Lab Notes and Documentation

Happy Saturday everyone. Today’s topic is technical in a different manner, though just as important as knowing the theory of emulsions and how polymers work in an aqueous phase. One of the main annoyances and initial personal shortcomings as a Formulator was the lack of note-taking. Notes are critical to becoming a proficient Formulator. Taking good notes is a cardinal rule for being a good Formulations Chemist. No way of getting around it. You may say to yourself, “I’ll remember that.” You may. You might also forget, so the experienced Formulator knows that writing things down will not only ensure you remember crucial information, they’ll also help in creating an organized effort towards your formulations.

Along with the lab equipment necessary for making cleansers, emulsions, anhydrous products, and other cosmetic goods, tools for record-keeping are paramount for being successful in this industry. If it’s not written down somewhere, it didn’t happen. Here are a list of items required for Good Documentation Practices (GDP):

• Lab Notebook
• Pencils
• Pens
• Rulers
• Planner
• Spreadsheet (advanced tool)

That is my go-to lab notebook. However, if you want a fancier, prettier look to your notebook, LabNotes EU has some good options available. Plus, they have many tips on how to systematically become a better Formulator and how to track your progress.

There 7 important components to taking notes:

1. Product profile: what are you making
2. Batch size: how much are you making (use appropriate units)
3. Formula: items, phases, trade names, INCI names, percentages, and masses
4. Procedure: how will you make your product
5. Results: measurements such as viscosity, pH, specific gravity, total solids
6. Observations: should be written down while doing bench work, at end of experiment, and at 24h.
7. Conclusions: what percentages need adjustment, establishment of pH curve, viscosity dependence on other properties (i.e. pH), procedure adjustments, etc.
8. Repeat: conduct experiment again with new information at hand

After each experiment, you should be getting closer to your conceptualized product, if you’re taking notes, writing down crucial information (i.e. don’t shock cool an emulsion with Olivem 1000 as the main emulsifier), observing the effects of each ingredient, and arriving at accurate conclusions. This approach will allow you to design your experiments with accuracy, foresight, and yes, creativity. It’s all a matter of practicing the scientific method. A quick review of the scientific method:

1. Question: posing a question of the nature of an observation
2. Research: doing investigation into a phenomenon
3. Hypothesis: proposing a formalized conjecture like adding Solagum AX to the aqueous phase will stabilize the emulsion
4. Experiment: design a procedure to measure effect on dependent variables, and with all necessary tools and equipment to answer hypothesis
5. Results: record numerical figures, measurements, etc.
6. Interpretation: what do the results mean within the context of this experiment
7. Conclusions: what can and cannot be said about the question being answered
8. Replication: usually left to other scientists to redo said experiment to determine if methods and results are accurate (this is huge).

Being a Formulator means being a Scientist. You’re an observant of the natural world. Humans being the inquisitive creatures that they are ask questions about everything. As such, carrying that attitude/outlook into your work/art will be a tremendous asset to becoming a great Formulator. Kind of like the first astronomers who looked up into the night sky and asked, “What are those up there, and who are we?” Asking questions about what you’re doing will only help sharpen your skills.

So remember: write it down, write it down, write it down. And make sure your notes are legible (working on that). A rule of thumb: you should always be able to read what you wrote. A corollary to that is that other Formulators should understand what you wrote and how you arrived to your conclusions. With that said, grab your pencils and take plenty of notes.