What Does It Take To Be A Successful Skincare Formulator?

1. Patience, you will mess up a lot! But that is ok, after each failure you are closer to that magic formulation - so keep going!

 

2. Creativity. If you have Dyslexia and/or ADHD then this is the perfect hobby/job for you! The creative process is endless, there are SO many beautiful natural, organic and vegan skincare ingredients that you will never get bored.

 

3. Space. You will make a lot of mess, especially in the beginning. Make sure you have a clean, tidy space, if you can convince your spouse to build you a bespoke garden lab, then even better ;)

 

4. Time. You must do your research and take time to really delve into the literature. There are a lot of books and courses out there, so please ask if you would like any recommendations. Formulating natural skincare is HARD! Even if your ingredients are 100% natural and organic, some may be unsafe in certain quantities, so make sure you do your research.

 

5. Passion. At times formulating will frustrate you. You may have spent a load of your hard-earned savings on ingredients that just don't work, or they don't feel or smell great. Please don't let that dampen your desire to create incredible, life-changing skincare. The Intensive Skin Recovery Cream took me near on 50odd different formulations until I got it right - and now they are selling out faster than I can make them! Keep the passion alive and don't give up! You may develop a one-of-a-kind formulation that could change people's lives too!

 

6. Authenticity. Be you at all times. Never try and be anyone else. A lot of skincare brands align themselves with being a "beauty brand". Obvs Skincare is not a beauty brand - I help people with skin concerns such as acne or eczema, so when I launched I wasn't sure how to position myself in the market. Then I just thought "meh, let's do me and see what happens" and it worked! I am a "tom boy" at times, who isn't really into beauty and girlie things even though I am the founder and formulator of a successful skincare brand! You do not have to "fit in" to be successful in your field. Be you and be the best version of you that you can be!

 

7. Pillars. Decide on what means the most to you in a brand and stick with them. Wanna go down the natural route - great! Just make sure you research every single ingredient, check your plastic usage (ideally none) and avoid greenwashing AT ALL COSTS. Wanna just use vegan ingredients? You're amazing! Be true to that and really look at your own lifestyle, as well as the ingredients you are using (there are some common ingredients that are not vegan, so always check). Not just your lifestyle and ingredients though, check if the glue on your labels is vegan. Is the ink vegan? Have your ingredients ever been tested on animals? It is a huge rabbit hole (pun intended) so be prepared for a lot of studying,

 

For example, my brand pillars are -

 

Organic - Certified Soil Association COSMOS Certified

Biodegradable - Zero Plastic and Biodegradable, Natural Ingredients 

Vegan - Vegan Society Certified and Leaping Bunny Approved

Sustainable - Plant a Tree With Every Order and Source Ingredients from Fairly Traded, Sustainable Sources

 

...Obvs!

 

I hope this helps. If you want to jump into the magical world of natural skincare formulation then give me a shout - I would love to speak to you (my husband is getting fed up with me banging on about it constantly, so another person to bounce ideas off/possibly annoy, would be welcome).

Love Sian Louise x

---