Why you should NOT make those Pinterest Skincare DIYs - Formulating for Beginners

I think it's very common for most of us formulators to say we started our formulating journey just googling things like "DIY body wash" or "DIY lotion" and google always brought us to these pintrest posts by "natural" bloggers with recipes like this;

DIY Body Wash;

• 1 cup castile soap

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1 tsp vitamin e oil

• 1 tbsp glycerin

• 10 drops lavender essential oil

• 10 drops tea tree oil

• 1 tbsp xanthan gum

DIY Lotion;

• 1/4 cup coconut oil

• 2 tbsp shea butter

• 2 tbsp coco butter

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1/4 tsp grapefruit extract (preservative)

• 1 tbsp aloe vera gel

• 5-10 drops essential oil

I can't help but be appalled by these recipes, but at the same time, these were the types of recipes I actually started out making, and I even shared youtube videos of recipes like these (I believe most of these videos are private now) so these types of recipes do hold a special place in my heart because it really shows how much I have learned about formulating. So even though I'm appalled by these recipes I still can't help but love looking back at them as a reminder of my growth.

Just because this is where I started with formulating, PLEASE PLEASE do not start with these types of recipes! I know it's tempting because they seem easy, but they are definitely not safe. These recipes are just a breeding ground for mold and bacteria that can do some series damage to your precious skin.

You may be wondering "what's wrong with these recipes" I'll explain.

Both of these recipes DO NOT have a preservative. Since there is water in both of these recipes; DIY body wash has liquid castile soap which has had an on going debate on if it needs a preservative or not, but since it contains glycerin, a water based ingredient, then there is no arguing, this product needs a broad spectrum preservative. The DIY Lotion would actually be okay without a preservative, if it didn't have the aloe vera gel and grapefruit extract. As soon as you add a water based ingredient into a formula, it needs a preservative, I'll talk more about that later. I'm just trying to explain why these types of recipes are not okay.

The DIY Lotion recipe "claims" grapefruit extract is the preservative, IT IS NOT! I did a whole video on "What's Not a Preservative" please watch it if you are a beginner. But I don't want to jump the gun and start talking about preservatives yet. Preservatives are by far the most important thing in formulating, but the topic of preservatives is very confusing and I'm going to hold off on that topic for now. So let's move on.

Another thing that is wrong with these recipes is that they are measured in cups, tbsp, and tsp. The proper way to formulate cosmetics is in weight because cups and tbsp does not provide enough precision and consistency. Also as you become more familiar with formulating you will notice that ingredients are recommended to be used in percents. If you are shopping on a suppliers website for ingredients you will notice they always provide a recommended usage rate and the recommended usage rate for each ingredient is always different from one another. One ingredient may be recommended to be used at 1%-10% another ingredient may be 1%-20% or even 1% - 100% & you can not accurately transfer these percentages to cups and tablespoons. You may be able to get an approximate, but we need precision when formulating cosmetics. It's very important! I know measuring in weight and using percents sounds scary and confusing, but I promise it's not, and we will talk more about how to understand this way of measuring in another post.

Another thing I don't like about the body wash recipe is that it is way to high of a ph. PH is very important in formulating cosmetics. Do you remember learning about ph in school? If not, it's okay. I'll be making videos on ph soon. The reason I know the ph is too high is because castile soap is soap and in order for soap to actually be soap it has to have a ph of 8 or higher. Some may say soap works fine for them, but it dries out my skin (because of it's high ph) so for me, soap is a no go. If you want a simple recipe like this, just go buy some Dr Bronner's Castile soap and use that.

What I don't like about the "body lotion" recipe is that first off, it's not a lotion! This is a body butter and a very very oily and greasy body butter. This recipe would actually be okay if we took about the aloe vera gel and grapefruit extract, but even then, I'm not a fan. Sounds like a far to greasy product for me. Some may actually like it, but I know for a fact it's not for me. If you wanted to make a recipe like this go ahead and try it, but DO NOT add in the aloe vera gel or grapefruit extract. Instead add in some vitamin E oil to keep the oils from going rancid. Vitamin E is not a preservative, it just keeps oils from going rancid.

One more thing. How in the world is the aloe vera gel and the grapefruit extract supposed to stay mixed in with the oils?! There is no emulsifier found in this recipe. As we all know, oil and water do not mix. So again, this recipe is not stable. The whole formula will separate since we don't have an emulsifier.

So by now, I think you get the point. I really don't like these recipes and the problem is that there are recipes like this all over the internet! These formulas aren't safe, stable, or even feel good on the skin. I know, because I use to make products like this all the time. Some people are completely content with recipes like this, but if you are actually series about make a professional, stable, and safe cosmetic please do not follow recipes like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlwOzhKiYhw