Principles of Good Formulation Development

Posted on August 22, 2014 by George Deckner

When it comes time to formulate, there are a host of different

steps and processes to keep in mind. The list below highlights
principles to follow so that your formulation excels and your
customers reap the benefits.

1. Formulations must be cosmetically appealing and delight the

consumer.

2. When beginning a project, put together a formulation

strategy outlining the various approaches you are considering
along with a technical rationale.

3. Optimum formulation performance is always a series of

trade-offs between product aesthetics, safety, stability,
processing, and cost.

4. Don’t fall in love with technology, fall in love with consumer

benefits. Creating product stories is easy when you’re delivering
real benefits.

5. Make important formulation choices up front, keeping the end

in mind.

6. Don’t develop technology in a vacuum. Always benchmark against the best formulations available.

7. The hallmark of great formulations is simplicity created by the use of multifunctional ingredients.

8. Always identify the show-stopping issues up front.

9. Use chelants and antioxidants in all formulations as an insurance policy to improve stability.

10. Manage risk by having multiple options (Don’t put all your eggs in one basket).

11. Start stability testing as early as possible on multiple options.

12. Always do your final stability testing in the package you will market.
13. Product viscosity at 40° or 45°C is an excellent predictor of long term emulsion heat stability.

14. Understand global regulations/restrictions regarding ingredient use.

15. Only use non-globally approved materials if the magnitude of the benefit warrants the effort.

16. Evaluate in-house raw materials first before qualifying new materials. This is especially true for excipient
materials like emulsifiers, emollients, and thickeners.

17. Order of addition of ingredients can have a profound effect on process and stability.

18. Beware of the legal paper trail. Don’t speculate in areas outside of your area of expertise in writing.

19. Never kill technology because of cost.

20. Do a freedom to practice review early on your project to avoid running into patents issues.

21. Always understand the chemistry of the materials you are using. Avoid chemical interactions in the formulation
as much as possible. Most cosmetic raw materials are mixtures of ingredients. The impurities and minor components
often can affect product performance more than the major component.

22. Develop specifications for raw materials that are predictive of performance in product. This is especially
important for thickeners and emulsifiers

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Filed Under: Personal Care & Cosmetics

About George Deckner

George Deckner brings over 40 years of experience as a formulating chemist to his role
as a personal care and cosmetics industry expert at Prospector. His rich professional
background in innovative product development, research, material science and
exploratory formulation, as well as a passion for developing products that make
people’s lives more comfortable and happy, inform the articles he writes for
Knowledge.ULProspector.com.