Formulation Skills

Learning outcomes:
• To be able to formulate a product from scratch without following a recipe
• To be able to work methodically and record your formulations in weight
and percentages

Resources available for this Module:

• DOSF2003 - Course Notes
• DOSF2003 - Unit Worksheet
• DOSF2003 - Video: Formulating a Cold Blended Cream
• DOSF2003 - Video: Formulating a Warm Blended Cream
• DOSF2003 - Video: Formulating an Oil Blend

During this course we will go through many different formulations, from body butters to
eye gels, facial tonics to massage oils.

In Step 1 we looked at various ingredients and the categories within which they fall. By
now you should be familiar with a few of them even though we are just starting to
formulate. Have you filled in your notebooks with your thoughts (smell, skin feel, etc)?

In Step 2 we looked at product design and layering and we discussed how those
layers will eventually come together and build up a formula.

In Step 3 we learned how to calculate percentages that will enable you to recreate
your product again and again, regardless of the amount needed.

Now let’s move on to Step 4 - Formulation Skills and Techniques.

Step 4: Formulation Skills & Techniques

In the beginning, it is very easy to get lost in the jungle of ingredients; there are so many
to choose from. As a formulator, it will be your job to choose suitable oils, butters,
botanicals etc. for your product. It is just as essential to blend these ingredients together
in a way that preserves their skin-nourishing properties. For instance, you should never
heat essential oils, as heat will destroy their therapeutic properties. Preservatives are
also very sensitive to high temperatures, as are certain carrier oils.

In this unit we will go through various blending techniques where you will get first hand
experience on how different results can be achieved by using different ingredients and
how varying their percentages within a formula will alter those results.

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 First Steps in Formulation from Scratch
Skin creams, lotions, body butters and serums do not need to be complex emulsions -
they can simply be a blend of different butters and oils.

Some butters, such as shea butter, are better cold-blended, as they can become gritty
when heated. Other butters such as mango butter can be quite gritty when cold-
blended, but become smooth through heating. It’s good to experiment with your
butters on their own before you mix them. Being prepared to experiment is what
makes a good formulator and distinguishes you from recipe followers.

Formulators sometimes experience ‘graininess’ in their shea or mango butters. Butters

and waxes can crystallise as all the different components in the butter melt at a slightly
different temperature. They then also solidify at different temperatures, which can lead
to crystallisation. It depends on which butter you’re using and how you cool the blend.

Butter to oil ratios

• For a solid butter use mostly butters and less oil (between 50-70% butter).
• For a softer ‘cream’ use equal parts of butters to liquid oils.
• For a liquid lotion/serum use mostly oil and only a small amount of butter (30%
butter or less). Some lotions/serums don’t contain any butter at all.

Sample a few butters. Then use the knowledge you have gained from your sampling
session to help you decide which are the best ones to use. And bear the following in
mind:
• Facial products need to be much lighter than body products.
• Creams are heavier than lotions
• Butters are heavier than creams
• Balms can be very hard

Note - to make the blend much creamier add liquid sunflower lecithin (no more than 5%
of total blend).

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 Step 4: Formulation Skills & Techniques
Blending Techniques
When making simple oil blends and creams, blending is an easy process. There are
some differences between cold and warm blending.

Cold-blending
When cold-blending different butters and oils, you need to ‘cream’ the butters using the
back of a spoon (for small samples) or an electric whisk for larger batches until the
butter is really light and smooth. This is identical to the process of preparing dairy butter
for baking a cake!
Once the butters are fully smooth you can then start to mix in the liquid oils until the
blend is fully incorporated. Add your essential oils at the end.

Initial experiment

1. Choose only ONE butter and ONE carrier oil (avoid using expensive oils at this
stage).
2. Write up a formula with the percentages.
3. Cold-blend your ingredients and record your findings (consistency, skin-feel etc).

Take it further:
A. Change your oil or butter - it is a good idea to change only one ingredient at a time.
B. Change the percentages and record how the new formula differs from the initial
experiment.

Record your first formula here:

Stage Ingredient Ingredient Category % gr

Notes:

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 Step 4: Formulation Skills & Techniques
Blending Techniques
Warm-blending
When using hard or grainy butters that need melting (cocoa, mango, etc) a different
technique is employed. If you’re using lecithin, add it to the double boiler (bain marie)
with the butters.

Initial experiment

1. Set up a bain-marie/double boiler. This is intended to melt

your butters gently to retain nutrients and prevent them
from burning—basically it is a heatproof bowl atop a pan
of simmering water.
2. Choose ONE butter and ONE oil and write up
your formula.
3. Add the butter to the bowl and stir while melting.
4. Remove bowl from the pan and set aside to cool for
a couple of minutes.
5. Add the oil gently and stir well.
6. Stand the bowl in ice while whisking to help it coagulate smoothly.
(Once a smooth cold blend is achieved, add your essential oils)

Take it further:
A. Change your oil or butter - it is a good idea to change only one ingredient at a time.
B. Change the percentages and record how the new formula differs from the initial
experiment.

Record your first formula here:

Stage Ingredient Ingredient Category % gr

Notes:

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 Step 4: Formulation Skills & Techniques
Blending Techniques
Blending oils
Blending oils is really easy, they can be blended in a beaker or within a bottle. It can be
challenging, however, to achieve the skin-feel you are looking for.

