Julesfloxy Beauty Academy

Ever wondered what really happens behind the scenes of a cosmetic lab?

Most people only see the finished products sitting beautifully on shelves. They admire the elegant packaging, the luxurious textures, and the glowing reviews.

What they don't see are the countless hours of research, testing, note-taking, and reformulating that happen long before a product ever reaches the market.

Some days in the lab are exciting. Everything works exactly as planned.

Other days? Not so much.

A formula that looked perfect on paper behaves differently in practice. The texture isn't quite right. The pH shifts unexpectedly. The stability test reveals a problem you didn't anticipate.

And then you do what every good formulator does: you investigate, troubleshoot, make adjustments, and try again.

This is the reality of cosmetic formulation.

It requires curiosity to ask why something happened.
It requires precision to make informed changes.
And it requires resilience to keep going until you achieve the result you're proud of.

The products consumers love didn't happen by luck. Behind them is a formulator who invested time in understanding ingredients, mastering the science, and refusing to settle for "good enough."

That's exactly what I strive to teach my students at Julesfloxy Beauty Academy, not just how to follow a recipe, but how to think like formulators, solve problems confidently, and build products that truly perform.

If you're ready to move beyond DIY mixing and learn the science of professional formulation

Send a DM with the word "Brochure" and I'll see you our course outline

Have you ever had to keep trying until you finally got the results you wanted? I'd love to hear your experience in the comments. 👇

Dear Julesfloxy Beauty Academy Students,

I would like to address a recurring question many of you have asked regarding the final project and the issuance of your Certificate of Completion.

Some of you have asked:

- Coach, must I really complete my final project before collecting my certificate?
- What if I do not have enough money to produce my project at the moment?

Here is the clear answer:

✅ Yes, completing your final project is compulsory before your certificate can be issued.

The final project is not just a formality; it is proof of your mastery. It demonstrates that you understand cosmetic formulation not only in theory but also in practical application.

Think of it like learning how to drive. You may attend all the lessons and study the manuals, but until you get behind the wheel, you cannot be issued a driver's licence. In the same way, your final project is your "behind-the-wheel" moment.

Your project shows that you:

✓ Can apply what you have learned independently.
✓ Understand formulation procedures and techniques.
✓ Are capable of creating and presenting a real product with confidence.

✅ What about the cost?

As I always tell my students, your project does not have to be a full production line.

It can be a simple, well-formulated product using the ingredients and tools you already have access to. It is not about the size, quantity, or sophistication of the product; it is about your understanding and ex*****on.

Many past students have:

✓ Used ingredients they already had at home.
✓ Collaborated with classmates to reduce costs.
✓ Produced mini batches simply to fulfil the requirement.

The goal is not perfection; it is progress and proof of skill.

This process ensures that every graduate of this program does not simply hold a paper certificate but possesses the confidence, competence, and practical experience needed to excel anywhere.

Even if you need time to gather resources, communicate with me. We can work out a reasonable timeline for you to complete your project.

Thank you for your understanding, commitment, and dedication to excellence.

Warm regards,
Julesfloxy Beauty Academy

HOW TO LABEL YOUR COSMETIC PRODUCT INGREDIENTS THE RIGHT WAY 🧴

One mistake many new formulators make is listing ingredients incorrectly on their labels.

Here's the simple rule:

✅ Ingredients above 1% should be listed in descending order (highest to lowest concentration).

Example:

If your lotion contains:
• Water – 70%
• Shea Butter – 15%
• Emulsifier – 10%
• Glycerin – 3%
• Preservative – 2%

Your label should read:

Aqua (Water), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), [INCI of Emulsifier Used], Glycerin, [INCI of Preservative Used]

✅ Ingredients at 1% or less can be listed in any order after those above 1%.

Examples include fragrance, essential oils, colorants, botanical extracts, and some preservatives.

✅ Use INCI names, not common names.

❌ Coconut Oil
✅ Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil

❌ Shea Butter
✅ Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)

And please, don't list ingredients you didn't use just because they're trending. Your label is a reflection of your professionalism and credibility as a formulator.

To register for any of our cosmetic formulation courses, send a DM to get our course brochure..

