Blog Post Directory

Find every single post that I have made in one place. Looking for older content? Use your browser’s Ctrl/Cmd + F on this page. (Updated 6/16/26)

If you can not find a post, message me. I can see if I have it or make a post on that topic.

2026 Blog Posts

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

November:

October:

December:

2025 Blog Posts

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

2024 Blog Posts:

January:

  • Micellar Water Experiment

  • Preservative-Free is Quite Misleading

  • Formulating with Supplier Bases and Formulas

  • Lemon and Tea Tree Facial Toner

  • Quick Post: Working Around Scales Max Capacity

  • Glyceryl Stearate vs. Glyceryl Stearate SE vs. Glyceryl Stearate Citrate

  • Hard to Melt Ingredients

  • High School Level Chemistry Resources

  • Alkyl Sulfates and Alkyl Ether Sulfates

  • Formulating with Optiphen Plus

February:

  • Do we have to worry about chemical reactions?

  • Honey, Aloe, & Shea Hand Wash

  • Working With Powdered Surfactants Video Tutorial + Formulation Oils and IFRA

  • Powder Binders used in Color Cosmetics

  • Chapter 2: Measurements and Problem-Solving Video Lecture

  • Anhydrous Antiperspirant with Aluminum Chlorohydrate and Deodorant Formula

March: 

  • Moisturizing & Hydrating Body Wash

  • Sanitization vs. Disinfection vs. Sterilization

  • How Much Fragrance Do I Add?

  • Refined Vs Unrefined/Virgin Oils and Butters

  • Hurdle Technology

  • Calculating Active Surfactant Matter (Updated 2024)

  • How to Read SDS and MSDS Sheets Video

  • Fragrance Oils are Doing Weird Things to My Products

April:

  • Glow Drops

  • Ingredients in Preservatives

  • When Do We Need to Use High Shear?

  • How do Products Get Their Scent

  • What Even Are Cold-Process Emulsifiers?

  • You Must Include These in Your Formulations

May:

  • An Interesting Lesson on Hydrating Gums (Free Post)

  • Formulation Basics: Aqueous Solutions

  • Update

  • My Summer Break Plans

  • Overview of Oil-Soluble Actives

June:

  • ​Glossy Lip Stain​

  • Quick Post: What is the 5% Rule?

  • Can We Add 10% More Water to Account for Water Loss?

  • Working With Pigments

  • Ingredient Medium: Powder vs Pre-dissolved

  • Cooling All-Over Serum (Free Post)

  • What My Chemistry Degree Has Taught Me So Far

July:

  • How Do We Deal With Formulation in Parts or Volume?

  • Converting a Thick Emulsion to Be Pumpable

  • Film Formers and Plasticizers

  • Making More Advanced and Elegant Emulsions

  • Finding the Price of Raw Materials

  • Advanced Topic: Mixing Preservatives

  • Figuring Out the Composition of Raw Materials

  • Getting to the Bottom of Formulation Issues

  • Lab Maintenance and Good Lab Practices

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

Blog Posts 2023

January:

February:

  • Introduction to Exfoliation Serum

  • Beginner Moisturizer Formulation

  • Basic Moisturizer: Naturally Compliant

  • Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate

  • Beginner Moisturizer Formulation: Altering The Base Formulation

  • Morning Oats Cleansing Powder

March:​

  • Simple Cleansing Balm

  • ​Video: How to Calibrate Your Scale

  • Polyquaternium-10

  • Making an Emulsion with Glyceryl Stearate and PEG 100 Stearate

  • Formulating Basics: Adding, Removing, and Substituting Ingredients in Formulations

  • Avocado and Vitamin C Serum

  • I bought a New pH Meter

  • Updated Method for Adjusting pH

  • Formulating More Advanced and Complicated Formulations

  • Introduction to Cosmetic Colorants

April:

  • Formulating with Kojic Acid: My Findings + Advanced Formulation

  • Member to Member Discussion

  • Glycolic Acid and Clay Mask (Advanced Formulation)

  • Considerations for Salicylic Acid

  • Rancidity, Oxidation, Autooxidation, and Antioxidants

  • Formulating Moisturizers for Different Skin Types

  • Working with Difficult Emulsifiers: BTMS-25, Ritamulse SCG, and Olivem 1000. 

  • Terpenes and Phenylpropanoids

  • Anhydrous Body Butters: Having Realistic Expectations (Extended Version)

  • Doing CO2 Extraction at Home

May:

  • Further Readings for Coacervation

  • Thoughts on Body Scrubs

  • What Should the pH of our Products Be?

  • Salicylic Acid Posts

  • I Need to be Careful!

  • Glass Can Be Hazardous

  • Natural & Stable Body Lotion Formulation (Ad-Free)

  • Natural Lip Gloss Formulation

  • Formulating a Lip Gloss and Lip Oil 

  • How to Get the Most out of the Blog

  • A Healthy Respect for Chemicals

June:

  • 5 Things to Consider for Color Cosmetics

  • Underpreserved and Overpreserved are Both Bad!

  • Preservative Chart 2023

  • Formulating with Fresh Fruit? + My Thoughts on Formulating with Botanicals

  • Ingredients and Equipment Haul

  • Member Question #1

  • I Need Your Help!

