Before you start creating your lotion formula you first need to consider…
What skin type are you formulating for?
Will this moisturizer be for AM or PM?
What benefits would you like the product to have on the skin?
What do you want the product to feel like on the skin? (Sensory feel)
How will this product be packaged? (Jar, pump bottle, etc)
Who is this product for?
Cost of materials?
What does the final pH of this product need to be?
What skin type are you formulating for?
Dry Skin
Those with dry skin may prefer a heavier or thicker moisturizer. Use a good combination of humectants, emollients, and occlusives to help keep their skin from drying out. I personally have dry skin, so I will be talking from my own personal opinion on this one.
I don’t worry as much about how long it takes to rub in the moisturizer or if it feels heavy on my skin. Honestly I kind of prefer a moisturizer for my face that takes a little longer to rub in because I feel like it’s actually moisturizing my skin and isn’t instantly getting sucked up into my skin. Of course I don’t want it to be like a sunscreen type of rub in time. I also like when the moisturizer feels heavier on my skin. I want my skin to feel like I just applied a moisturizer, like I said, I don’t want it to instantly disappear into my skin. So picking ingredients that might take a little longer to sink into the skin might be a good choice. I really enjoy butters in a face moisturizer, but this may feel too heavy for someone with normal or oily skin. I also tend to reach for a blend of light oils like Jojoba Oil combined with a heavier/medium oil like apricot kernel oil. Now I do want to say that I don’t like when a moisturizer feels sticky, so there is a fine line here. Also this is just my opinion. Overall as someone with dry skin, I want my skin to be left feeling, soft, supple, and actually feel like something is on my skin, but not feeling sticky. I also want to feel like it’s staying hydrated and moisturized. So adding in enough occlusive is important. Someone else with dry skin might have a different opinion. This is also why you need to consider Who the product is for, which is another category I’lll talk about.
Oily Skin
Those with oily skin might want a more light weight moisturizer. Gel creams seem to be the most popular. Make sure you are still using humectants, emollients, and occlusives, but try to stick with ones that feel more “non existent on the skin” for example Petroleum Jelly will be way to heavy of an occlusive, but caprylic capric triglyceride or squalane would be perfect! Quick absorption time, I think, is most important for those with oily skin. When it comes to your emollient, again stick with light weight quick absorbing emollients. caprylic capric triglyceride & squalane are also emollients. When it comes to choosing plant oils you might want to stick with oils that are high in Linoleic acid. Those with oily skin have been found to have less Linoleic acid, so use oils like safflower oil & grapeseed oil. But other oils like Jojoba Oil which is extremely similar to our skins natural sebum is also great for oily skin types. But for those with oily skin they might be looking for an “oil free” moisturizer. So you will want to skip the natural plant oils and stick with things like caprylic capric triglyceride, squalane, isopropyl myristate (IPM), Coco Caprylate/Caprate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate. These are all, what I like to describe as “oil free oils”. Humectants can also help with oily skin, a lot! Since they typically are not heavy or oily on the skin. So make sure you are adding in a good blend of humectants. Often times those with oily skin may be dehydrated since they tend to like to “dry” out their skin to get rid of that oily feeling. So sticking with lots of humectants, light weight emollients and occlusives is the way to go.
Combination Skin
Those with combination skin tends to have a lot of the same needs as someone with oily skin. So sticking with a light weight moisturizer or gel cream is best. Use emollient’s that are similar to our skins natural sebum like Jojoba Oil or squalane. Stick with light weight ingredients like “oil free oils” and light weight occlusives. Also, don’t forget the humectant!
Normal Skin
Honestly, I think this is really where it comes down to “Who the product is for”. Some people can have normal skin, but maybe it’s summer and they are sweating though the day, so they might want a lighter moisturizer. Maybe it’s winter and it’s super dry in their homes, so they need a thicker moisturizer. Maybe they are someone who prefers a gel cream, maybe they like a thicker moisturizer. With normal skin, my best advice is to make a moisturizer with a blend of humectants, emollients and occlusives, that aren’t too heavy on the skin, you don’t need to worry about only using “oil free oils”. Try using ingredients that are similar to our skins natural sebum like jojoba oil. Add in must have ingredients like niacinamide, panthenol, hyaluronic acid, Aloe Vera, ceramides, Vitamin E, vitamin C. These are all really popular marketable ingredients.
Sensitive Skin
It might be best to stick with a very minimal ingredient list. That way if they do have a reaction it’s easier to figure out what ingredient is causing it. Lots of botanicals can also cause reactions in sensitive skin. So staying away from plant extracts and plant oils might also be a good idea here.
Mature Skin
Those with mature skin might be looking for ingredients like hyaluronic acid, collagen, retinol, ceramide, vitamin C, Vitamin E, AHAs, ingredients to minimize appearance of pores or fine lines. The list can go on and on. Mature skin may also prefer heavier products since as we age our skin looses the ability to hold on to moisture. So lots of humectants, emollients, and occlusives is a must have!
Will this moisturizer be for AM or PM?
