Articles

Useful material on cosmetic chemistry, ingredients and growing your business

Cosmetic Raw Materials: Where to Get Them, How to Choose, and Why It's Harder Than It Looks

There's one thing almost nobody warns beginners in home formulation about: finding a good formula is only half the job. The other half is finding what to actually make it from. And that's where the real quest begins. Because between "I want to make a cream with niacinamide and ceramides" and "I have

10 min30 Jul 2026

#for beginners

Ingredients

Niacinamide for Facial Skin: How to Formulate Without the Mistakes That Kill Its Activity

Some ingredients earn the cosmetic industry's love for their marketing potential. Others earn it because they actually work. Niacinamide is the rare case where both categories overlap. But behind that reputation lies an inconvenient truth: most homemade niacinamide formulas are either unstable, irri

8 min28 Jul 2026

#actives

Science

Preservation of anhydrous products

Preservation of anhydrous products At Walker Formulation Academy, we regularly analyse topics where cosmetic chemists accumulate the most mistakes — and the preservation of anhydrous products is one of them. Is it necessary and how to do it correctly — a methodological analysis for the Formulation Club. Short

10 min1 Jul 2026

#preservation #oils and butters

Formulas

DIY Shampoo: The chemistry of foam you won't find on the label

Do you know what the Soviet “Krapiva” shampoo, the Japanese furo ritual, and a modern sulphate-free bottle costing around £30 have in common? They all solve one problem: removing sebum, dirt, and styling residue without turning hair into straw. The only difference is how exactly this happens at a molecular level.

9 min30 Jun 2026

#surfactants #hair care #INCI and labels

Formulas

Emulsified scrub: why a DIY body sugar scrub is more than just sugar and oil

There is one point that stumps almost everyone making a scrub at home for the first time: the product looks perfect in the jar, but in the shower, it turns into an oily puddle that is impossible to wash off. Your skin is greasy, your towel is stained, and it feels like you've rubbed yourself with margarine. Sound familiar? The problem isn't the sugar or the

8 min28 Jun 2026

#body care #oils and butters #emulsions

Ingredients

Detox peptides: how skin fights urban stress and why it needs help

Every morning, when you leave the house, your skin starts a war. Not metaphorically — literally. PM2.5 particles, ozone, exhaust fumes, UV radiation, blue light from screens. By evening, the barrier function is weakened, the proteasome system is overloaded, and the level of carbonylated proteins in the epidermis is noticeably higher than in the morning.

9 min26 Jun 2026

#actives

Formulas

Hair conditioner: what's hidden behind the formula and why most of them work the same way

Take any five bottles of conditioner from different shelves — from mass-market to luxury — and compare the ingredients. Most likely, you will find the same set: water, cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium chloride, silicone, fragrance. The price difference can be tenfold, the difference in chemistry — almost none. This is not

9 min24 Jun 2026

#hair care

Science

AI in cosmetic chemistry: how neural networks are changing hair care formulation

Imagine: it's 11 PM, you open your laptop, you don't have access to a supplier database, and the deadline for a new formula is tomorrow morning. In the past, this meant hours spent in stacks of textbooks or desperate searches through forums. Today, some cosmetic chemists simply open ChatGPT — and get a starting for

8 min22 Jun 2026

#AI in formulation #hair care #rheology

For beginners

Types of cosmetic formulas: from soap to aerosol — what is hidden behind every product on your shelf

There are probably between eight and fifteen products on your bathroom shelf right now. They all look different, feel different, and work differently — but few people stop to think that behind this variety lies a strict classification. Not a marketing one, but a chemical one. The form of the formula determines everything:

11 min18 Jun 2026

#surfactants #actives #emulsions

Ingredients

Emulsifiers and cream texture: what is actually happening inside your moisturizer

Have you ever applied a cream and wondered: why is it like this? Not 'good' or 'bad' — but specifically like this: slightly greasy, or almost weightless, or one that disappears in three seconds, leaving a silky feeling. Behind this is not marketing and not a 'unique formula'. Behind this is one class of ingredients that

8 min16 Jun 2026

#emulsions #lab technique

Formulas

DIY body scrub: what cosmetic chemistry thinks of your kitchen recipes

DIY body scrub: what cosmetic chemistry thinks of your kitchen recipes At the “Walker Formulation Academy” school, we are convinced that understanding the chemistry behind every ingredient is what distinguishes a conscious formulator from someone who simply follows other people's recipes. Every week, thousands of people google how to

9 min8 Jun 2026

#body care

Ingredients

Hyaluronic acid in cosmetics: molecular weight is everything

A 70 kg human body contains about 15 grams of hyaluronic acid, and the majority of this supply is concentrated in the skin. Not in the joints, not in the eyes, but in the dermis, where it retains water, supports the matrix structure, and literally determines whether you look your age or not.

10 min4 Jun 2026

#actives

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