BEFORE YOUR POST

Does anybody else has noticed that Perry's forum Chemists Corner has become full of AI bots?

I see them everywhere, they ask AI generated questions or provide shallow answers in many threads with ads embedded inside the text. And no one blocks them no matter how often I report those messages and users.

It's sad, the forum is the only place I know where real chemists may answer advanced questions.

I am trying to make a deodorant/antiperspirant and I have limited access to ingredients, everything on this list I either have or can easily get. I am OK with it leaving a residue/not being the greatest feeling this is more about access than anything else, i've tried to go cheap on the bases and focusing the money on the active ingredients. I am going for "good enough"

Ingredient Amount (100g/ea.)

Coconut Oil 40g

Shea Butter 5g

Beeswax 15 g

Ceterayl Alcohol 6g

Tapioca Starch 15g

Aluminum Chlorohydrate 15g

Fragrance Oil 3g

Ethylhexylglycerin 1g

Hi, I've been looking for a dupe of Dark Lavender & Sage fragrance oil from better home and garden. I want a skin safe version of the oil, so I can make it into a lotion. I wanted to see if anyone already knew about one before i start ordering a bunch of different oil scents. Bottle says: Citrus, Bergamot, Pepper, Sage, Lavender, Patchouli, Amber and Tonka Scent Notes.

I'd like to make cold cream using mineral oil, beeswax, borax, and distilled water.

The recipe I'm following says to mix the beeswax with mineral oil and heat the mixture to 70°C using a laboratory hot water bath.

Obviously, I don't have that kind of equipment since I'm doing this at home, so I was planning to heat it using a double boiler.

However, I'm not sure if it’s safe to heat mineral oil at home (I’m worried it might be flammable and that inhaling the fumes could be dangerous).

What do you think? This is the first time I’ve made a cosmetic product myself so I have to admit I don't really know much about it.

Hi,

Disclaimer - english is my second language.

As the title says - I have vaseline, which I use somewhat regularly on my lips, face, and hands. I find the experience....Bland. I've also seen that you can use regular perfume / "cologne" over Vaseline to make it smell longer.

The question might seem stupid, but would mixing an oil-based perfume into the vaseline (by heating it over a double boiler and adding >1% of its total weight in completed perfume) work, or am I better off buying an alcohol based scent or essential oils, then dilute them ?

If you are asking "why don't you just buy X product on Y website?" - I live in a part of the world that websites rarely ship to. The ones who do require nearly 30 to 50€ shipping for a letter-sized package, so I'd rather avoid it.

Thank you for your time :)

Hello Dear

I am trying to make lip glosses using TKB flexagel ME lipgloss base and the ratio I am using seems to be inaccurate as the lip glosses are burning my lips once completed can you advise? What’s the proper ratio to use?

wanted to make them very pigmented

what I used 10ml Base 9 drops Liquid Lip and 3 drops Vanilla flavoring oil

I want to make a solid shampoo bars similar
to Strawberry Leopard’s shampoo so I’m using mango butter, rice protein and Panthenol- D. I did a ton of research into shampoo bars to see what the best surfactants where as well. Looking for feedback on the formula I’ve put together. TIA!
EDIT- I originally put D- Panthenol when I meant DL- Panthenol,

Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
60%
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
15%
Cetyl Alcohol
9%
Mango Butter
6%
BTMS-50
4%
Hydrolyzed Rice Protein
2%
DL- Panthenol
2%
Fragrance
1%
Liquid Germall Plus
1%

ok so i've been making my own haircare for a while now. shampoos are fine actually. i got those down pretty well. but conditioners? they're my nemesis.

no matter what i do, my hair comes out frizzy. like i've tried different oils, different fatty alcohols, different emulsifiers. i've adjusted percentages, added humectants, played with pH. and nothing. still frizzy.

it's so frustrating because i know exactly what i want. smooth, shiny, manageable hair. and i can't get there with my own recipes. i've spent so much time and money on ingredients and it just doesn't work.

my roommate uses this anti frizz shampoo and conditioner from the store and her hair always looks great. i tried it once just to see and it was so much better than anything i've made.

the thing that kills me is that i'm usually good at this. i make my own skincare, my own deodorant, my own cleaning products. but haircare has been my white whale.

i guess some things are just hard to replicate at home. maybe it's the formulation technology or the ingredients i can't get. whatever it is, i can't figure it out.

not saying i'm giving up completely. but i might accept defeat on conditioners and just buy them. anyone else find that some DIY projects are just not worth the effort?

Just a simple emulsion without a whole lot of extra bells and whistles or other hydrators. It would be for personal use (small batch).

Trying to formulate a spot treatment but having trouble finding a sulfur to use. Don’t want a giant tub. Thanks in advance!
Pa. I’m in California if that makes any difference.

Hello everybody
I just ´finished’ a gelled serum; sprinkled Sepimax zen over and left it unstirred. But I forgot to add the preservative…can I add it once it has gelled?
Thank you in advance!

Hey everyone!

I’m trying a DIY toner to help manage my acne breakouts

My current mix is a 1:4 ratio (2 spoons of Apple Cider Vinegar(bragg with mother)mixed with 4 spoons of rose water and 4 spoons of normal water).

For anyone who uses ACV for acne:

What ratio gives you the best results without irritating your skin?

Do you use it every night, or just a few times a week?

Any tips on shelf-life or storage?

Would love to hear your experiences.

Has anyone purchased ingredients from CDF Supplies? They’re based in Canada and ship worldwide. Just wondering if they’re legit and if they are good quality.