  • Why Do I Use More Than One Wax?

  • Why are Melting Points Given in a Range?

  • What Types of Formulations Would You Like to See?

July:

  • Behentrimonium Chloride Ingredient Guide

  • Decyl Glucoside Lauryl Lactylate Surfactant Blend Ingredient Guide

  • Decyl Glucoside

  • Quick Note for the Blog #2

  • Why do Commercial Products Use so Many Emulsifiers?

  • Cleaning Messes

  • Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate

  • How Stable Does it Need to Be?

  • Shampoo for Oily and Acne-Prone Scalp

  • Oat Emulsified Serum

  • Naturally Compliant Face Wash with Decyl Glucoside

  • Simple Conditioner With BTMS-25

  • Equipment: Overhead Mixer

  • Let's Talk Surfactants

  • Working With Powdered Surfactants

August:

  • Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate

  • Solubilizers in Surfactant Products?

  • Salt Thickening

  • Scaling Up and Making Larger Batches

  • Key Equations for General Chemistry

  • Which Thickeners Can be Used With Cationic Ingredients?

  • Processing Natural Gums

  • Green Tea and Bamboo Facial Scrub

  • Information About pH Meters: IMPORTANT!

  • Can I Let a Product Sit Overnight?

  • Some Thoughts

  • Intro to Carbomer 940

  • 5 Common pH Meter Mistakes

  • Converting My Hair Spray Formulation to a Hair Gel

  • Why don't you see many formulations?

September:

  • Basic Water-in-Silicone Emulsion 

  • Introduction to Water-in-Oil Emulsions

  • Glyceryl Stearate Citrate (GSC) Ingredient Guide

  • Formulating Stock Emulsions

  • What Ingredients Go into What Phase?

  • How to Use a Scale (Video)

  • Factors for Choosing Emulsifiers

  • Quick Post: What Does NF Mean?

  • Vitamin-Enriched Facial Cream

  • How do I know what percentages of Surfactants to Use?

  • I am Just Starting to Make Foaming Surfactant Products. What Do I Need?

October:

  • Where to Find Inspiration for Products?

  • Liquid Makeup Brush Cleanser

  • Grainy Body Butters

  • What Do I Need to Make Eyeshadows?

  • Foaming Bath Whip Base Formula

  • Bakuchiol and Rosehip Facial Serum

  • Converting My Hair Spray Formulation to a Hair Foam

  • Before You Start Using A Ton of Fragrance Oils with Vanilla, Make Sure You Have This Ingredient!

  • Chemistry Anxiety

  • Chapter 1: Introduction to Chemistry Video Lecture

  • Heating and Cooling Formulations

  • What I am Doing to Become a Cosmetic Chemist

  • Why are Viscosity and PH different every time?

November:

  • Surfactant Lessons from the Lab

  • Question: Expiration Date Confusion

  • Deodorant with Sodium Stearate Experiment Video

  • Basic Stick Deodorant with Sodium Stearate Experiment

  • Aluminum Chlorohydrate Ingredient Guide

  • A Game Changer for Finding Posts

  • Taking Notes for Formulations

December:

  • Anhydrous Salicylic Acid and L-Ascorbic Acid Serum

  • I have a Science-Related Degree. How do I get into Cosmetic Formulation?

  • Just Starting, What Should I Buy?

  • Inexpensive Ways to Make Emulsions Feel Better With an Example Formula

Blog Posts 2022

January:

February:

March:​

April:

May:

June:

  • Deliquescence

  • Air in Your Emulsions

  • Chemical Classes of Emulsifiers

  • Making a Facial Cleanser With a New-to-Me Surfactant

  • Chemical and Lab Safety

  • Vanilla

  • Can We Use a Single Surfactant?

  • Making Your First Emulsion

  • Summer Body Lotion With Aloe, Cucumber, and Watermelon

  • Skin Anatomy

  • Making a 1% HA Stock Solution

  • Basics of Energy, Heat, and Temperature

July:

  • Barrier Repair Facial Moisturizer

  • Can Emulsifying Wax NF be used Alone?

  • Temperature Changes: Heat Capacity

  • Formulating Soap

  • Nail Anatomy 

  • Learn About Nail Product Chemistry

August:

  • Testing My Liquid Concealer + Simple Look

  • Dry Heel Salve

  • Overview of the Hair

  • Post Shave Gel

  • Hair Types

  • Basic Body Scrub Formulation

  • Ingredients Used in Hair Care: The Basics

  • Introduction to AHAs, BHAs, and PHAs

  • The Difference Between The Different Cationic Emulsifiers

September:

  • Natural

  • Glycerol Stearate Vs Glyceryl Stearate SE; I am Just As Confused as You Are

  • Defining Different Hair Care Products: Shampoo

  • Formulating with BTMS-25 (Part 1)

  • Defining Different Hair Care Products: Conditioner

  • Where Does the 20-25% Rule Come From?

  • Formulating With BTMS-25 Part 2 Low Viscosity Emulsion

  • How Much Emulsifier Do We Need?

October:

November:

December:

2021 Blog Posts:

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

2020 Blog Posts

January

February 

March

April

May

June 

July 

August

September:

October:

November:

December:

2019 Blog Posts

December (2018)

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October:

November:

December: