Here are 10 essential skincare formulation tips to help you create effective, high-quality products:

1. Understand Your Ingredients 🌿

• Learn about active vs. functional ingredients and their roles. This a hugely important. You need to understand your ingredients in depth in order to know what are they, what do they do, how they behave and mix or interact with other ingredients in the same product.
• Research ingredient compatibility to avoid stability issues.

2. Know Your pH Levels ⚖️

• Skin-friendly pH is around 4.5–6.0 for most formulations. Unless stated otherwise in specific products that requires lower pH
• pH affects product stability, effectiveness, and skin tolerance.

3. Use Preservatives Wisely 🧴

• Water-based products must have preservatives to prevent microbial growth.
• Choose broad-spectrum natural preservatives and create a preservation system that includes preservative boosters .

4. Measure Accurately ⚗️

• Use a digital scale (0.01g accuracy) for precise ingredient measurement.
• Avoid using cups or spoons— skincare formulation is not the same as DIY skincare mixing !

5. Always Test Stability 🧪

• Perform stability tests to check for separation, discoloration, and microbial contamination.
• Store samples at different temperatures (room temp, fridge, heat) to see how they hold up.
• Write down all the observations

6. Choose the Right Emulsifier 🥛

• If making creams or lotions, use an effective emulsifier
• Emulsifiers prevent separation of oil and water phases.
• Co-emulsifiers, thickeners and stabilizers will help the emulsion be stable

7. Avoid Overheating Active Ingredients 🔥

• Many actives (like Vitamin C, Retinol, and Hyaluronic Acid) degrade at high temperatures.
• Add them at cool-down phase (below 40°C) to maintain effectiveness.

8. Mix Water & Oil Phases Correctly 💧+🛢️

• Heat both phases separately to the same temperature before mixing.
• Slowly blend oil into water (not the other way around) for a smooth emulsion.

9. Keep It Simple (Less is More!) 🎯

• Start with a basic formula before adding multiple actives.
• Too many ingredients can cause instability, irritation, or reduce effectiveness.

10. Document Every Formula 📖

• Keep a formulation journal with exact measurements, process notes, and observations.
• Leave the final product to rest overnight and evaluate in the morning. Take notes
• Helps in troubleshooting and improving your recipes over time.

Would you like to learn to formulate skincare the proper way? Check out my course !

Cheers,

La Mayca x

Certificate in Advanced Cosmetic Science