Cosmetic Bases

At Ingredients To Die For we offer an extensive line of Cosmetic Bases. Our primary goal with all bases is product freshness and safety. We work hard to try and keep the perfect amount of each base on hand so that we can fill orders quickly and yet not have anything on our shelf for longer than the optimal shelf life. Cosmetic bases are made by our lab and on average will only take up to one week to get re-stocked so they will sometimes be out of stock. This won't be true for all bases and you'll get an idea of which ones will experience this. Please watch for those patterns and plan your orders to account for any production time.

Our ever-expanding Cosmetic Base category allows you to fill out your line effortlessly. Whether you need lotion base, cream base, shampoo base, conditioner base, or any other cosmetics, our cosmetic bases can help you to fill in the gaps in your offerings. As your need for more natural cosmetic bases increases, please feel free to let us know, and we'll put our Development Team to work for you, and address your needs within our Cosmetic Base category. We have a lot of customers that have told us that they need more moisturizers with a lotion base consistency in their own bath and body product line so we went to work to add more cosmetic bases as a lotion base and we will continue to add to our lotion bases. We can also create custom natural bases to help you address your specific needs in our Contract Manufacturing department: unscented lotion base, cream base, body wash base, unscented shampoo base, skin care base, body care, hair care, or any other cosmetics base.You'll find that the majority of our cosmetic bases are 100% natural, with a good portion of the ingredients being EcoCert, NPA, and Kosher certified, which is how you can know the quality of the base ingredients. We work hard to help you offer the most advanced, top shelf, and competitive natural bases because your success is our success.

With all products in our Cosmetic Bases category you must allow them to settle to room temperature, after transit, and be prepared to give them a thorough mixing prior to compounding.  As alll of our products are intended to be as pure and natural as possible, we do not add anything to manipulate temperature sensitivity in any products, including our Cosmetic Bases.  Even surfactant systems should be mixed, just mix these gently. 

None of our Cosmetic Bases, unless specifically noted otherwise in the 'Guidelines' or description, are intended to be heated during compounding.  For most it will be fine but, in all cases, run a trial to test for stability and determine thresholds.

With the exception of targeted bases (designed to achieve a particular performance, such as AHA / BHA), all bases will have a neutral pH, in the range of 4.0 to 6.0 however, if you desire a specific pH range they may usually be customized.  This is determined on a case by case basis depending on the other ingredients (and any ingredient pH requirements for efficacy) or the way the product is used (and how the usage may require a specific range for safety or efficacy).

With our Monoi de Tahiti Line you will need to be prepared for some extra work during drastic temperature changes due to the high level of oils within all of the emulsions which do make these products highly susceptible to weather conditions during transit.  The oils may be impacted if they get either too cold or too hot.  This will only apply during the very cold and very hot months however, be prepared to invest some extra time if you choose to offer this line.  It is worth it.  This is expected and does not impact the performance.

Prior to compounding with any of the emulsions, and especially any in the Monoi line ...

• you will need to give them sufficient time to stabilize to normal temperature during the hotter and colder months
• you will need to give them a sufficient mixing, using high shear, making sure to get product combined from the bottom of the container to the top
• when mixing or adding additional ingredients be sure to use a paddle type mixer to avoid the incorporation of too much air which will change the viscosity and glide

