It's Called a Formula
You might even be right.
I hear this term used constantly by home-crafters and DIY enthusiasts (which is understandable) but also occasionally from colleagues (which confuses me a bit).
Every time someone uses the word 'recipe' when they are talking about a formula, it tugs on a cringe-muscle.
Just a little teensy bit.
The Process
When a person sits down to figure out how to combine ingredients in such a manner as to create a skincare, haircare or other personal care product, the process is described as formulating.The formulating process results in a formula.
Formulating is precision process. Everything – even single drops of essential oil – is calculated in percentages and measured by weight – and sometimes the percentages have several numbers after the decimal point.
Precision.
The correct term is formula, not recipe.
I mean, we aren't making cookies here. A pinch of this and a dash of that might be okay with grandma's favorite strawberry-glazed somethings, but this kind of measuring just doesn't cut it with a skincare product.
Because skincare products are made by following a formula, not a recipe.
End of semantic lecture.
And thank you for not calling me nit-picky – even if you think I am.
Comments
Margi
I would like to disagree. I think the beauty industry has been fooling their customers for way too long (your company excluded of course), by adding too many unproven ingredients, making the list way too long just to justify the price so that their customers think that a lot of formulating research went into it and the price worth it.
So women buy skincare products instead of making their own at home. Even I, that roam university research papers for work, had doubts initially and approached this exercise with caution.
However, thanks to the dear Marie Rayma I have been proven just how easy it is to make your own skincare products. I see nothing wrong with her or others calling it "recipes" and emphasising just how easy one can diy.
Jamie Oliver taught the world how to cook, and we need more "Jamies" to teach women to make food for their skin, all natural or not. Because the results are so satisfying!
And thank you for sharing your insights that make way for others to follow :)
My main objection to using the word recipe is that people will tend to mentally slot making a skincare product into the same category as making a dish of food. One is consumed immediately, the other is applied to the skin (maybe also children) and will be standing on a shelf for months on end. If people get a skincare 'recipe' wrong it can be health hazardous – far more serious than getting a cake recipe wrong.
As much as I agree with you it about the advantages of making ones own skincare products, I feel it is necessary to differentiate cooking from formulating.