Are you labeling your products correctly, or still doing "shea butter + fragrance" on WhatsApp? 😅

Packaging is not just “how a product looks”… it is part of your formulation system.

Many formulators underestimate this, but packaging can directly influence stability, potency, contamination risk, and even product lifespan.

During proper formulation development, stability testing is not only done on the product itself, it is also evaluated alongside different packaging systems to determine what best preserves the formula.

A product that performs well in one container may degrade faster in another.

Common Packaging Options and Their Formulation Impact

1. Small Pot Containers Best suited for anhydrous or low-risk formulations such as:

Lip balms
Body butters
Solid perfumes

⚠️ However, pots increase finger contact contamination risk, which can reduce product shelf life if not properly preserved or handled.

2. Jars Ideal for:

Thick creams
Heavy moisturizers
Scrubs

✔️ Easy to fill and consumer-friendly
⚠️ But still exposed to repeated air and hand contact, which can introduce microbes and oxidation over time.

3. Airtight / Airless Pumps Highly recommended for:

Active-rich formulations (Vitamin C, Retinol, Niacinamide serums)
Anti-aging treatments
Sensitive or preservative-challenged formulas

✔️ Minimizes air exposure and microbial contamination
✔️ Improves product longevity and ingredient stability
✔️ Helps maintain consistent dosing

4. Clear Glass or Transparent Plastic Bottles Suitable for:

Stable formulations with low light sensitivity
Body oils or basic cleansers without fragile actives

⚠️ Not ideal for light-sensitive ingredients like:

Retinol
Some botanical extracts
Vitamin C derivatives (in unstable systems)
Exposure to light can accelerate oxidation and degrade actives.

Key Formulation Considerations When Choosing Packaging

Water activity (high water = higher microbial risk)
Active ingredient stability (light, air, heat sensitivity)
Product usage pattern (leave-on vs rinse-off)
Consumer handling (frequency of opening and contact)

Compatibility between formula and packaging material (leaching, adsorption, pH interaction)

Packaging can either protect your formulation or compromise it silently.

Learnt something? Follow for more

HLB answers one question. Most formulators are asking the wrong one.

I’ll be honest.

HLB is one of the most over-respected and misused concepts in cosmetic formulation.

Some people treat it like a magic number.

Others avoid it completely because it “never works.”

Both groups are missing the point.

HLB was never meant to run your formulation.

It was meant to guide your choices.

HLB simply describes how an emulsifier system prefers to behave.. water-loving, oil-loving, or somewhere in between.

That’s it.

It doesn’t know your processing method.

It doesn’t know your shear.

It doesn’t know your cooling curve.

It doesn’t know your oil polarity.

And it definitely doesn’t know your mistakes.

HLB matters when you’re:

– designing an emulsion from scratch
– blending emulsifiers intentionally
– working with mixed oil phases
– reformulating an unstable system
– scaling beyond kitchen batches

HLB matters less when:
– you’re copying a proven system
– you’re using a complete emulsifier blend
– the emulsifier already defines the structure

The problem isn’t that HLB “doesn’t work.”

The problem is that many formulators stop thinking once the number looks right.

HLB is a compass. Not the destination.

It points you in a direction, but you still have to drive.

When you understand this, you stop:

– forcing emulsifiers to behave unnaturally
– overcorrecting instability
– changing ingredients that aren’t the problem
– blaming preservation for structural failures

You start designing emulsions instead of guessing them.

This kind of formulation thinking... systems, structure, and decision-making is exactly how I teach.

Not formulas to memorize.

Not numbers to worship.

But how to reason through a system.

If you’re ready to stop letting HLB intimidate you and start using it properly, my training was built for that stage of your journey.

Send a DM if this perspective hit home.

When was the last time HLB “failed” you and what was actually the real issue?

One of the easiest ways to spot a beginner formulator?

Look at their ingredient shelf 😭

You'll find:

Niacinamide ✅
Alpha Arbutin ✅
Tranexamic Acid ✅
Salicylic Acid ✅
Ceramides ✅
Peptides ✅
Hyaluronic acid ✅
Kojic acid ✅

Half of them were purchased because someone on social media called them a "must-have ingredient."

The problem?

Ask what some of those ingredients actually do, and the answers become very shaky.

