who are great at math. Click the heading above to access our calculator which does all the work for you.
% to Weight & Costs Calculator
Click the heading above to access our formulation calculator which converts % to weight and also calculates ingredient costs
Free online course
Click the heading above to access our free online course. We collaborated with Chemists Corner and Swiftcraftymonkey to bring you this formulation course. Work through the units at your own pace and receive a certificate.
education
Most popular educational posts
We are passionate about teaching how to formulate in a professional, safe way.
Let’s make multi-chrome (3 colors in 1), gel eyeshadow
This article (video below), reveals how to create vibrant, mesmerising multi-chromatic eyeshadow. Each of these color changing gel eyeshadows reflects three different colors depending on the viewing angle – side, straight on, etc., Duochromes (two colors), have been around for a while but dramatic three
Exploring SeaBalance, a new natural cold process emulsifier
SeaBalance 2000 from CarbonWave is a new COSMOS approved, natural, cold-process emulsifier derived from sargassum seaweed. (INCI name: Sargassum Fluitans/Natans Extract (and) Xanthan Gum (and) Pentylene Glycol).  Above is our second lab video and the video at the end of this post is of our first
Make a lotion bar which doubles up as a conditioner bar
Sustainable, solid cosmetics are trending. Our natural, moisturizing lotion bar recipe is easy to make. To make your own, add more emulsifier, butter and thickener in place of water. For an easy to melt, non-greasy bar we like: BTMS-50, berry wax, cetyl palmitate, mango butter,
Making conditioner with Palm Oil Free CosmeGreen ES1822+
Hair conditioners contain cationic surfactants which condition the hair. These cationics adsorb (rather than absorb) to the hair, reducing frizz, increasing shine and help detangle. In this video we tested the new cationic palm-oil free surfactant, CosmeGreen ES1822+, from SurfactGreen. Since its release, many French
Let’s Dupe L’Occitane’s Ultra Thirst-Quenching Gel
To understand the process of how to reverse engineer a cosmetic product, check out the two YouTube videos below which we created with Christine Hwang, Annalisa Branca @skinperspective and Alex Tolstoy for The Ecowell:  Analyzing lotions and creams video Reverse engineering video  Before
Sodium Cocoyl Methyl Isethionate
SCI (Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate) is a commonly used anionic, sulfate-free surfactant, loved by syndet makers for it’s mildness and creamy lather. However, due to its poor water solubility it is usually replaced with SLMI (Sodium Lauryl Methyl Isethionate) in liquid products. SCMI (Sodium Cocoyl Methyl