Research and development  can be a costly investment for companies – so you may as well make it work for you… So how can your organisation not only save on their R&D expenses but actually make money from each development? Belinda Carli, the in-cosmetics Group technical advisor shares some secrets…

The answer is three-fold:

• Avoiding costly mistakes,
• Hastening development time and
• Maximising innovation;

All of the above can be accomplished by enhancing the skills of your R&D team through quality distance education.

Avoid costly mistakes

Not all ingredients are compatible with other ingredients; for example, did you know:

• Certain active ingredients are only compatible within very specific pH limits, and this varies depending on the type of preparation it is?
• Various gums and thickeners are not compatible with certain pH levels, in the presence of charged compounds and have very specific processing requirements to be effective?
• The pH required by your preservative can inactivate the performance of other ingredients, and vice versa?
• Some emulsifiers have charge, form and ingredient incompatibilities depending on how they are used and what they are used in conjunction with?
• The polarity of lipids can affect product stability, particularly when certain combinations of lipid soluble actives, performance enhancers or aesthetic agents are used?

Do you or your R&D team know how to check for ingredient incompatibilities and formulate around these issues?

Hasten development time

Quality education has multiple benefits to organisations; good ingredient selection means:

• Time savings during raw material procurement – saving time means saving money, no matter how you look at it
• Better quality samples both aesthetically and stability – again saving on multiple rounds of sample development to achieve the needs of a brief and ensure a good shelf life

Good education is essential to achieve effective ingredient selection – the savings on one project alone could be equal to or greater than the cost of enhancing staff education. However, learning effective ingredient selection will work across multiple developments – resulting in multiple cost savings for an organisation.

Maximise innovation

Finally, and most importantly, good education can mean making more money off each development. Having highly skilled staff that have been specifically trained in investigating and incorporating innovations into formulations means revolutionary, high performing products can be created to excite your target market. Having great performance with a strong point of difference are 2 important factors in any brand leading product to maximise the return on your development investments.

Obtaining quality education via distance/online has further benefits to organisations:

• Staff will see it as a benefit of employment to have their education paid for
• Staff wanting to advance in their career can enhance their education and resume by attaining specialised formulation training
• Study can be done at a time and place that suits the learner at work or home around their work or life commitments
• Learners can start at any time and revisit lectures or learning throughout their study with support from highly qualified and experienced trainers

The Institute of Personal Care Science are the global leaders in online and distance education for the personal care industry. Various programs exist from beginners through to Diploma training including specialty training in cosmeceuticals, sunscreens, colour and organic formulations. Visit  the Institute of Personal Care Science for more information or email them