How to make a serum formula: gel like serum

Summary

In this enlightening video by Belinda Carlie, director of The Institute of Personal Care Science, viewers learn how to craft their personalized gel-like serum formula. Belinda discusses essential components, including water as the continuous phase, humectants like glycerin, and the incorporation of xanthan gum for desired viscosity. She emphasizes the careful selection of actives and extracts, such as niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, ensuring optimal effectiveness while considering pH levels for stability. The video also covers the crucial role of preservatives like geoguard ECT and antioxidants such as mixed tocopherols, highlighting common missteps among beginners in cosmetic formulation.

Highlights

• Start with a water continuous phase for your serum. 💦
• Incorporate humectants like glycerin for hydration. 🌿
• Choose xanthan gum for its stability and ease of use. 📈
• Mix different oils to create a pleasant application feel. 🌀
• Limit actives to ensure potency and effectiveness. 🎯
• Ensure your formula's pH is optimal for ingredient stability. 📊
• Use a reliable preservative like geoguard ECT, and be mindful of pH limitations. 🔒
• Incorporate antioxidants to prevent product degradation. 🛡️

Key Takeaways

• Creating a gel-like serum involves a water continuous phase and the right blend of humectants and gums. 💧
• Use xanthan gum for viscosity, but complement it with oils to avoid tackiness. ⚗️
• Balance your actives and extracts to achieve the best results without going overboard. ⚖️
• Mind the pH requirements when choosing actives to ensure stability and efficacy. 🧪
• Preservatives and antioxidants play key roles in maintaining product integrity and should be carefully selected. 🔍

Overview

Belinda Carlie delves into creating a gel-like serum, making the complex world of personal care formulation more accessible for everyone. In her video, she begins by establishing the importance of starting with a water phase and the need for a reliable humectant such as glycerin or propane dial to ensure proper hydration and skin suppleness. Adding a stable gum like xanthan gum to control the viscosity is key, as is balancing the formula with essential oils to reduce any potential tackiness.

The video continues to unravel the mystery behind actives and extracts. Belinda highlights the importance of not overloading these components and recommends sticking to certain limits to maintain their effectiveness. She uses niacinamide and low molecular weight hyaluronic acid as examples, showcasing their beneficial properties while stressing the importance of adhering to pH requirements to ensure stability and effectiveness.

Belinda wraps up her guidance by discussing the nuances of preservation. She warns about misconceptions regarding preservative usage, advocating for informed choices to prevent microbial growth and product spoilage. Additionally, she underscores the role of antioxidants, particularly mixed tocopherols, in protecting the formula from oxidation, especially when using essential oils. Her expert tips guide viewers through the intricate process of formulating a cosmetic product, ensuring a safe, stable, and effective result.

Chapters

• 00:30 - 01:00: Introduction and Overview In the introduction and overview, Belinda Carlie, the director of The Institute of Personal Care Science, addresses the abundance of questions received about serum formulas. Despite having numerous serum formula examples available on their channel and live presentations, there is still a significant demand for guidance on creating personal serum formulas. In response, the video aims to provide a comprehensive guide on how to write your own serum formula.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Water Continuous Phase and Humectants This chapter discusses the fundamental need for a water continuous phase in creating serum formulas, specifically focusing on a gel-like serum formulation. It highlights the availability of a base formula, which can be customized to individual preferences and accessible ingredients. The chapter implies further steps and additional ingredients but primarily serves as an introduction to the serum formulation process, emphasizing customization.
• 01:30 - 02:30: Gums and Viscosity The chapter "Gums and Viscosity" discusses the importance of incorporating a humectant such as glycerin or propane diol in serum formulas that have water as the continuous phase. Humectants aid in delivering active ingredients to the mid-layer of the epidermis, and also contribute moisture and suppleness to the skin.
• 02:30 - 03:30: Lipids and Oils This chapter provides an insight into the formulation of serums with a focus on the use of gums and oils. It explains how xanthan gum is used to influence the viscosity, appearance, and feel of a serum. Xanthan gum is highlighted for its stability, accessibility, and ability to minimize tackiness when used with lipids or oils in serum formulations.
• 03:30 - 05:00: Actives and Extracts This chapter explores the use of different materials such as silly gel and Eco gel as potential alternatives to xanthan gum in cosmetic formulations. It focuses on utilizing a high input of xanthan gum to achieve desired texture and stability, while addressing the potential tackiness by incorporating oily substances. The discussion highlights formulation strategies to balance viscosity, stability, and texture in cosmetic products.
• 05:00 - 08:30: Preservatives and pH Considerations The chapter discusses the role of emulsifiers in cosmetic formulations, particularly focusing on how different ingredients can affect the feel of a product on the skin. It explains how plant oils, esters, and caprylic triglycerides are utilized in the formulation to manage the stickiness often caused by xanthan gum, enhancing the consumer experience.
• 08:30 - 11:00: Antioxidants and Essential Oils The chapter discusses the initial tendency of using natural plant oils for skincare, pointing out that they can sometimes feel heavy and drag on the skin. It suggests a better approach by mixing and matching different types of lipids, such as caprylic triglycerides and esters, with a smaller amount of plant oils. This combination not only enhances the product's marketing appeal but also improves its application and overall feel on the skin.
• 11:00 - 12:30: Final Steps and Resources In this chapter titled 'Final Steps and Resources,' the discussion revolves around the cautious and strategic use of actives and extracts in formulations. It highlights a common mistake made by beginners, which is the overuse of these components. The chapter advises keeping the total concentration of actives and extracts to around five percent in a base formula to ensure a balanced and effective product. The guidance provided aims to enhance the consumer experience by creating well-formulated applications.