Simply scent and package our cosmetic bases under your own label. Voila! You'll have an instant line of finished products developed based on market trends and customer demand ... already tested, and customer approved, Skin Care, Bath and Body Care, and Hair Care products. Remember to always test at least one product in your chosen package to make sure that the package function is appropriate for the base. We do not advise the use of airless pumps with any of our NatureLine products (those that contain the lactylates) because the constant air manipulation can jeopardize the integrity of the emulsion. We also offer an extensive line of Natural Fragrance to make it easier for you to finish your products naturally. Available in convenient sizes as listed. Each of these products contains the finest available ingredients, carefully chosen and naturally derived. Developed with all of the things that todays consumer demands. Our natural cosmetic bases are loaded with: peptides, ceramides, anti-oxidants, natural emulsifiers and preservatives ... and none of things that they don't want: parabens, petro chemicals, sulfates, ethoxylates, nitrates,formaldehyde donors ... these handcrafted luxuries are the perfect marriage of nature and science. All our Cosmetic Bases are human-tested, and many are Vegan approved. Extensive product data and usage instructions are available online for your convenience and ease of selection. Product presentations provided for each makes your marketing a snap. Our painstakingly developed Hair Care Products are widely used in top quality salons and spas. Our Skin Care / Cosmetic base line is brimming with exotic label appeal, generously formulated with peptides, organic botanicals, ceramides, and other cutting edge naturally derived actives. Our Bath & Body products are designed to pamper, and are as natural-as-can-be. Sample sizes are available for every fabulous cosmetic base and cosmetic base, so order yours today and see how we can help with your cosmetic base, body care base, hair care base: lotion base, cream, wash, shampoo base, conditioner base ... you name it and we offer it. Please be careful when using our language to make sure that you don't cross the line, from cosmetic to over the counter drug, when setting up your, direct to consumer, labels. You'll want to make sure that you don't make any claim that promises a change in skin performance, or structure, to avoid being mis-branded under the current FDA Labeling Guidelines.

Please sample all cosmetic bases prior to purchasing larger quantities and always run a trial batch of any product to avoid costly, development issues and, re-batching. We can not guarantee that your additions will not de-stabilize the base, especially cosmetic bases, as we can not test for every possible addition. Please consider that all bases are tested with only essential oils and they are tested at 0.5% in skin care products and 1.0% in bath and body products however, that does not mean that what you want to use will work for every base. Always make a small sample and let it sit for several days to make sure that your essential / fragrance oil has not jeopardized the emulsification system. Please keep in mind that these are natural bases and they don't have the powerful emulsifiers, and thickeners, that are used in synthetic lines so they are more unpredictable and temperature sensitive*^. With many of our natural bases they will thin during transit in the hotter seasons and it will take some time for them to reach, and react, to normal temperature. This is not a manufacturing defect and should be expected so that you can manage your inventory controls to take that into account *^. We are not adding any artificial color or fragrance and the raw materials do come from nature and that means that from batch to batch there may be variations in color and / or natural odor. Please do not lock into any base for color, scent, or viscosity, alone as those parameters are not going to be forced or controlled from batch to batch. Always make a small trial sample to make sure that your added ingredients will not de-stabilize the base before proceeding with full batch production. Always do a test patch. Every fragrance will react differently with every base so, always run another trial batch when you change fragrances. This is, especially, true for surfactant systems that rely on a certain viscosity range, and pH, to maintain stability. If your fragrance, or oils, thin the base too much it may de-stabilize the base. It's also possible that it will thin it enough to incorporate too much air, in these cases the base will end up with what looks like two separate layers, which is due to the creation of excess foam. This may take up to a few weeks to settle back into the base, when it has happened to a full pail, and only minutes when it happens to a small bottle. This may also happen in transit if there is too much friction during shipping. If your need, for the surfactant base, is urgent you can, usually, force the foam to settle down using heat. To do this apply gentle heat while gently stirring the foam back into the base, then let it cool. Never try to add ingredients to any bases by shaking. This can disrupt the natural emulsification system and lead to separation in creams and lotions and excess foam in surfactant systems. Always mix surfactant systems using gentle mixing to avoid the incorporation of excess air and foam. Always mix emulsions with high shear mixing, unless specifically instructed otherwise in the base description and / or usage guidelines. Keep in mind that just because one of your favorite fragrances works in our cream base, lotion base, conditioner base, and any other products, does not guarantee that it will work in any cosmetic base because, for instance, the surfactant systems are more sensitive and the carrier used for fragrance is not always known so there is no way to know which fragrance will work and which ones will not work, without testing. Always run a trial batch of your cosmetic base before proceeding with full production batches to avoid those costly, development, issues.

