Blog Post Directory

Find every single post that I have made all in one place. 

2025 Blog Posts

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

November:

October:

December:

2024 Blog Posts:

January:

  • Micellar Water Experiment

  • Preservative-Free is Quite Misleading

  • Formulating with Supplier Bases and Formulas

  • Lemon and Tea Tree Facial Toner

  • Quick Post: Working Around Scales Max Capacity

  • Glyceryl Stearate vs. Glyceryl Stearate SE vs. Glyceryl Stearate Citrate

  • Hard to Melt Ingredients

  • High School Level Chemistry Resources

  • Alkyl Sulfates and Alkyl Ether Sulfates

  • Formulating with Optiphen Plus

February:

  • Do we have to worry about chemical reactions?

  • Honey, Aloe, & Shea Hand Wash

  • Working With Powdered Surfactants Video Tutorial + Formulation

  • Fragrance Oils and IFRA

  • Powder Binders used in Color Cosmetics

  • Chapter 2: Measurements and Problem-Solving Video Lecture

  • Anhydrous Antiperspirant with Aluminum Chlorohydrate and Deodorant Formula

March: 

  • Moisturizing & Hydrating Body Wash

  • Sanitization vs. Disinfection vs. Sterilization

  • How Much Fragrance Do I Add?

  • Refined Vs Unrefined/Virgin Oils and Butters

  • Hurdle Technology

  • Calculating Active Surfactant Matter (Updated 2024)

  • How to Read SDS and MSDS Sheets Video

  • Fragrance Oils are Doing Weird Things to My Products

April:

  • Glow Drops

  • Ingredients in Preservatives

  • When Do We Need to Use High Shear?

  • How do Products Get Their Scent

  • What Even Are Cold-Process Emulsifiers?

  • You Must Include These in Your Formulations

May:

  • An Interesting Lesson on Hydrating Gums (Free Post)

  • Formulation Basics: Aqueous Solutions

  • Update

  • My Summer Break Plans

  • Overview of Oil-Soluble Actives

June:

  • ​Glossy Lip Stain​

  • Quick Post: What is the 5% Rule?

  • Can We Add 10% More Water to Account for Water Loss?

  • Working With Pigments

  • Ingredient Medium: Powder vs Pre-dissolved

  • Cooling All-Over Serum (Free Post)

  • What My Chemistry Degree Has Taught Me So Far

July:

  • How Do We Deal With Formulation in Parts or Volume?

  • Converting a Thick Emulsion to Be Pumpable

  • Film Formers and Plasticizers

  • Making More Advanced and Elegant Emulsions

  • Finding the Price of Raw Materials

  • Advanced Topic: Mixing Preservatives

  • Figuring Out the Composition of Raw Materials

  • Getting to the Bottom of Formulation Issues

  • Lab Maintenance and Good Lab Practices

August:

  • Thinking About Scale Up

  • Essential Information on Solubility

  • Hemp Protein and Panthenol Hair Mask

  • Blending Emulsifiers

  • What should the pH be for Niacinamide?

  • Oat Micellar Water

  • Ingredient Guide: Magnesium Aluminium Silicate

  • Ingredient Guide: Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside

  • Visual Example: Why Diluting a Sample Does Not Change the pH Much

  • I Heat and Hold, But Not For the Reason You Might Think

September:

  • Mixing Actives

  • Refreshing Watermelon Body Lotion

October:
November:
December:

Blog Posts 2023

January:

  • Shea & Oat Body Butter

  • Long Lasting Fragrance Spray

  • Color Correctors

February:

  • Introduction to Exfoliation Serum

  • Beginner Moisturizer Formulation

  • Basic Moisturizer: Naturally Compliant

  • Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate

  • Beginner Moisturizer Formulation: Altering The Base Formulation

  • Morning Oats Cleansing Powder

March:​

  • Simple Cleansing Balm

  • ​Video: How to Calibrate Your Scale

  • Polyquaternium-10

  • Making an Emulsion with Glyceryl Stearate and PEG 100 Stearate

  • Formulating Basics: Adding, Removing, and Substituting Ingredients in Formulations

  • Avocado and Vitamin C Serum

  • I bought a New pH Meter

  • Updated Method on Adjusting pH

  • Formulating More Advanced and Complicated Formulations

  • Introduction to Cosmetic Colorants

April:

  • Formulating with Kojic Acid: My Findings + Advanced Formulation

  • Member to Member Discussion

  • Glycolic Acid and Clay Mask (Advanced Formulation)

  • Considerations for Salicylic Acid

  • Rancidity, Oxidation, Autooxidation, and Antioxidants

  • Formulating Moisturizers for Different Skin Types

  • Working with Difficult Emulsifiers: BTMS-25, Ritamulse SCG, and Olivem 1000. 