And honestly, I understand.

When you're learning formulation, it's easy to believe that progress comes from buying more raw materials.

So every week there's a new order.

A new active.

A new extract.

A new ingredient everyone is suddenly talking about.

Meanwhile, the ingredients already sitting on the shelf remain largely unexplored.

You know the name.

But not the chemistry.

You know the usage rate.

But not the behavior.

You know it's popular.

But not why.

And that's where confusion starts.

Because formulation isn't a competition to own the most ingredients.

It's the ability to make intelligent decisions with the ingredients you already have.

The formulators who grow the fastest are rarely the ones with the biggest ingredient collection.

They're the ones who understand:

– what an ingredient actually does
– what problem it solves
– where it shines
– where it struggles
– what it works well with
– and when it shouldn't be used at all

That's exactly why I created my Ingredients Bible Ebook.

Not as another ebook you'll download and forget.

But as a practical resource designed to help formulators understand ingredients beyond the marketing claims and trendy conversations.

Because once ingredient knowledge becomes deeper:

– formulation becomes easier
– troubleshooting becomes faster
– ingredient selection becomes smarter
– and your confidence improves naturally

The goal isn't to own more ingredients.

The goal is to understand the ones you already have.

📖 Ingredients Bible Ebook is $5 / ₦5,000

Send me a DM with "EBOOK" to get your copy or use the link on my bio to get yours.

Most formulators know what AHA does.
Fewer know how to calculate it correctly.

And that mistake can completely change the strength of a formula.

Let's say you want:
5% Glycolic Acid in your exfoliating toner.

You check your shelf and discover your glycolic acid is not 100%.
It's a 70% stock solution.

Now here's where many beginners go wrong:
They add 5% glycolic acid stock and assume they have a 5% glycolic acid product.
You don't.

You have:
5 × 0.70 = 3.5% active glycolic acid
Your formula is weaker than intended.

The correct question is:

How much 70% glycolic acid stock do I need to get 5% active glycolic acid?

The formula is simple:
Desired Active ÷ Stock Strength
5 ÷ 70 × 100
= 7.14%

So you need:
7.14% Glycolic Acid (70% stock)
to achieve 5% Active Glycolic Acid

Now let's do the same with lactic acid.

Suppose you want:
5% active lactic acid
But your lactic acid is 88% stock

Calculation:
5 ÷ 88 × 100
= 5.68%

You need:
5.68% Lactic Acid (88% stock)
to achieve 5% active lactic acid

Now here's where formulation gets interesting.

Let's say you want:
5% total AHA
made up of:

3% Glycolic Acid
2% Lactic Acid

Using your stock solutions:
Glycolic Acid:
3 ÷ 70 × 100
= 4.29%

Lactic Acid:
2 ÷ 88 × 100
= 2.27%

Total stock added:
4.29% + 2.27%
= 6.56%

But your active AHA level is still:
5%

The skin doesn't care how much stock solution you used.

The skin responds to the amount of active acid actually present.

I've reviewed formulas where people thought they were making:

10% AHA products

When the actual active level was closer to 6–7%.
And the reverse happens too.

Some formulators accidentally create products much stronger than intended because they never calculated the active matter correctly.

AHA formulation isn't just about choosing glycolic acid or lactic acid.

It's about understanding what you're actually putting into the system.

This kind of formulation thinking is exactly what I teach in my courses

Because understanding ingredients is good.
Understanding how to calculate them correctly is even better.

For more enquiries on our courses, send us a DM today

I made a whipped butter soap today and I can't stop admiring the texture. 💛

Creamy. Fluffy. Smooth.

I decided to go with a vibrant yellow color this time, and it gave the product such a bright and cheerful look.

One thing I love about formulation is that beyond performance, you get to create an experience through texture, aesthetics, and skin feel.

Every batch teaches something new, and every formulation has its own personality.

Have you ever chosen a product simply because the texture looked irresistible? 👇

To register for any of our Courses, Send a message to get the course brochure and full course outline.

Before you blame your preservative, your emulsifier, your actives, or assume the formula is “not working,” there is something more uncomfortable to check.

Your measurements.