Of course, our customer service staff is happy to help when you need it. Just give us a call, or send us an email, with any specific development issues or Contract Manufacturing, and the natural bases that you have chosen from our cosmetic base line of products, and we will do our best. Be prepared to answer questions regarding what you have added, the ratios, the mixing equipment used, the amount of time that it was mixed, and so on ... these answers are the only guide, that we will have, in determining what may have caused the problem, or what will prevent a problem. If you have a development issue, with one of our cosmetic bases, we will attempt to help you, by running tests in our lab, using our stock product, only. For sanitation reasons we can not allow any product that has left our facility back into our labs. We can also acquire any materials, that you have added, from the manufacturer, which will be subject to our usual receiving protocols, before being allowed into the lab. We can not allow you to send us your product, for testing on our equipment, as we can not guarantee what may have been added, or know to what level of contamination we would be exposing our staff, and equipment. This is due to strict quality control protocols, within our labs and facility, that must be respected at all times. There are some toxins that can contaminate the entire lab, including the environment, and for the sake of our other customers and our staff we can not take that kind of risk. This is standard operating procedure for most labs.

In all cases of cosmetic manufacturing, which does include the simple addition of fragrance or other additives, and even just filling your containers, it is imperative that you familiarize yourself and any staff with standard lab sanitation practices and that you implement whatever measures are necessary to ensure minimal contamination. Ingredients To Die For utilizes the HACCP system and we are happy to help you identify opportunities for improvement and contamination control within your environment. In accordance with our strict safety and efficacy standards all Ingredients To Die For cosmetic bases are developed using the lowest effective amount of preservatives, emulsifiers, and any other ingredients that do not contribute to the function or performance of the product. For this reason, when you choose to use our cosmetic bases, it is imperative that you: call us before you add any significant amount of water based ingredients to ensure preservative efficacy; before you add any significant amount of oil based ingredients to ensure emulsion stability; before you add any significant amount of any additional ingredients, to skin care, to ensure performance of the actives; always use stirring, rather than shaking, to add your additional ingredients; confirm compatibility of your additional ingredients; stir in your additional ingredients in small increments, mixing well between additions, to determine thresholds; confirm proper pH after your additions; remove the seal completely prior to using the product to ensure contamination control and minimization; keep an accurate log of your customization's for control purposes. All Ingredients To Die For bottles and jars are induction sealed to prevent leaks in transit. Sanitize your gloves, the cutting tool, and the top of the seal prior to tampering with the seal for removal. Remove all traces of the paper seal prior to using the product. Every cap is equipped with a paper liner, a foil seal, and a foam seal. You will remove the foil seal and the paper seal and you will keep the foam seal in your cap so that your container will still have an adequate seal during use. If you do not have an induction machine to remove the seal entirely then it is crucial that you transfer the entire contents to another container prior to use. It is not sufficient to attempt to remove the paper seal with a razor or any similar tool because that may result in micro scratches in the surface of the plastic which can create a perfect breeding ground for microbial infestation. Failure to follow these instructions will result in constant contamination of the paper which will jeopardize the preservative and drastically shorten the shelf life of the product.

From our Tech Tip Library: Adding Additional Ingredients To Bases ...
Mixing Additional Ingredients into Bases ... When adding your additional ingredients there is no need for heavy mixing if you aren't challenging the emulsification and if you are challenging the emulsification the heavy mixing will only offer a temporary solution. For best results add your additional ingredients using a propeller or paddle attachment to mix it well, and in accordance with the base and ingredient instructions, and continue mixing only until the additional ingredients are incorporated:
In all cases it is best to add your additional ingredients in one step (as a pre-combined solution) and then add in small increments, mixing well between additions, to determine the threshold for the added ingredients; In all cases it is best that both the base and the additional ingredient solution be as close to the same temperature, as possible, when combined; In all cases when you'll be adding a powder pre-dissolve the powder into a liquid ...

