When I started exploring handmaking, I am going to be vulnerable here and share that I did not initially complete these steps. Had I known this, it would of saved me so much time, product waste, and most of all frustration! I am sharing this with you so you will learn from my mistake. Had I not jumped to excitement, stayed patient and actually learned how to formulate before making products, I would of avoided all of that drama!
Now let's get into it.
I am going to break this down by each step and please post a comment if you have a question. I'll do my best to answer it!
Step one:
Understanding how doing this will help you
Vision: Professional Products are made in percentages and allow you to calculate large batches of the same recipe. As your business grows so will your product demand. You need to be able to make more of the same product to meet that demand and calculating this way will help you with that.
Skills needed: You will have to know how to calculate using a calculator OR you can find a batch calculator online but if we are really trying to build a skill here, let's work this formula out.
Benefits of doing this:
Makes your work easier, saves production time.
Tools you need : You will use a regular calculator and a scale that can weigh out to grams.
Step Two:
Your going to need to determine which ingredients you will want for your formula or recipe. This is an important part. Think about the problem your trying to solve and then how each function of the ingredient will play to solve that problem. Research benefits of ingredients and how they will perform. For todays example, I will be using a skin & hair serum that will benefit both the skin and hair.
Step Three.
Once you determine your formula, we are going to create a 100g test batch. We are using this test batch at 100g because we want to create 100% of our recipe. 1% is equivalent to 1 gram.
Making a test batch will allow you to TEST the product and if you like the performance , you can make more of it with the same percentages!
For example: Lets say you wanted to make Divinity Scent Bar's Brazilian Hair & Skin Serum which is a very simple formula. Your going to weigh each ingredient on your scale by grams.
Pracaxi Oil 35 % = 35g
Brazil Nut Oil 35%=35g
Buriti Oil 28%=28g
Vitamin E 1%=1g
Lavender Essential oil 1% =1g
Total Formula = 100g
Step Four:
Make your formula and test it.
Please test your batch, give yourself time to see how it performs. Once you have ran your test batch and you love it, your now ready to go to production! Congratulations you just made your first formula!
Step Five:
Making your larger batch. Let's say we want to do 500g!
All you have to do is calculate it with the percentages you originally used from your test batch. Let's do it together:
Pracaxi Oil 35g x 5 =175g
Brazil Nut Oil 35g x 5= 175g
Buriti Oil 28g X 5= 140g
Vitamin E 1g X 5 = 5g
Lavender Essential oil 1g X 5 =5 g
Total new batch = It all adds up to 500g!
Ensure you document your recipe so you always have it, and VOILA! Your on your way to being more confident in calculating formulations!
Any questions? Please leave a comment.
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