Theory Day on how to use our main Cosmetic Raw Materials

A One-Day course with Mike Harmon

Overview:

Designed and written by Kolbjorn Borseth, facilitated by Mike Harmon. This one-day course is ideal for those who wish to make their own cosmetic and tailor-made skin care products. It is an opportunity to receive in-depth knowledge that can be applied directly and there will be many opportunities throughout the day for you to ask Mike questions and discuss any specific issues that you require support with. This is Aromantic’s Theory Course that Kolbjorn Borseth fully updated and revised in the Spring of 2010 with over 100 new A4-pages that covers areas of natural: moisturisers; emulsifiers; and preservatives; plus a 22-page A5 brochure of how detergents and emulsifiers work chemically. This is the ultimate course if you want to learn about hair and skin care raw materials and how they work.

During the day Mike will cover the following themes in-depth:

• moisturisers – in-depth information
• help-moisturisers
• preservatives and you can avoid using them
• emulsifiers
• help-emulsifiers and stabilisers
• a simple description of the workings of the chemical make-up of emulsifiers and detergents
• the difference between Oil-in-Water and Water-in-Oil Emulsifiers
• how foam works

Who this course will benefit:

Many of the students on Aromantic ‘s courses as well as customers have said that they wanted to know more about the moisturisers, emulsifiers and preservatives we use. This course is ideal for anyone who wants to make their own tailor-made natural cosmetics products.

Course Contents:

After registration the course begins with the students receiving a very comprehensive 60 A4-page compendium containing the course notes for moisturisers and skin softeners. The compendium presents 34 different moisturisers and skin softeners, some of which have properties you may already be familiar with – here we look at their functions and benefits as help-moisturisers or even help-emulsifiers. As moisturising is a very important aspect of keeping skin healthy and reducing wrinkling, it is very important to know how they work and how best to use them.

We explore and describe five types of moisturising ingredients and how they function: emollients; humectants; naturally-occurring humectants (natural moisturising factors); substantives and occlusives. The emphasis of this long session is an understanding the various moisturisers and why/when you should use them for different purposes.

After a tea-break we will continue discussing moisturisers.

After lunch you will be given a comprehensive 22-page A4 compendium on the topic of preservatives. The compendium covers the reasons for the need to preserve products and how we can, through proper handling of skin/hair care products, avoid using any so-called preservatives at all. We will cover the hygienic standard, the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standard of production, which will guide you in creating a hygienic environment when making your products. This section will include natural preservation methods such as alcohol, sugar, salt, pH, heating, and different essential oils. We of course, also present the main professional preservatives and how to use them. Another important aspect is the section on which commercial preservatives you should avoid and why.

After a tea-break you will be given a 28-page A4 comprehensive compendium on emulsifiers, covering 17 emulsifiers (including help-emulsifiers). The teacher will talk in-depth about the emulsifiers that Aromantic uses. The information is in the compendium you receive, all you have to do add extra notes under each product. How emulsifiers work chemically is covered by the teacher in such a way that non-chemists can understand. The way we use certain emulsifiers for specific creams, lotions, cleansers and peelers is discussed. We also cover the recommended percentage/dosage to use for each of the different products.

Very importantly, you will learn and get tips on how to avoid making common mistakes when using emulsifiers and you will learn how to ‘save’ your products if they are too runny or have become separated. In the same vein, you’ll get information on how to combine emulsifiers with help-emulsifiers and stabilisers to make creams more resilient against separating or becoming too thin. You’ll also learn about outdated emulsifiers and emulsifiers you should avoid. The teacher will explain how emulsifiers used in mass-produced commercial skin care products can have a detrimental effect upon the skin. At the end of this first session there will be an opportunity to address any problems that students have experienced in making creams and lotions and to learn some techniques for remedying these (e.g. runny creams, unpleasant smelling creams, etc).

15 Recipes are included to show you how to use the emulsifiers. The emphasis is on applying this knowledge so that you can make your own tailor-made products.

After this section students are given a 22-page A5 brochure that mainly covers how detergents for soaps and shampoos work chemically, how foaming works and why we need foam. This brochure also covers the chemical processes when emulsifiers are used. Included are the chemical illustrations on how Aromantic’s main O/W (oil-in-water) emulsifiers as well as W/O (water-in-oil) emulsifiers work. In this brochure you will also find extra information on vegetal emulsifier (including recipes); the benefits of GLA; aloe vera and pearlescent colours.

The day ends with a practical demonstration on how detergents work and 2 extra handouts are given to students: 1x sheet on non-comedogenic ingredients and 1x sheet on cosmetic raw materials that we recommend everybody avoid. This is free and you may copy it for yourself.

Throughout the whole day the students will be able to handle the raw materials that we are discussing. Course participants will be able to ask any questions they have about the material/topics discussed on the day.

Course Schedule:

09:45: Registration & Introductions

10:00: Raw material information MOISTURISERS and how to use them

11:15: Tea-Break

11:30: Resume MOISTURISERS

13:00: Lunch

13:50: Raw material information about PRESERVATIVES

15:20: Tea-Break

15:35: Raw material information about EMULSIFIERS

17:00: Demonstration: how detergents work and handing out of extra materials

17:20: General questions and feedback

17:30: Course ends

What you will take home:

• Comprehensive compendiums:
  60 A4 pages on Moisturisers
  22 A4 pages on Preservatives
  28 A4 pages on Emulsifiers
  22 A5 pages on Detergents and Emulsifier chemistry and bonus information (see course overview above)
• 1- sheet on non-comedogenic ingredients
• 1x sheet on cosmetic raw materials that we recommend everybody avoid
  

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