Formulating Your Recipes

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Have you ever found a recipe which yielded to much, to little or you couldn't figure out how much it would yield at all?  I know I have.  Well, here is the answer to your question/confusion, formulating.  If you know this already, why didn't you share this information with me, it would have been helpful, LoL!

The benefits of formulating your recipes is that you can change how much you want to make without compromising the recipe and getting your desired recipe/results every time. 

Steps to formulating your recipes:

1. Figure out what you are trying to make
2. Find the desired ingredients
3. Separate the ingredients into separate phases (water, oil, preservative & additives)
4. Divide each ingredient by weight percentages.  When added up your recipe/formula should equal 100%  (online natural vendors will tell you recommended usage percentages for each ingredient)
5. Choose desired amount total and multiply by each ingredients percentage
6. Test out formula and see what needs to be adjusted next time

Note:  The only way to know preservative is working effectively is to have it tested. And the best way to make cosmetic recipe is by weight, not volume or fluid measurements.

Here is an example:
Un-Petroleum Jelly

Ingredients:

Phase 1
Castor Oil  49.05%
Coconut Oil  49.05&
Beeswax  .3%

Phase 2
Grapefruit Seed Extract .2%
Hibiscus Extract  .5%
Rosemary Antioxidant Extract  .2%
Optiphen  .5%
Essential Oil  .2%

So if I was making 8 oz un-petroleum jelly I would need .4905 x 8 = 3.924 ounces of Castor oil (weight).

If you have a recipe that you have already divided by fluid measurements, etc. you will need to measure out each individual ingredient and figure out it's weight.  After you figure out the weight of each ingredient add it up to figure out the total weight of your recipe.  To figure out the ingredient percentages, take each ingredients weight and divide it by the total recipe weight. 

For example: (this example, the weight is not the actual recipe weights, I just used example numbers to explain)

Fluid measurements converted to weight:

Castor Oil  1/4 cup          = 2.5 ounces weighted
Coconut Oil  1/4 cup      = 2 ounces weighted
Beeswax                          = 1 ounce (weight)
Total weight                    = 5.5 ounces

Recipe in Formula: ( remember to round)

Castor Oil       2.5oz /5.5oz =  45%
Coconut Oil     2oz.5.5oz = 37%
Beeswax         1oz/ 5.5oz = 18%
Total                                = 100%

Voila!

Importance of Correct Measurements Article