Cosmetic Your Ways Blog

Zachariah Kovac Zachariah Kovac

How to Use a Scale (Video)

In this video, I go over how to calibrate your scale, when to calibrate your scale, and three different methods to weigh ingredients.

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Zachariah Kovac Zachariah Kovac

What Ingredients Go into What Phase?

I have gotten this question quite a lot from new formulators, and I would agree that this can be really confusing for people starting out. So let's talk about it. 

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Formulating Stock Emulsions
Zachariah Kovac Zachariah Kovac

Formulating Stock Emulsions

In this post, I will discuss how to formulate stock emulsion formations. These are formulas that are stable no matter what you would add to them. High electrolytes, acids, actives, extracts, etc. These are used by brands as a chassis so they can stability test the formula. When they need to add ingredients for marketing, they have the confidence that it will be stable. They still need to test it real time. Even if you are not a brand, this is a great way to customize a formulation later as well. For example, making a base of lotion and then scent it for the season.

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Zachariah Kovac Zachariah Kovac

Glyceryl Stearate Citrate (GSC) Ingredient Guide

This emulsifier was introduced to me by the Institute of Personal Care Science. They use this in combination with Olivem 1000 a lot.  ​I have not used it as a sole emulsifier. So, I wanted to make an ingredient guide to share my findings.

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Zachariah Kovac Zachariah Kovac

Introduction to Water-In-Oil Emulsions

I have seen some interest in water-in-oil emulsions. Therefore, I wanted to create a dedicated post for them. If you have not previously formulated an oil-in-water emulsion, I recommend skipping this post. As this is a more intermediate to advanced topic. Check the "New to Formulating" section. I have all the theory for making oil-in-water emulsions there. That is what I recommend starting with. This post will be confusing because everything is the opposite of an oil-in-water emulsion. 

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Zachariah Kovac Zachariah Kovac

Daily Body Wash with Sulfates (2 Versions)

I am in need of a daily body want that I can use. Yes, I know that you need to wash your body every day. My other body wash has acids in it to make it exfoliating. I don’t want to over exfoliate so I needed another body wash. 

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Working with Powdered Surfactants​
Zachariah Kovac Zachariah Kovac

Working with Powdered Surfactants​

Surfactants usually come in three different forms. Liquids, pastes, or powders. In this post, I want to share how to formulate with surfactant powders.

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Disclaimer:

You are at your own risk when making anything from this blog. I am not liable for any mishaps that may occur. I do my best to include everything in the procedure to minimize the likelihood of accidents. My recommendation is always to read the post entirely first and then make the product.
Please keep in mind that these recipes/formulations are NOT meant to be sold or reproduced in large quantities. None of my recipes has been appropriately stability tested. I recommend seeking professional help if you want to start your own line of business. (
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Always test a patch of new ingredients before using them.
Comments and opinions written by authors on Cosmetic Your Ways are their own and do not represent the views of any past, present, or future employers.

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