The world of natural and handmade skin care is a popular one. Every day countless new brands launch their carefully formulated lines of cosmetics into the arena. Our industry has become abuzz with fresh faces and hopeful beginners, each dreaming of creating a handmade beauty empire to call their own. But how did they get started? If you want to follow suit, where do you begin? We get this question a lot, and my best advice always remains the same. Start out by formulating GREAT products. When you are ready to start a business, it's best to have a cupboard filled with tried and tested recipes to build it on. When you do reach that point, it's time to reach out to business experts. You won't need my help anymore.
So the next question is: How do you formulate great products? The first step is to prepare yourself for a long journey. The only way to formulate truly great products is through experimentation and experience, and that takes time. You'll have to learn, first hand, how different ingredients behave, what you can expect from a formulation, and how to predict a shelf life. At the very beginning, you'll need to learn the basic components of the most standard bath & body recipes. With the exception of soap, which deserves its own post, (if not its own book), here is a list of starter recipes and articles. Using the links below, you can learn how to make everything from lip balms to bath bombs. Once you master the basics, you can start whipping up your own, totally original formulations.
- Making Bath Bombs
- Blending Handmade Perfume Oils
- Making Powdered Milk Baths
- Making Lotions and Creams
- Making Natural Facial Cleansers
- How to Make Bath Salts
- Making All Natural Body Powders
- Making Natural Deodorants
- Creating Mineral Makeup
- Making Lip Balm
- Making Balms for Dry Skin
- Creating Moisturizing Facial Oils
- Making Salt Scrubs
- How to Use Cosmetic Clays
- How to Make Clay Facials
- How to Make a Body Wrap
Thanks for giving such wonderfull links.We can learn to make everything from lip balms to bath bombs.
It’s amazing how much stuff can be made at home!
I also make my face wash right there at my kitchen.
Youre welcome! Im glad you are enjoying the recipes.
Thats great to hear! Its wonderful how easily and safely so many homemade products can be made.
This is the boat that I am in right now and I’m happy I came across this blog. I’m trying to learn how to make products and am getting frustrated. This is a good starting-off point.
Hi Dana. Im glad you found us too! DIY Bath Body can be frustrating at first, but hang in there, youll be a master mixtress in no time if you keep experimenting and trying new things. If you have any questions along the way please feel free to send me an email!
Hello,
I am interested in doing the crash course. I am from India. Kindly mail me the details regarding the same.
Thank you.
Hi there! We list some great articles on this blog post that can help get you started on making your own natural beauty products. We don’t actually have an e-course to offer at this time, but you can find lots of helpful information within these posts.
Hello! Thank you for the wonderful information! I’m experimenting with DMAE as I hear it’s a great anti aging ingredient. I’m finding that it makes everything very watery. I’d like to make a serum with hyluronic acid, aloe, and the DMAE. Is there something natural that I can use to thicken it, such as bees wax? Thank you for your help!
Hi Maureen. I can’t speak to your specific formulation, but the ingredients most commonly used to thicken water-based formulations are starches such as Cornstarch, Oat Starch, or Arrowroot Powder. These can be mixed into water-based ingredients and heated to thicken. Depending on your formula you might also consider creating an emulsion such as a lotion or cream by including fats, waxes, and emulsifiers. You can learn about crafting an emulsion at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/qxd3hvs
Vegetable Gums, like Guar or Xanthan can also be used as thickeners in some formulas. I’d suggest looking into each of these ingredients then picking a few to experiment with.