If you have recently decided to create your own skincare products (or rather, if you have decided to learn how to formulate) but you feel completely lost, constantly hit a wall, and find yourself staring at a separated cream asking, “Where did I go wrong?”… hear me out.
This learning journey is a process. You need to master the theoretical chemistry, but you also need to get your hands dirty in the lab. The more you touch the raw materials and observe how they behave, the more you will advance.
I see countless “DIY skincare recipes” on the internet. If you are trying them and failing, it is completely normal. In fact, if you don’t know why you are adding an ingredient or how much you actually need, you haven’t really formulated anything; you just followed a recipe blindly.
The Sourdough Bread Reality
Think about it like this: Anyone can cook. You can go to the kitchen right now and quickly make a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce. But an Italian chef’s Spaghetti Napoletana tastes and feels entirely different. Why? Because the chef understands the technique, the raw material quality, the exact ratios, and the cooking time. Their hands are accustomed to the process.
Or, let’s look at sourdough bread. You can find a highly-rated, viral sourdough recipe online. But if you have zero baking experience, your first loaf will fail 99% of the time (please don’t ask me how I know 🤗🙃). However, if you are determined, if you learn the hydration techniques, and if you do plenty of trial and error, you will eventually bake that perfect, artisan loaf.
Cosmetic formulation is exactly the same. You need the logic, and you need the practice.
As a chemical engineer, here are my top 5 rules to help you stop failing and start formulating like a pro:
1. Specialize Before You Expand
Do not try to learn emulsion systems (lotions, creams) and surfactant systems (shampoos, cleansers) at the same time. They require entirely different chemical principles. Pick one specific product category, master its framework, and only then move on to the next.
2. Understand the Rules of “Substitution”
I get this question all the time: “Can I use this ingredient instead of that one?” There is no single answer. It depends entirely on the chemistry.
For example: “Can I use Cetearyl Alcohol instead of Olivem 1000?” The answer is a hard NO. If you are making an emulsion, you must have an emulsifier (like Olivem 1000) to bind water and oil. Cetearyl Alcohol is just a fatty alcohol; it provides structure, but it cannot emulsify on its own. Your cream will separate.
However, if you ask: “Can I use Cetyl Alcohol or Glyceryl Stearate instead of Cetearyl Alcohol?” The answer is: It depends. Technically, yes, you can swap them because they are all structural agents. But the viscosity, the stability, and the skin feel will change completely. You have to test it and compare.
3. Read the Technical Data Sheets (TDS)
Stop relying solely on blog posts for ingredient usage. Find the right suppliers and read the actual technical documentation for every single raw material you buy. You need to know its optimal pH range, its heat sensitivity, and its exact usage rate.
4. Play the “INCI Decoding” Game
If you want to get good at this, start reading the INCI (ingredient) lists of your favorite commercial products. Try to reverse-engineer them in your head. Why did they use that specific preservative? Which structural agents did they pair with their emulsifier?
Pro Tip: Ingredients are listed from highest percentage to lowest. If a brand claims their product is a “Miracle 10% Active Cream,” but that active ingredient is listed after Phenoxyethanol (a preservative legally capped at 1%), be suspicious. It’s just a marketing dusting. Look at shampoos to see if the surfactant blend is actually gentle. Look at cracked heel creams; did they actually include a keratolytic agent (like Urea or Salicylic Acid) to dissolve dead skin, or did they just pack it with cheap occlusives? Investigate everything.
5. Document Every Single Drop
Take notes. Write down every single trial, every failure, and every observation. You will forget. The reason I can formulate with confidence today is because I have a massive, incredibly detailed archive of research, development, and failed experiments built over years.
Conclusion: Stop Guessing, Start Engineering
Formulation is a beautiful mix of art and hard science. But you don’t have to spend years failing at the beaker to get it right.
I take all of my lab trials, stability testing, and chemical frameworks, and I structure them into logical, easy-to-follow formulation handbooks. There is an immense amount of effort, trial, and real-world experience poured into them so that you can skip the frustration and go straight to creating professional products.
🧪 Ready to Master the Techniques?
Stop relying on random internet recipes. If you want to understand the true chemistry behind emulsifiers, lipids, and stability, check out my comprehensive formulation guides.
Hi Ashley, I looooveeee this blog post. As usual your writing is spot on. Thank you.