  • Terpenes and Phenylpropanoids

  • Anhydrous Body Butters: Having Realistic Expectations (Extended Version)

  • Doing CO2 Extraction at Home

May:

  • Further Readings for Coacervation

  • Thoughts on Body Scrubs

  • What Should the pH of our Products Be?

  • Salicylic Acid Posts

  • I Need to be Careful!

  • Glass Can Be Hazardous

  • Natural & Stable Body Lotion Formulation (Ad-Free)

  • Natural Lip Gloss Formulation

  • Formulating a Lip Gloss and Lip Oil 

  • How to Get the Most out of the Blog

  • A Healthy Respect for Chemicals

June:

  • 5 Things to Consider for Color Cosmetics

  • Underpreserved and Overpreserved are Both Bad!

  • Preservative Chart 2023

  • Formulating with Fresh Fruit? + My Thoughts on Formulating with Botanicals

  • Ingredients and Equipment Haul

  • Member Question #1

  • I Need Your Help!

  • Why Do I Use More Than One Wax?

  • Why are Melting Points Given in a Range?

  • What Types of Formulations Would You Like to See?

July:

  • Behentrimonium Chloride Ingredient Guide

  • Decyl Glucoside Lauryl Lactylate Surfactant Blend Ingredient Guide

  • Decyl Glucoside

  • Quick Note for the Blog #2

  • Why do Commercial Products Use so Many Emulsifiers?

  • Cleaning Messes

  • Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate

  • How Stable Does it Need to Be?

  • Shampoo for Oily and Acne-Prone Scalp

  • Oat Emulsified Serum

  • Naturally Compliant Face Wash with Decyl Glucoside

  • Simple Conditioner With BTMS-25

  • Equipment: Overhead Mixer

  • Let's Talk Surfactants

  • Working With Powdered Surfactants

August:

  • Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate

  • Solubilizers in Surfactant Products?

  • Salt Thickening

  • Scaling Up and Making Larger Batches

  • Key Equations for General Chemistry

  • Which Thickeners Can be Used With Cationic Ingredients?

  • Processing Natural Gums

  • Green Tea and Bamboo Facial Scrub

  • Information About pH Meters: IMPORTANT!

  • Can I Let a Product Sit Overnight?

  • Some Thoughts

  • Intro to Carbomer 940

  • 5 Common pH Meter Mistakes

  • Converting My Hair Spray Formulation to a Hair Gel

  • Why do you not see a lot of formulations?

September:

  • Basic Water-in-Silicone Emulsion 

  • Introduction to Water-in-Oil Emulsions

  • Glyceryl Stearate Citrate (GSC) Ingredient Guide

  • Formulating Stock Emulsions

  • What Ingredients Go into What Phase?

  • How to Use a Scale (Video)

  • Factors for Choosing Emulsifiers

  • Quick Post: What Does NF Mean?

  • Vitamin-Enriched Facial Cream

  • How do I know what percentages of Surfactants to Use?

  • I am Just Starting to Make Foaming Surfactant Products. What Do I Need?

October:

  • Where to Find Inspiration for Products?

  • Liquid Makeup Brush Cleanser

  • Grainy Body Butters

  • What Do I Need to Make Eyeshadows?

  • Foaming Bath Whip Base Formula

  • Bakuchiol and Rosehip Facial Serum

  • Converting My Hair Spray Formulation to a Hair Foam

  • Before You Start Using A Ton of Fragrance Oils with Vanilla, Make Sure You Have This Ingredient!

  • Chemistry Anxiety

  • Chapter 1: Introduction to Chemistry Video Lecture

  • Heating and Cooling Formulations

  • What I am Doing to Become a Cosmetic Chemist

  • Why are Viscosity and PH different every time?

