Have you ever wondered how makeup is made? Well, the global cosmetics industry is actually pretty huge with the United States alone spending over $35 billion every year on lipstick, mascara, foundation, and other cosmetics. In recent years, this industry has undergone many changes and transformations due to increased regulation and new legislation on cosmetic products. The FDA now controls how cosmetics are manufactured in a bid to no toxic products like mercury or lead are used in the making of this products. How, then, is good and high-quality makeup made?
Buyers look for consistency. They want assurance that the last few bits of their foundation will have the same texture and color as the first application. They want to be sure that their mascara will not run and will look and stay fresh for many hours. Cosmetic products are meticulously formulated to ensure this. Cosmetic companies invest in the latest state of the art equipment to ensure that they make high-quality, balanced, and safe products with proper scent, color, and consistency, and will not expire quickly.
The Making of Foundation
Foundation is definitely not easy to get right on your first try. Liquid foundation is the most popular nowadays. It is made using special pigment and oil, with some scents fused in to it to make it more attractive. The entire product must blend and mix well so that it applies on the skin evenly and so that consumers can use it with confidence without it appearing greasy or incompatible to the underlying skin.
To achieve this, cosmetics manufacturers use industrial equipment that is precisely calibrated to ensure that the end product has a consistent texture and that it is the same quality throughout the entire batch. They use special manufacturing procedures like submicron processing to ensure that the makeup is always perfect and that the ingredients used in making the product are significantly reduced in size to the point that they are not noticeable by the human eye.
Quadro Liquids is one of the leading cosmetics companies in the world and they are known for making high-quality makeup products. They employ high-tech blending machines that can reliably produce high-quality foundations, using stringent processes that include:
- Hydration of suspending/ thickening agents
- Production of a stable emulsion
- Disintegration of any particles in the mix
- Dissolution of powdered ingredients
- Blending up of liquids to appropriate viscosity
- Mixing of rheology thickeners, modifiers, and stabilizers
These processes are done in hygienic, carefully controlled, and consistently reproducible conditions because the safety and health of the consumers that use these products is at stake.
The Making of Mascara
Mascara is yet another makeup product that’s difficult to make and it requires special attention and care because it’s applied to a very sensitive part of the face, the eyes. In some regions, it is illegal to use tar, coal, and other substances that might be toxic to get that jet black color that everyone likes. In the US, manufacturers are legally prohibited from using such toxic substances.
However, there are many safe ingredients and formulas that can be used to manufacture mascara. In most cases, the basic formula includes a pigment, wax, and some oil, but all these should not irritate the eyes in any way. Blending water and oil is the hardest part as you would imagine.
Cosmetic companies use a wide variety of complex methods such as high viscosity pumping to produce a consistent solution, with a smooth mixture of oils and water, where they are evenly blended within each other, being the most desired result.
Other Makeup Products
Lipstick is made using pigments, oils and waxes, which are treated with preservatives and antioxidants to help stay fresh and prevent them from getting spoiled once opened. The FDA has approved many pigments for use in lipsticks. Lipstick is heavily regulated because of the possibility of trace elements being ingested. The constituents used must be non-toxic.
Makeup companies used equipment from brands like Flux Pumps to mix together the ingredients to make something that will apply conveniently and stay on while having a consistent and stable texture. Cochineal is one of the trendiest pigments at the moment but there are plenty of others to choose from as well.
