Whenever I embark on formulating a new product, my mind goes wild with so many possibilities of what may come. Each time, I have to sit back and pull myself down to bring about a balance of finding the right ingredients and fight the temptation to add more and more ingredients.
Formulating a new product is akin to embarking on a building project, or to create something with a purpose. First, what is the purpose of that skincare product? Is it to boost hydration, or anti aging, or combat acne for instance. What skin type is it suitable for? How is the scent of the ingredients? Does it give the results I wanted in the first place?
This cycle of thought process will go round with trials and different formula tweaks until it I find that it's exactly what I wanted it and imagined.
With the formula in place, next process will be finding the right packaging.
When it comes to choosing sustainable packaging, it's never an easy choice as glass is better than plastic or vice versa. There are so many factors and variables to take note. For example, I decided to switch my baby balms from glass jars to acrylic airless pumps for three reasons:
One, glass is dangerous around babies and toddlers. Moms struggling with a wriggling baby or a curious toddler doing a throw test experiment may end up with broken glass pieces. Two, the carbon emission to ship heavy glass jars is much more than plastic. Sometimes, may end up with broken jars which add to the costs and wastage. Three, airless pumps ensures product freshness as it gets minimal contact with air and finger dipping.
I used PP jars for our Southern Alps Glacial Clay masks for two reasons: One, PP is recyclable. But in the even you want to refill, I have to option to refill the masks and you can reuse the jars repeatedly. Two, it allows me to go paper box free. No paper box, less wastage, more trees saved.
As a one-woman business, I am still learning and exploring better formulas, better packaging and improving on A For Apothecary to give you the best artisanal organic skincare experience each time you unbox your A For Apothecary order.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to grow together. :)
Love,
Jingyi