November:

  • Surfactant Lessons from the Lab

  • Question: Expiration Date Confusion

  • Deodorant with Sodium Stearate Experiment Video

  • Basic Stick Deodorant with Sodium Stearate Experiment

  • Aluminum Chlorohydrate Ingredient Guide

  • A Game Changer for Finding Posts

  • Taking Notes for Formulations

December:

  • Anhydrous Salicylic Acid and L-Ascorbic Acid Serum

  • I have a Science-Related Degree. How do I get into Cosmetic Formulation?

  • Just Starting Out, What Should I Buy?

  • Inexpensive Ways to Make Emulsions Feel Better With an Example Formula

Blog Posts 2022

January:

  • Three Formulations to Start the New Year

  • ​The different Types of Vitamin E we can use in Formulations​​

  • Density

  • Intro Podcast Post

  • Difference Between Disodium EDTA and Tetrasodium EDTA

  • Brush Shampoo with Sodium Stearate

  • Simple Whipped Body Butter

  • Scaling Formulation (Updated)

  • Anhydrous Cleansers

  • What is Happening? Solublizer Mixture is Clumping

  • Citric Acid Exfoliant

  • Controversial Topic: Dilution Method for PH

February:

  • Formulating With Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI)

  • Quick Tip #1

  • Making a Simple Surfactant Sample Formula With Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate: Not What I Expected

  • My Experience Using My Homogenizer For the First Time With an Emulsion

  • Tips For Formulating Eyeshadows

  • General Method for Making Emulsions

  • All About Glycerin

  • Honey Conditioning Mist

  • Solvents are Not The Same as Solublizers

  • Coco Betaine Vs Cocomidopropyl Betaine

March:​

  • Sunflower Oil Vs. Safflower Oil

  • Salicylic Acid Stock Solution (ADVANCED)

  • Salicylic Acid and Willow Bark Toner

  • Honey Conditioner

  • Don't Make These If You Don't Have The Equipment

  • Argan Condition + Shine Hair Oil

  • Precautions When Formulating

April:

  • Gel-Cream Foundation

  • New Product: Cosmetic Chemistry Lab Notebook

  • Making Bad Formulations Work

  • Using Sodium Lactate Instead of Sodium Citrate

  • Working With What You Have

  • How Much Amphoteric Surfactant Should We Use?

  • Increasing the Solubility of SCI + Test Results

  • Quick Note for Blog Formulations

  • Aloe Vera Stock Solution

May:

  • Increasing the Thermal Stability of Your Formulations

  • Babassu Lip Balm

  • Ingredient Guide for Polawax NF

  • What Should I Look for in a Scale?

  • Intro to Organic Chemistry

  • Lighter Body Scrub 

  • Quick Note for Natural Gums

  • Montanov 68

  • Emulsion Blender: Cleaning After

June:

  • Deliquescence

  • Air in Your Emulsions

  • Chemical Classes of Emulsifiers

  • Making a Facial Cleanser With a New to Me Surfactant

  • Chemical and Lab Safety

  • Vanilla

  • Can We Use a Single Surfactant?

  • Making Your First Emulsion

  • Summer Body Lotion With Aloe, Cucumber, and Watermelon

  • Skin Anatomy

  • Making a 1% HA Stock Solution

  • Basics of Energy, Heat, and Temperature

July:

  • Barrier repair Facial Moisturizer

  • Can Emulsifying Wax NF be used Alone?

  • Temperature Changes: Heat Capacity

  • Formulating Soap

  • Nail Anatomy 

  • Learn About Nail Product Chemistry

August:

  • Testing My Liquid Concealer + Simple Look

  • Dry Heel Salve

  • Overview of the Hair

  • Post Shave Gel

  • Hair Types

  • Basic Body Scrub Formulation

  • Ingredients Used in Hair Care: The Basics

  • Introduction to AHAs, BHAs, and PHAs

  • The Difference Between The Different Cationic Emulsifiers

September:

  • Natural

  • Glycerol Stearate Vs Glyceryl Stearate SE; I am Just As Confused as You Are

  • Defining Different Hair Care Products: Shampoo

  • Formulating with BTMS-25 (Part 1)

  • Defining Different Hair Care Products: Conditioner

  • Where Does the 20-25% Rule Come From?

