Getting started · Beginner ·
Seven mistakes every beginner formulator makes (and how to avoid them)
Most failed first batches come down to the same handful of habits. Fix these and you skip months of frustration.
Key takeaways
- Use a scale, distilled water and a proper preservative: that alone fixes most problems.
- Change one variable at a time, and write everything down.
- More actives does not mean better results, and often means irritation.
Everyone makes these mistakes, and they are all fixable. Here are the seven that cause the most failed batches, and what to do instead.
1. Measuring with spoons and cups
A teaspoon of shea butter and a teaspoon of glycerin weigh very different amounts. Formulas are written in percentages by weight, so you need a digital scale accurate to 0.01 g. It is the single best purchase you can make.
2. Skipping the preservative
Anything that contains water, or that gets touched by wet hands, can grow bacteria, yeast and mold, sometimes without visible signs. Vitamin E, essential oils, honey and grapefruit seed extract do not preserve a product. See Preservatives 101.
3. Using tap water
Tap water carries minerals and microbes that can destabilise an emulsion and weaken your preservative. Use distilled or deionised water for everything.
4. Changing five things at once
If you swap the oil, raise the emulsifier and add a new active in one go, you will never know which change helped or hurt. Change one thing per batch.
5. Ignoring pH
Preservatives and actives only work inside a pH window. Niacinamide, for example, is happiest at pH 5-6, while a benzoate/sorbate preservative stops working above 5.5. Test every water-based batch (how).
6. Piling on actives
More is not better. Each active has a usage range in the ingredient library, and going above it increases the chance of irritation without extra benefit. Start with one or two actives at modest levels.
7. Not keeping notes or labels
Three weeks later you will not remember which batch was which. Keep a batch log (date, lot number, exact weights, observations) and label every container. The Lab Batch Ticket you can print from the Studio (Print menu) is built for exactly this.