It is important that your staff build good habits when working with bulk bases. One of the most important steps with all bulk bases is adequate stirring. As bulk containers are received they should be thoroughly stirred and then they should be stirred again, prior to dispensing, if the container has been stored for any length of time. The second most important step is to scrape / wipe down the edges of the container to eliminate product on the sides of the container because any residual product on the sides of the container will dry out and may appear to be grit when it falls back into product, during dispensing.Even better would be to incorporate a system to transfer product to smaller containers that don't allow as much empty space.

SAMPLING NOTES :::

... In all cases of evaluating sample sizes you should be prepared that the sample is not gong to be an adequate representation of the final texture or viscosity of the finished product. These will change when the product is finished with fragrance (essential) oils and / or other ingredients. Even though you might add 1% fragrance (essential) oil and / or other ingredients you will not achieve a final texture that is equal to what you will when working with a large quantity because when working with such a small quantity you will not be able to match the mixing shear, or incorporation, that you will achieve with the large batch and adequate mixing shear. You should consider samples as an adequate gauge of the feel, absorption, and sensitivity only, and even then it will not be identical to the finished product.

... Unless otherwise indicated all of our cosmetic bases are developed with the intention that our customer will be finishing the product by adding fragrance (essential) oil and / or other ingredients and mixing.  The aesthetic properties will not be as intended when used unscented. If you prefer not to add fragrance (essential) oil then we would advise that you add 0.5 to 1.0% of an emollient (light carrier oil) to make sure that it has the desired texture.

... Unless otherwise indicated all of our cosmetic bases are intended to be stored cool, tightly sealed, and protected from direct heat and light. Please educate your customers to the nature of natural products so that they know not to leave their products in their car on a hot day or store them in the refrigerator as that will have a negative impact on the texture and performance of the product.

It's important to note that as a supplier of pure and natural products we do not engage in any manipulation, which includes natural color and odor.  We will post a description of appearance and odor with every item but it must be understood that those aspects may change from batch to batch of the raw materials.  Plants produce chemicals in response to their current growing environment and they are very efficient at modifying those chemicals to ensure their survival in the current environment.  Therefore, the natural aspects, the most notable being, color and odor may and do change whenever the plant deems it necessary to survive or thrive.  We do what we do because we love that aspect of plant life ... it is a living thing and does adjust.  Please educate your own customers to avoid issues over these natural changes. This is especially applicable when you offer cosmetic bases to your customers.  We do not accept returns due to these natural variations.

*^ Please note that we do not add anything to our products to make them heat stable, to control natural odor or natural color. If they get too hot they will have varying results. Some will thin and come back together just fine while others may not.  Some bases, containing miscible ingredients (such as Zinc Oxide Cream and Intense Hydration Cream ...) may push out the oils if they get too hot, this is expected and does not effect performance, it is fully resolved with your finishing of the product prior to final sale.  Please contact us for instructions on how to resolve this and we will help you to get it back to its original intended condition, to the best of our ability. To protect the integrity of our lab environment we can not have opened product returned to us for us to do the work ourselves, so you will have to be willing to do the work. Particularly with surfactant bases you may see color variations for any base which includes natural extracts due to the solubility and bonding which will happen naturally over time as the extracts solubilize more fully into the surfactants. We do not make any guarantees and we will not compromise the integrity of our natural product line to make a product capable of not thinning or melting at excessive temperatures or to prevent the natural color shift and enhanced solubilization of extracts or other actives over time. This is the nature of natural products and you may wish to consider that before diving into that market if you are uncomfortable with having to educate your own customers to the nature of heat impact on natural products. Almost everyone who buys natural products, in the retail end, understands this issue however, some may not. We do not accept any responsibility for heat impact on anything that is subjected to shipping or improper storage. If these issues are not acceptable to you then please do not order any of our bases.

Please be in the habit of checking in reguarly, whether ordering or not, because every item page has a special message section which will be used to notify our customers of any change in the material such as;  a name change, source change, aesthetic change and so on however, to avoid having any regular customer think that an item is always changing we will only post the message for 90 days.  This message will appear at the very top of the item page in dark red text.

FREE OF

Paraben · Formaldehyde ·  Donor · Sulfate · Petro · Artificial Color / Fragrance