  • Formulating With BTMS-25 Part 2 Low Viscosity Emulsion

  • How Much Emulsifier Do We Need to Use?

October:

  • How Do We Figure Out the Method For a Formula

  • Tips With Working With Film-Formers

  • Preservative Considerations

  • What is Happening? Aloe Stock Solution

  • Easier AHA Face Mask with Fruit Acids

  • Preservation Misconceptions

  • Glycolic Acid Face Mask

November:

  • Naturally Compliant Micellar Water

  • Chem Box 2

  • Organic Chemistry Resources

  • Deodorant Removal Balm

  • Comparing Coco Betaine, Cocomidopropyl Betaine, and Cocomidopropyl Hydroxysultaine: An Experiment

  • Hair Spray Formulation

  • Insight Into Solubilizing Fragrance Oils

  • Altering The Basic Body Scrub

  • Natural Body Wash

December:

  • Body Butter 3 Ways (With Three Different Formulas)

  • Gel Cream Blush Formulation

  • Common Melting Point Chart

  • Experiment With Me: Lotion Bar

  • Highlighter Balm

2021 Blog Posts:

January:

  • Changes for the New Year + New Series

  • Altering Formulas for Winter

  • My High School Experience (Free Post)

  • Peppermint Lip Gloss (All Over Glow Cream)

  • What can be expected from the new ingredient guide?

  • History of Cosmetics

  • Peppermint Body Balm

  • Troubleshooting Emulsions

  • Peppermint Hand Lotion

  • What are Vegetable Oils?

  • Peppermint Hair Mask

February:

  • Revised Color Theory

  • What is Happening? Color Blending without a Precise Scale?

  • Revised Color Blending Process

  • Conclusion of the Cocoa and Mint Series + How I Think of Themes

  • Simple Massage Oil (Free Post)

  • Updated Ingredient Guide Entry Abyssinian Oil

  • Update Cosmetics Dictionary

  • Protein-Packed Serum

  • Scaling Formulations: A Video

March:

  • Introduction to Cosmetics Claims

  • Dispersion in Color Cosmetics Pt 2

  • When can we use a lower percentage of Preservative?

  • How can we figure out the percentages?

  • Comparing Different Waxy Thickeners

  • Products You will Not See on the Blog (Free Post)

  • Altering Formulas for Spring

  • Will We Use 0.5% of Vitamin E every time?

  • Updated Ingredient Guide: Argan Oil

  • Top 5 Ingredients

  • Formula Directory

April:

  • The Properties of Different Surfactant Types: A Chart

  • Simple Skincare Routines

  • What is Happening? Ingredients will not mix

  • Thread of Bad Advice to Good Advice

  • Updated Ingredient Guide: Jojoba Oil

  • Formulation Notes

  • What Equipment Do I have?

  • Why is pH important?

  • Setting up my pH meter

May:

  • How to Adjust the pH of our products.

  • Tip for coffee grinders

  • Common Formulation Mistakes Part 2

  • How do we make a formula from Starch 

June:

  • ​​What is Happening? My skin is having a reaction

  • Do not do this!

  • Introduction to Chemistry

  • Vegan Lipbalm

  • Formulating From Starch Part 2

  • Formulation Help: Body Scrub

  • Loose Eyeshadow Recipe

  • Foiled Shadows

  • Altering Formulas For Summer

  • Niacinamide Glow Drops

  • What Affects the Efficacy of Formulas?​

July:

  • Lab Safety

  • Tips for Storing Your Ingredients

  • Lab Notebook

  • Reading a Meniscus

  • What is Happening? Oil Layer Forming

  • Types of Water

  • Follow-Up Post to Different Types of Water

  • What are Chelating Agents?

  • How do we become better formulators?

  • Setting Up a Lab

August:

  • Book Announcement

  • Reflection on My First Year of College

  • Useful Chemistry Constant + Printable

  • Scientific Method

  • Basic Equipment to Formulate + Challenge

  • New Product: Formulation Sheet

  • Spotting Bad Science

  • "Going Back to Normal."

