8 reasons not to follow recipes (and formulate your own products instead)

So what’s the problem with following recipes?

If we only follow recipes then we’re limiting ourselves to learning from others when instead we could just as easily learn the art and science to create products ourselves and create our own recipes!

1. Recipes are only as good as the person who created them and often you don’t know them so you don’t know how reliable they are.
2. Books go out of date (as do blogs), which means you can’t be sure how reliable they are, or whether they are up to date, or more importantly whether they are safe.
3. There’s also no support which means if you find a problem with your product (or need to check some information), you probably won’t find it that easy to get some tips to fix the problem.
4. It’s difficult to adapt or change the recipe if you don’t understand how to do this, and if you do, you run the risk of doing something incorrect or unsafe!

Don’t get us wrong, when learning to make products, following recipes has its place.

1. They are a great starting point to help us get used to the actual act of making products when all we really need to focus on is the how-to.
2. They are also a great way of getting inspiration when we become skillful product creators.
3. If we find a recipe that looks good and like something we might like, then heck, why not go for it? Absolutely!

BUT if you STOP following other people’s recipes and instead CREATE your OWN products and recipes you can then begin to do so much more!

(This is called formulating, by the way.)

8 reasons not to follow recipes and instead formulate (design) your own products:

1) You can make products tailored to your specific skin needs and preferences

Your skin has certain needs that you want to address. For example, it might be oily, dry or wrinkles might be appearing. This might be combined with other needs such as sensitivity to essential oils or patches of eczema.

You also probably have certain preferences (likes and dislikes) when it comes to products. For example you love floral fragrances or you hate the medicinal smell of tea tree. You love cleansing balms and don’t like cleansing lotions.

When you design your own products you can consider BOTH your needs AND preferences to create your IDEAL product!

An example here is that lots of products aimed at acne-prone skin contain tea tree which is a fab ingredient for addressing the NEEDS and problems of this skin type BUT many people don’t like the smell (so it’s not suiting their preferences).

2) It’s the only way to make products that your customers will love

If you want to sell your products you will want to make products that:

1. Are really good quality, safe and stable.
2. Your customers love and keep coming back for.

The way to make something they love is to make something that suits their needs and preferences. You’ll never find a ready-to-follow recipe that knows exactly what your ideal customers need and like. You’ll need to create that yourself.

3) You can really begin to weave your values into your products

What is important to you? What do you wish you could change about the skincare products on the market?

When you formulate your own products you can formulate with this in mind too!

For example:

• You might want to create vegan products that don’t contain beeswax.
• Or your son might have a nut allergy and you want to make a nut-free product.
• You might want to create feel-good products that help you feel positive and uplifted when you use them.
• You might want to lower your carbon footprint and use as many locally sourced ingredients as possible.

Values important to you personally, or to your customers, can be taken into consideration when creating your own product formulations.

4) Make the perfect product

You have probably experienced following a recipe but not really liking the finished product. Or making a product and being disappointed in the (lack of) results it gives.

When you learn how a recipe or formula is put together and the function of different ingredients you also know how to adapt, vary and change the product. So if you make something that you don’t like (eg too greasy, too thin, too hard, it separates, etc) you know how to put it right. You can also use ingredients that will really give you the results you want.

5) Create high quality, safe and stable products

As our Checklist: how to make sure the skincare products you make are safe and stable points out, there are TONS of unsafe recipes floating around on the internet.

By learning how to make your own products properly, you’ll also learn how to do it according to industry regulations and safety guidelines. This gives you peace of mind that what you are using, selling or giving away is high quality, safe and stable.

6) Save time and costly mistakes

Following on from points 4 and 5, when you formulate your own product you will spend a fair amount of time creating your recipe on paper first before actually making it. When you do this and do this properly it will save you both time and mistakes that ultimately cost you money.

7) Become more independent and self-reliant

Rather than dashing off to the nearest Facebook group every time you want to know something or fix a problem (and get advice that may or may not be helpful and correct), you’ll have developed the mindset to solve it yourself. Imagine how wonderful that will feel!

8) Make your mark, create something unique and different – and have fun!

Formulating your own products is a wonderful opportunity to express your individuality and creativity. Plus, choosing and experimenting with butters, oils, essential oils and botanical extracts is a huge amount of fun, too.

Like the sound of formulating your own products?