How to make a serum formula: gel like serum Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] [Music] hi I'm Belinda Carlie the director of The Institute of personal care science and we get so many questions about serum formulas in particular I've run live presentations we've got loads of serum formula examples on our Channel but we still get a lot of questions how people can make their own so in this video I'm going to show you how to write your own serum formula I'm also going to talk you
• 00:30 - 01:00 through some really important steps and there is a base formula from which you can work that you can contact us info at personalcarescience.com so that you can get access to and get making your own serum formulas and adjust the base formula to suit your individual desires needs and ingredients that you can source now one of the first things that you need in your serum formula is a water continuous phase the type of serum formula I'm going to talk you through today is a gel like serum formula so we
• 01:00 - 01:30 have water as the continuous phase now it's really important that your serum formula contains a humectant a material like glycerin or propane dial is perfectly suitable in your serum formula this helps with delivery of your actives where they're small to the mid layer of the epidermis it's also really important to have a humectant in your formula because it provides some moisture and suppleness to the skin the next really important ingredient in
• 01:30 - 02:00 your serum formula is your gum now the gum will impact the viscosity of the serum formula also how it appears and how it feels on application now in this particular example I'm just using a standard xanthan gum and that's because it's a really stable material it's very easy to access and when you companion it with the lipids or the oils that we're going to use in this formula it reduces any residual tack so it's a great all-round ingredient although if you can
• 02:00 - 02:30 access more elegant materials like a silly gel or Eco gel they would also be fantastic replacements for the xanthan gum in this formula now we're going to use a relatively high input of xanthan gum in this formula and that's because we want to build viscosity and stability but again don't worry this amount of xanthan gum could normally feel quite Tacky in a gel but because we're going to be adding a fair amount of oily a substances to this formula and no
• 02:30 - 03:00 emulsifier the oil will help reduce any residual tack or stickiness that the xanthan gum would normally cause now in your basic formula you'll see that I've written in to use 3.5 percent of plant oils Esters or caprylic triglycerides these are going to impact how your serum formula fills on the skin after application they'll also help mitigate any stickiness from that xanthan gum so they're a really important choice now a
• 03:00 - 03:30 lot of people when they're just starting out will tend to want to use a lot of natural plant oils but plant oils can feel really heavy and even drag a little on the skin so it's a great idea to mix and match some of your lipids use some caprylic triglycerides use some Esters and perhaps use a small input of plant oils here this will help build your marketing story it will feel great on the skin and it will really make it a
• 03:30 - 04:00 pleasant experience for the consumer on application next let's talk about the actives and extracts that you want to use in your formula now another mistake I see when a lot of beginners start out and that's simply because they don't know any better is that they tend to overuse their actives and extracts in their formula so in my example formula and base formula are provided for you I've written in five percent combined total of your extracts and actives now
• 04:00 - 04:30 extracts are materials like your glycerin-based herbal extracts you could choose to make that five percent up totally from your glycerin-based extracts but it's a better idea to use some actives and some herbal extracts to get the best results from your serum ultimately that choice is up to you but there's a couple of things I want you to remember when you're choosing your actives in particular some actives need very specific inputs to perform the way you want them to
• 04:30 - 05:00 so this means that you'll need to look at the supplier data for their recommended input rates and if you're relying on clinical results and clinical efficacy from the supplier data then please read their information carefully to make sure you're using the same amount of active in your formula as they have to get the clinical results you can see more about this concept in my video how to choose the best active
• 05:00 - 05:30 so this input would be determined by the materials input that's required to be efficacious for example niacinamide or vitamin B3 works extremely well with an input of three percent this is the example I'm going to use in my base formula so you can see how we would write it into the formula I've also listed low molecular weight hyaluronic acid at another addition on top of the humectants that I've used earlier in this formula and this is to
• 05:30 - 06:00 really boost suppleness and provide great hydration it will also give some really great instant glowing effects to the skin and consumers love it when they see some instant results now I've limited this to 0.5 as a powder and I'm going to add this in and it will mix through and dissolve don't worry when you put your formula together if you see that the low molecular weight sodium hyaluronate is a little clumpy when you first add it it will hydrate