AM moisturizers tend to be more light weight, packed with ingredients like antioxidants, niacinamide, & panthenol. Niacinamide and Vitamin C are two extremely popular ingredients that come to mind when I think of an AM Moisturizer. Overall, you want to avoid using ingredients that may cause sensitivity to the sun like AHAs (lactic acid & glycolic acid), BHAs (salicylic acid), and retinoids. AM moisturizers sometimes will contain SPFs (but remember we can’t make SPFs at home) and AM moisturizers need to work well under makeup.
PM moisturizers tend to be heavier, may contain more occlusives and have skin renewing ingredients like retinoids. They can also contain exfoliating ingredients like AHAs or BHAs. Basically this is where you want to add in all of those expensive ingredients that can help beautify the skin overnight. You don’t need to worry about sun protection or makeup application.
What benefits would you like the product to have on the skin?
Are there specific skin concerns you are trying to target?
We already talked about, oily dry combination normal sensitive and mature skin, but here I am more specifically talking about things like brightening the skin/ treating dark spots, exfoliating the skin, Mattifying the skin, firming, peptides, etc.
What do you want the product to feel like on the skin? (Sensory feel)
This again kind of falls under oily dry combination normal skin, but no matter what skin type your formulating for you want to keep the sensory feel in mind. Even if you do formulate a lightweight gel cream, how does it actually act once it's on the skin? does it cause pilling? Does that heavier moisturizer for dry skin rub in like a sunscreen? Does the final product feel way too sticky? The final sensory feel of your product may be the most important thing about your product. If it doesn't leave your customers skin or your skin feeling great afterwards, then you probably won't use the moisturizer, even if it is packed with amazing beneficial ingredients.
How will this product be packaged? (Jar, pump, etc)
Another important thing to considered is how you want to package your moisturizer. If you want to use it in a pump you might have to stick with a thinner formula for your moisturizer. If it's going in a jar you can make it thicker. If you are using ingredients like vitamin C that is light sensitive, you will want it to be packaged in a bottle or jar that is dark so light doesn't reach it. The final packaging of your product, again can make or break your product. Vitamin C is also really sensitive to oxygen so vitamin C products should also be in a pump bottle so less oxygen gets to it. If you are selling products online you might want to use plastic containers instead of glass since it will be cheaper to ship. So be mindful of your final packaging for your product.
Who is this product for?
Again I feel like this kind of overlaps with the different skin types; oily normal dry etc. But even if somebody does have dry skin they still might prefer a moisturizer that absorbs quickly. Maybe they are younger so you definitely don't need ingredients like retinoids. Is the person extremely picky about how products feel on their skin? Maybe this person doesn't like to stick their hands in jars, then put the moisturizer in a pump bottle. Overall your target audience or specific person for the product should be kept in mind during every phase of creating the product.
Cost of materials?
This might be more important for those of you who are selling your moisturizer. And if you are selling, you want to consider the final cost of your product. See which emulsifiers are the cheapest. Of course don't cheap out and get ingredients that make the product feel or preform worse, but do consider trying the cheaper emulsifier versus the more expensive emulsifier. You might find that the cheaper one works just as well. Or for example, glycerin has been shown to work just as well as hyaluronic acid. So using glycerin instead of hyaluronic acid can keep the final cost of your product down. But also it's important to consider that hyaluronic acid is extremely marketable to consumers. So if you are using these more expensive ingredients like hyaluronic acid, use that as a marketing term on the front of the package or description of the product. Just have it somewhere where potential consumers will see it so you're using it as a selling point as well.
Also remember that more isn't always better. So don't be using your ingredients at the highest recommended usage rate. Instead use them at a percentage that performs best in the product, while still keeping the cost value down. For example you don't need 10% niacinamide in a daily moisturizer, 2% is enough. You don't need to use 10% panthenol, 1 to 2% would be fine. If you are using botanical extracts, don't be using those at 10%, again 1% to 2% is fine. & actually keeping your botanical extracts down in your formula well create a product that is easier to preserve. Also checking with different suppliers and comparing costs of ingredients is important to do. Remember, the more ingredients you buy at once from any supplier, keeps your shipping value down. The cost of shipping the ingredients to you should also be taken into consideration for the final cost of your product. If you wanna see a video on how to calculate the cost of your materials Watch here. If you want to see a video on how to price your products, watch here.
What does the final pH of this product need to be?
Our skin is naturally acidic. On average the skins pH is between 4.5 to 5.5. So most of the time you want your Final product to have a pH somewhere between 4.5-5.5. But also you need to consider the ingredients you are using. Some ingredients like niacinamide need to be in a pH around 6. So as you are choosing your ingredients for your moisturizer you need to research what pH those ingredients are active in. If you are purchasing from ingredient suppliers like lotioncrafter.com, formulatorsampleshop.com, makingcosmetics.com, Naturalbulksupplies.com, makeyourown.buzz, etc. This information should be provided in the description of each ingredient. Typically with things like plant oils, butters, glycerin, those can basically be in any pH level. When you get into things like vitamins and actives such as; panthenol, niacinamide, vitamin C, retinoids, AHAs, BHAs, brightening ingredients like Alpha-Arbutin, you really need to figure out what pH they are active in and formulate around that.
If you want to learn more about pH. go watch my video all about pH
There are probably more things you should be considering that maybe I didn't think of. But these are the things that I thought of at the time of writing this.
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