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Equipment & Sanitation Formulating Cosmetics - Formulating for Beginners

Updated: May 13, 2022


Formulating for Beginners;

As a beginner I know it can be really difficult to figure out what equipment to buy. It is also hard to figure out good sanitation practice. I'll be discussing both of these today. I've compiled a list of all the equipment and sanitation equipment that I think is needed. (or at least things I need) I will have links to everything I mention.

List of Equipment I use & recommend;

You will be accumulating a lot of ingredients and equipment and you need good places to store these things. I have a whole room dedicated to formulating and storing my equipment. You may need this too, but it's not necessary if you have space else where in your home. I purchased a lot of bookshelves, storage cabinets, organizers, baskets, totes. All kinds of things to organize and store my ingredients. You also need enough space to store all these things. It can be really overwhelming working in small places that aren't organized so keep this in mind.


Sanitary Equipment

I have a whole video showing you how I use my Sanitizing solution to sanitize my equipment and bottles. Click here to watch


Before you begin formulating always wash your hands first. I know this is obvious, but I have to mention it. I always lint roll all of my clothing before walking into my lab as well. I also make sure to always have my hair net on while in my lab. (I really hate calling it a lab because I don't feel like it has that lab vibe, but I don't really know what else to called it) For safety reasons I recommend wearing safety goggles because there is definitely a chance that an ingredient may splash into your eye. High concentrations of ingredients can definitely burn. Wearing an apron or lab coat is a good idea because, have you ever spilled oil on your clothing? Yeah, that stuff is annoying to try and get out. I like wearing a mask as well because the idea of me breathing into my products sort of weirds me out. I get it, I'm not like directly breathing on it, but I am hovering over top of it. This doesn't bother me when I'm making a product for myself, but if I am making something to sell, it is definitely a must to wear a mask. & of course if you are working with a powder surfactant or any other powdered substance that is easily air born and not meant to be breathed in then please wear a respirator, not just a cloth mask.


I like to spray down my work surface with rubbing alcohol and wipe with a paper towel before I begin formulating. Then from there I throw on some gloves and get at it! I keep all my equipment that has been properly sanitized in gallon baggies. This way any equipment I need to use is already properly cleaned and kept stored in a clean environment, so I don't have to worry about sanitizing everything right before I formulate. But remember, after you sanitize something it needs to air dry, do not just wipe it down with a paper towel or cloth towel as this can leave behind little fibers on your equipment.


By the way, you can use a 10% diluted bleach solution to sanitize instead of buying sanitizing solution, but in my past I have worked with bleach a lot! & I mean a lot! I have had so many cases where I have spilled bleach literally all over me. Okay, maybe it only happened twice, but that is two times too many. Basically I'm just trying to say that I hate bleach! I have ruined to much clothing this way and I don't want to do it again. So this is why I avoid and hate bleach! Maybe I'm just clumsy, idk. lol


It is really up to you on deciding what you think is necessary and good sanitary practice. These are just my tips. Also this is just a run down on what I find that I need to formulate and things that make my formulating life easier, more convenient, and less stressful. Is there something you use that I didn't mention? Let me know in the comments :)




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