• 06:00 - 06:30 fully and then I still have a remaining 1.5 percent that I can use a variety of Glycerin based extracts now a couple of other things when you're choosing your actives be very careful because there are regulations that limit the input of certain actives like vitamin A or retinol and definitely limit the input and use over acids I have plenty of videos about how to use cosmetic acids
• 06:30 - 07:00 with some limits to help guide you but just be careful these materials are regulated to ensure consumer safety I also have some videos on various other vitamins like vitamin A serum and vitamin C serum so please watch those videos and contact us for those formulas if you're interested in creating those types of products as well just also be careful with your actives because a lot of actives may be limited by the final pH for example vitamin A or
• 07:00 - 07:30 retinol is not only limited by regulations but it also needs a pH around 6.5 to 7 in the final formula to be stable also using a material like ascorbic acid is not a good idea in a serum because ascorbic acid is one of the least stable forms of vitamin C so you could find that your serum changes color early starts to smell bad and just isn't nice to use you could use other forms of vitamin C
• 07:30 - 08:00 like sodium ascorbal phosphate but again it needs a ph up around six to seven to again be stable so the final pH of your formula and all other ingredients that you use in your formula need to be selected to suit the pH requirements of your active this is really important so check for this information in your supplier data as well when you're using glycerin based extracts you don't have these sorts of incompatibilities to deal with so
• 08:00 - 08:30 they'll generally be fine at a normal skin friendly pH around 5.5 so in the example formula I've provided you I've used three percent niacinamide 0.5 low molecular weight sodium hyaluronate and 1.5 percent of glycerin-based extracts you'll find this will give a really Pleasant sensory experience and some great results for all sorts of consumer types next I've got my preservative now I want
• 08:30 - 09:00 you to be really careful if you alter the preservative that I've listed in this formula there is a big misconception out there that all preservatives should be used at one percent and that's not correct it is true that several preservatives do work best at one percent but some that might be far too much and for other preservatives it may not be enough your Serum is a nutrient-rich Formula which means it will readily grow microorganisms if you don't preserve it well and choosing preservatives can
• 09:00 - 09:30 definitely be a very tricky topic for cosmetic chemists I've got various blogs and videos on choosing the right preservatives because it is a really important decision in this formula I've used one percent of geoguard ECT and in the formula sheet I've provided the inky name for that as well because your suppliers might call it by a different name now just be careful this preservative is pH limited so I've made the final
• 09:30 - 10:00 formula the pH of 5 to 5.5 to make sure it's a great pH to suit my preservative to get the best performance out of it as well as suit the actives that I've selected just remember if you choose other actives or a different preservative you may need to alter that final pH so please check that carefully because you don't want to grow contamination in your formula and you want to make sure that your actives are doing their job and this is two things a lot of new
• 10:00 - 10:30 formulators just don't realize when they're putting their formulas together I've also made an extra special note of it in the formula sheet for you so you can't forget to check it finally I've added a small input of mixed tocopherols this is a really effective antioxidant tocopherol acetate will not protect your formula while mixed top referrals will provide really effective antioxidant protection just remember your antioxidant is not your preservative it helps stop the product from going rancid or oxidizing
• 10:30 - 11:00 especially if you're also going to use some essential oils I have listed out some essential oils to make sure you don't include and that's because they have photosensitivity issues just because an ingredient's natural doesn't mean it's safe so I've specifically listed out the essential oils you must avoid because they can cause darkening or staining of the skin if exposed to sunlight and of course if you're using essential oils you definitely need to make sure you use the mixed tocopherols
• 11:00 - 11:30 to help protect the essential oils from oxidation over time as the final step I've listed out your pH and again just a reminder I've provided the pH in this formula to suit the preservatives and actives that I've selected now the method is relatively simple you can find that on the formula sheet as well and of course please watch my other videos where I show you how to put a variety of Different Serum formulas together you can watch how to put it
• 11:30 - 12:00 together in another video but today's video was really about me helping you write your serum formula and of course if you've never written a formula before please watch my video on how to write a cosmetic formula and of course we have our free master class which will talk you through other important techniques like how to adjust pH and prepare your pH buffers well there you go that's how to write up and put together your very own serum formulas please search my YouTube
• 12:00 - 12:30 channel if you have any questions on this topic and we also have a live q a replay where you can hear more about putting serum formulas together and of course see some questions and answers I take from the audience I hope you've enjoyed this video please give it a thumbs up please leave any questions or comments below and make sure you subscribe to receive notifications about all our videos Happy formulating [Music]