  • Pressed Powder Video

  • Creating a Cream Eyeshadow Test #1

  • Cleaning Glassware

  • Physical Scrubs

September:

  • Formulation Tip: Pipette

  • Matter

  • Basic Equipment to Formulate Anhydrous Products

  • Intro Summary

  • Lab Techniques

  • Essential Oil Crash Course

  • Chem Box

  • Marshmallow and Green Tea Eye Gel

  • Units in Chemistry

  • What is Happening? Pilling

October:

  • Math and Algebra Review for Chemistry

  • Basic Equipment for Emulsions

  • Problem Solving in Chemistry

  • Dimensional Analysis 

  • Important Laws in Chemistry

  • Amazon Equipment Haul

  • Pressed Setting Powder Formula

November:

  • What is Happening? Smell of Ingredients

  • Gifting Your Homemade Formulations

  • Basic Equipment to Formulate Color Cosmetics

  • Ingredient List Follow Up

  • What is Happening? Crust is Forming

  • Formulating With Stability in Mind

  • Formulation Warm-Ups

  • Hyperpigmentation Serum

December:

  • Ingredient Comparison: Polysorbate 20 vs. Polysorbate 80

  • Using Solublizers in Formulations

  • Three Year Blog Anniversary

  • Absorption Speed of Vegetable Oils

  • Last Minute Holiday Gifts

  • What Makes a Good Liquid Binder?

2020 Blog Posts

January

  • Inexpensive Eyeshadow Primer

  • Current Skincare Routine

  • How to dupe Eyeshadows

  • Final Formula: It's a 10 Spray

  • Planning the Formula: Garnier Fructis Style Smooth Cream

  • Matte Base Formula

  • Makeup Q&A 1

February 

  • Pressing the Loose Pigment

  • Branding in 2020

  • What is Happening? Adding Extracts to Anhydrous Products

  • Formulating Face washes

  • Formulating Face washes Part 2

  • How to Thicken Face Washes

  • Ingredient Spot Light: Allantoin

March

  • Formulating Toners

  • Formulating Face Masks

  • Formulas For Face Masks

  • Charcoal Face Masks

  • Formulating Face Serums

  • In depth Cut Crease

  • Method for Pressing Matte Eyeshadows

  • Formulating Face Lotions

April

  • How to Improve your Formulations for your Business

  • How to improve your formulas for your business. 

  • How to create a formula form Scratch​

  • Spilling the tea on: Adapting formulas

  • Planning the formulation: Exfoliating Body Lotion

  • Stability Update: Lash and Brow Serum + My Eyebrow Waxing Experience

  • What is Happening Same Ingredients but different?

May 

  • Fragrance in Cosmetics

  • What is Happening? Product is not Pigmented enough

  • Dispersions

  • Update

  • Stability in Cosmetics

June 

  • Antioxidant Rich Body Oil Formula

  • What is Happening, Melting Point of Formulas?

  • Simple Body Spray (Cucumber Melon)

  • Formulating as a Hobby, What they do not tell you!

  • What is Happening, Sediment is a toner?

  • Stability Update in the Silk Eye Cream

July 

  • Summer Shimmer Body Oil

  • Good Manufacturing: the Basics

  • Formulating with Natural Ingredients

  • Summer Body Powder

  • Calculating the Active Content of Extracts

  • Tips For Writing Your Ingredient Lists ​

August

  • I did too much Face Mask

  • What is Happening? My scale is not accurate

  • Should You Buy This?

  • Lip Stain Formula with Color Blends

  • Essential Oil Substitutions

  • What affects the Price of Cosmetics

  • What is Happening? Crystallization in a Toner

  • Comparing a Mortar and Pestle to a Coffee Grinder

  • Formulation Tip/ Hack (Sodium Lactate)

September:

  • Natural Preservatives

  • Higher Percentage Does Not Mean Better

  • Gentle Powder to Foam Cleanser

  • Mature Skin Moisturizer

  • Chemistry Terms That Everyone Should Know

  • What is Happening? My solution is opaque

  • Cherry Almond Body Butter

October:

  • Classic Vegan Bullet Lipstick Formula

  • Reddit Formulation Fix-It #1

  • Improving Wash Off of Products

  • Creating Your Own Extracts

  • Marshmallow Jelly Face Wash

  • Simple Barrier Repair Serum

  • Formulating for Fall: Altering Formulas for the Fall 

  • Fall Eyeshadow Color Blends

November:

  • Reducing the Greasiness of Lotions

  • What are Humectants?