In cosmetic formulation, most failures don’t announce themselves with dramatic ingredient problems. They start quietly from small measurement errors that look insignificant on the surface but completely shift the internal structure of a product.

A cream doesn’t suddenly lose stability for no reason.

A gel doesn’t randomly turn watery overnight.

A scrub doesn’t just “decide” to separate.

What usually happens is this: the system was never exactly what you thought you formulated in the first place.

A slight excess of oil phase can reduce emulsifier efficiency without obvious warning.

A small deviation in thickener weight can weaken the entire viscosity network.

Even a minor error in active concentration can affect pH behavior, which then affects preservation, performance, and texture.

The challenge is that everything can still look correct immediately after production. That is what makes measurement errors deceptive.

The formula behaves “fine” at first, then shifts later when stress, time, or temperature exposes the weak points.

That is why many beginners go in circles. They keep reformulating, swapping ingredients, adjusting preservatives, changing oils, or blaming raw materials when the real issue is sitting in the most ignored part of formulation: weighing accuracy

Formulation is not just about knowing ingredients. It is about controlling ratios with precision that does not rely on estimation, assumption, or "close enough."

That is why professionals treat measurement like part of the formula itself.

Because in a system built on balance, even a small miscalculation does not stay small. It spreads through the entire structure quietly until the product stops behaving the way it was intended to.

And at that point, it is usually not the ingredient list that was wrong.

It was the measurement that was never exact enough to hold the system together in the first place.

To register for any of our formulation courses, send a message to get the course brochure and full outline.

REAL FORMULATION LESSONS FROM DEVELOPING AN ACNE + DARK SPOT SERUM IN THE LAB.

Some time ago, I worked on an active acne + dark spot serum built with a hydrogel system.

On paper, the formula looked straightforward:
• Niacinamide
• Alpha Arbutin
• Salicylic acid system
• Water-based gel base

But the real challenge wasn’t choosing ingredients.
It was understanding pH behavior inside a gel system.

One thing I learned quickly is this:

👉 In hydrogel formulations, pH does not behave like it does in a simple liquid system.
👉 Readings can vary depending on gel structure, dispersion, and even the measurement method used.

This is where many beginners go wrong.
They see fluctuating readings and immediately start adjusting pH blindly.

But in formulation science, data must always be interpreted in context, not in isolation.

WHY GEL SYSTEMS BECOME UNSTABLE DURING PH CORRECTION

While adjusting the pH, I noticed the serum gradually losing viscosity.

The system used a xanthan gum base, and what I observed is actually common in hydrogel formulations:

• Electrolyte changes can affect gel structure
• Continuous mixing disrupts gel networks
• Viscosity may temporarily drop during adjustment

This reinforced an important formulation principle:

👉 You cannot alter pH and expect the structure to remain completely unchanged.
👉 You must design systems that can tolerate adjustment without collapsing.

THE HIDDEN COMPLEXITY OF SALICYLIC ACID SYSTEMS

One of the core actives in this serum was salicylic acid.

Even at just 0.5%, it still required proper solubilization before incorporation.

This reminded me that:

• “Low percentage” does not mean “low complexity”
• Solubility affects stability more than concentration does
• Poor incorporation can lead to long-term instability issues

Lesson:
Ingredient behavior matters more than formulation intention.

Why pH correction is also a structural challenge

During adjustment, another issue appeared, viscosity instability.

What many people don’t realize is that pH correction introduces:
• Dilution
• Ionic shifts
• Localized imbalance within the system

In gel formulations, this can temporarily:
• Thin the structure
• Create uneven texture
• Affect active dispersion

So pH correction is not just chemistry.
It is rheology management happening in real time.

Lesson:
Stable formulations are engineered intentionally, not adjusted into stability.

WHAT THIS FORMULATION CYCLE TAUGHT ME

This single project reinforced several realities of cosmetic science:

• pH must be designed, not guessed
• Gel systems are sensitive to correction processes
• Actives interact beyond their individual functions
• Stability is a system property, not an ingredient property

That is the difference between:
👉 mixing ingredients
and engineering a cosmetic system

If you want to learn real cosmetic formulation science, beyond DIY recipes

I train formulators through structured programs

📩 Send “BROCHURE” to access the full course outlines.