I can't get hold of Crystal Retinal here, so I'm trying to make a similar retinaldehyde serum. Want to use a lipid-based carrier for stability but worried about oxidation. Spent the last week reading about it and it’s a total headache.

Here is my current attempt: Water at 78%, Propanediol 5%, Olivem 1000 5%, Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides 10%, Retinaldehyde 1%, Germall Plus 0.5% and Tocopherol 0.5%.

Is this lipid phase enough to stop retinaldehyde from degrading? Read that the Medik8 version uses fancy encapsulation and I don't know if my DIY setup is even close to stable. My emulsions usually break down after a month or so, so any tips on the delivery tech here would be great.

I keep finding good ingredient suppliers, then the shipping is either from the US or somehow more expensive than the actual order.

Mostly looking at basic stuff like oils, waxes, hydrolates, butters and maybe a few plant extracts.

Has anyone found a brand of BTMS-50 that has a lighter odor?

I am making emulsified sugar scrubs and the brand I am using has a slight fishy smell. All of the scrubs have fragrance oils that mask it except for one.

That one fragrance oil is much lighter and the fishy smell is still slightly noticeable when you first open the jar. It quickly dissipates and does not transfer to the skin but no one wants to smell that when they open a product.

I am looking for a reliable fragrance oil supplier for cosmetics. I keep finding some are unrelaible, some low percentage of perfume or not a wide range of scents. Ideally perfume inspired oils

I have safflower seed oil and Cromollient sce but would like to make it into a balm.

I can’t use a lot of wax products due to my acne prone skin so I was looking at Cera Bellina Wax. How Would I make this into a balm?

I was thinking :

5% cera Bella
15% Cromollient SCE
80% safflower oil

Do I need tocopherols?

Does anyone have a recipe I could follow? I’ve never made a two phase product before.

Thank you!

I found this recipe and was going to modify with the ingredients I have

https://alifeadjacent.com/diy-oil-cleansing-balm-lavender/

What's the simplest way to do this? Someone once told me to do beet powder and vaseline; I have no idea if that would work, lol. I don't mind sheer, but it would have to have some color. Purple sweet potato powder powder maybe?? I love berry/mauve/rose shades. I seem to be allergic to most lipsticks, and since I'm waiting for patch testing, I'd love to make something super simple that I know I'll tolerate. I'd rather use natural pigment if they'll work, but I don't think dyes are the issue, more so fragrances, botanicals, essential oils, possibly carmine and bht. I'm kind of limited here.

I am perpetually dehydrated and I’m trying to formulate towards that. I have made a humectant rich serum that I apply first, then my occlusive cream which is:
Water 69.5%
Hydrolyzed protein 1%
Panthenol 3%
Dimethicone 3%
Jojoba 5.5%
Rosehip oil 5.5%
Tallow 4%
Cetyl alcohol 4%
Ritamulse 3%
Liquid Germall .5%
Lavender essential oil 1%
I upped the Cetyl because I wanted a thicker cream. After applying the serum, then this cream, within minutes my skin feels very dry. Adding a layer of oil over the cream helps, but I’m so curious about why this is happening and how to correct it. Thanks in advance!

I found some Pure D-Panthenol drops online (75% panthenol). Is this safe to add as a drop to my palm and mix with my moisturizer? Or do I need to add one drop into an entire tub of moisturizer and mix? I don't want to mess up my skin from using something that has too much potency. The instructions on the small bottle are not very clear.

okay so i'm about to spend an absurd amount of money buying the ingredients to make an emulsified body butter because i think it'll be worth it in the long run. i have no prior experience making something like this so i would appreciate feedback on my recipe before i buy all the bs for this and make it lol.

my goal with this butter is something that wont clog my pores/worsen body acne or oily-ness, helps with dry skin & acne, helps with scarring/stretch marks, smells good but wont irritate my skin, and tastes alright when my skin is kissed (context: my partner and i really like kissing each others' hands and the current store bought body butter i use is apparently extremely bitter lol). a lot of the ingredients ive chosen are for scent and taste/body safety (floral water instead of essential oils, honey, citric & malic acid specifically), so any suggestions should take that into account. because of the ingredients im using im really unsure of this thing's shelf life too, so any pointers there would be helpful. as well as what the consistency of this might be like, as im going for something thicker.

ingredients
(EDIT: 7/6/26 ngl i forgot to read this sub's rules, thats my bad. first time posting on reddit lol forgive me. anyway updated the ingredients list to be a bit more manageable and changed it to percentages. i will edit this post as i change my planned formula)

• lavender hydrosol 15%
• orange hydrosol 20%
• distilled water 34%
• honey 1%
• glycerine 2%
• xanthan gum 0.2%
• citric acid 0.8%
• malic acid 1%
• arrowroot powder 1%

• shea butter 14%
• rosehip oil 5%
• jojoba oil 3%
• emulsimulse 2%
• stearic acid .5%
• vitamin e oil .5%

i'm using similar proportions to this recipe, though im trying to make 20oz of it not 4 lol

In my formulation to create a shampoo cleanser I got these parts.

Part 5A ,I have to mix in

Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate 15g

Sodium carbomer 1,6 g

With 60 ml hot water ( what temperature should I have to hydrate sodium carbomer pre neutralized) ?

What temperature of water is advised?

Then this mix will be mixed with

Part 5B :

Decyl glucoside 75 ml

Sodium cocoamphoacetate 22,5 ml

Citric acid 2g

Coco betaine 65 ml

Stir in Part 5A and frig overnight