  • All about Eyeshadows

  • What is Happening My Serum is Changing Colors

  • How do we make a more mild surfactant formula?

  • What do I need for Scale Up?

  • What are Cleaning Oils and Balms?

  • Introduction to the Cocoa and Mint Series

December:

  • What is Happening Mold in a Lipbalm?

  • Cocoa & Mint Cleansing Balm

  • Formulating Shortcuts to Make Formulation Faster

  • Second Blog Anniversary

  • What is Happening? Carbomer Clumping

  • Peppermint Face Wash (Free Post)

  • My thoughts on Stearic Acid 

  • Cocoa Mint Facial Serum

  • Peppermint Lip Scrub

  • Peppermint Lip Balm

2019 Blog Posts

December (2018)

January

February

March

  • Dehydrate Skin Serum

  • Skincare routine 2019

  • Exposing Myself

  • BB-cream (No SPF)

  • Loose Pigment

  • Cleansing Cream

  • Simple No-rinse Brush Cleaner

April

  • Wonderful Ingredients that I don't Like that Much

  • Lemon & Ylang Ylang Intense Body Lotion

  • Music Festival Glow Mist 

  • Lemon & Ylang Ylang Nail Oil

May

  • Where I have been

  • Comparing Cosmetics Gels

  • What is Happening? Suspending Oils

  • Summer Spa Series Introduction

June

  • Planning the Formula Coconut & Lime Balm

  • What is Happening? Waxy Pieces

  • Coconut & Lime Refreshing Facial Spray

  • Planning the Formula Coconut & Lime Emulsified Body Scrub

  • How to Customize Packaging to Make it Stand Out from the Others

  • Coconut & Lime Body Scrub (Video)

  • What is Happening? Matte Eyeshadows

July

  • Planning the Mineral Foundation

  • Final Formula Mineral Foundation for Acne Prone & Rosacea

  • Creating an Eye cream

  • Silk Eye Cream

  • My Story

  • Top 5 Ways to Improve Formulas

  • Why You Need a Notebook for Formulations!

August

  • Oil Spot is Eyeshadows; How to fix them

  • Update Post

  • How to Set up a Formulation Notebook

  • What to do when you get a new Ingredient

  • Smoke and Bronze Makeup Tutorial (Video)

  • Ingredient Haul

  • Should You add Fragrance?

  • Professionalism

  • Dupeing a Formula: Red Cherry Lashes Midnight Lash Oil

September

  • What is Happening? Substitutions in Lip Products

  • Failure: It leads to Success

  • Extract Cheat Sheet

  • What is Happening? Gloss too Pigmented

  • The Lessons I am learning in Economics that you can apply to your Business Now!

  • Creating Pressing Media for Eyeshadows

  • Breaking Down Each Cosmetics Product Part 1

  • Breaking Down Each Cosmetics Product Part 2

  • Actives and Easing into them

October

  • Special Announcement

  • Introduction to DIY Cosmetics Posts

  • Actives

  • Cheat Sheet

  • Actives and easing into them​

  • HLB and Emulsion Overview

  • Surfactants

  • Cheat Sheet

  • Emulsifiers

  • Creating a Stable Emulsion

  • Cheat Sheet

  • Solublizers

November

  • Cheat Sheet

  • Introduction to DIY Cosmetics Part 2

  • Creating Liquid Binders for Pressing Eyeshadows Test 1 (No Heat)

  • Can You Get the Same Color Blend as Me?

  • Dupe for Red Cherry Lash Midnight Lash Formula

  • Hyaluronic Acid Lip Mask 

  • What is Happening? Pressed Glitters 

December

  • 10 Ingredients You Should Always Have on Hand

  • What is Happening? Chalky Highlighters

  • Equipment that you should always have on hand

  • One Year Anniversary

    • Formulas of the Year

    • What is Happening Posts of the Year

  • Honest Review: Handcrafting High-end Cosmetic Formula

  • Mineral Liquid Foundation

  • What happens when I love an expensive ingredient?

  • Holiday Red Liquid Lipstick

  • Interview with Clean Faced Cosmetics

  • Winter Glow Highlighter

  • Planning the Formula: Duping It's a 10 Spray