Some oils have slow absorption rate, making them perfect for a massage blend for
example. Some are soaked up by the skin very quickly, which could be useful for a
facial oil blend. You also need to experiment with the natural aromas oils have. These
might affect your essential oil choice later on. It is your task to choose the oils with
the right properties for your formula. Use the Carrier Oils Handbook to get started.

Initial experiment

1. Choose only TWO carrier oils (avoid using expensive oils at this stage)
2. Write up a formula with the percentages.
3. Blend your ingredients and record your findings (consistency, skin-feel etc).

Take it further:
A. Change your oils - it is a good idea to change only one ingredient at a time.
B. Change the percentages and record how the new formula differs from the initial
experiment. Write down info on skin feel, colour, scent and skin absorption.
C. Add a third oil to your blend and see how that changes the whole blend.

Record your first formula here:

Stage Ingredient Ingredient Category % gr

Notes:

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 Step 4: Formulation Skills & Techniques
Blending Techniques
Blending water-based ingredients
These are very easy to blend and can be done within the bottle. It doesn’t even matter
what order you do it in as long as you shake it well before sampling the product.

Initial experiment

1. Choose only TWO hydrosols (avoid using expensive ones at this stage).
2. Write up a formula with the percentages.
3. Blend your ingredients and record your findings (consistency, skin-feel etc).

Take it further:
A. Change your hydrosols - it is a good idea to change only one ingredient at a time.
B. Change the percentages and record how the new formula differs from the initial
experiment. Write down info on skin feel, colour, scent and anything else you want
to record.

Record your first formula here:

Stage Ingredient Ingredient Category % gr

Notes:

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 Your First Experiment
To practice your blending skills, try to create formulas for the following three products:
1. A cold blended cream
2. A warm blended body butter
3. A facial oil

See the examples on the following pages to help you along. This is the only time we ask
you to follow the examples. This is for you to see how more complex formulas are done.
Although, more importantly this lesson is about perfecting your formulating techniques.

Once you have your foundation in place, you can start to ‘layer’ your formula with the
addition of your other ingredients:
• Active botanicals
• Functional ingredients
• Additives
• Aromaceuticals
• Aesthetics

You don’t have to use ingredients from all five of these ingredient groupings.
Sometimes, you might want to just add aromaceuticals or nothing at all. Other times you
may want to formulate something much more complex.

Don’t panic!
Print out and use the formulation worksheet sheet to help guide you through the
process.

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 Formulation Sheet

Formula Name: Sample Cold-Blended Cream Batch size:

Stage Ingredient Category % gr

1 A Shea butter Foundation 49

2 B Almond oil Foundation 29

3 B Avocado oil Foundation 20

4 C Vitamin E Additive - Antioxidant 1

5 D Chamomile essential oil Aromaceutical 1

10

Formulation procedure:

Follow procedure as on page 4.

Notes: How did you get on with this formulation? Did you have any difficulties at
all? Was there anything you particularly liked?

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 Formulation Sheet

Formula Name: Sample Warm-Blended Cream Batch size:

Stage Ingredient Category % gr

1 A Mango butter Foundation 65

2 A Sunflower oil Foundation 25

3 B Coconut oil Foundation 8

4 C Vitamin E Additive - Antioxidant 1

5 D Lavender essential oil Aromaceutical 1

10

Formulation procedure:

Follow procedure as on page 5.

Notes: How did you get on with this formulation? Did you have any difficulties at
all? Was there anything you particularly liked?

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 Formulation Sheet

Formula Name: Sample Facial Oil Batch size:

Stage Ingredient Category % gr

1 A Sweet almond oil Foundation 50

2 A Jojoba oil Foundation 48

3 B Vitamin E Additive - Antioxidant 1

4 C Rose geranium essential oil Aromaceutical 0.5

5 C Lemon essential oil Aromaceutical 0.5

10

Formulation procedure:

Follow procedure as on page 6.

Notes: How did you get on with this formulation? Did you have any difficulties at
all? Was there anything you particularly liked?

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 Study Activity 1
Create your own formulas for:
- a cold-blend body cream (cold blending technique)
- a warm-blend body cream (warm blending technique)
- a facial oil (oil blending technique)

Before you start, use the formulation flowchart to help you with product design and
ingredients. Use this space to write down your thoughts.

When you feel ready, move forward and design your very own products using the
formulation sheets.

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Formulation Sheet

Use this formulation sheet to write down your own Cold-Blended Cream formula.
Formula Name: Batch size:

Stage Ingredient Category % gr

10

Formulation procedure:

Notes:

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Formulation Sheet

Use this formulation sheet to write down your own Warm-Blended Cream formula.
Formula Name: Batch size:

Stage Ingredient Category % gr

10

Formulation procedure:

Notes:

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Formulation Sheet

Use this formulation sheet to write down your own Facial Oil formula.
Formula Name: Batch size:

Stage Ingredient Category % gr

10

Formulation procedure:

Notes:

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Study Activity 2

Now that you have created a few formulation designs, calculations and actual
products, you can reflect on your experience.

Think about the process of product design.

- Did you understand the steps you needed to take?
- Did you create a formula you were happy with? Why?
- Did you create a formula you are unhappy with? Why?
- Is there something you felt unsure about and you felt you needed help with?

Use this space to write down anything you’d like to remember or even ask about.

Remember, we have the online classroom to get help whenever you need.
Post your questions anytime to get help from fellow students in the Online
Classroom or look for the ‘Ask the Tutor Forum’ in your ELearning Platform.
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