The Certificate in Making Natural Skincare Products is our shorter beginners’ course. The time it takes to complete the course really depends on how many products you want to make. You can make as many or as few as you like! We estimate allowing approximately 40-80 hours. Most students complete the course within 3-6 months. You could immerse yourself in all the material over a few days, study one module a week, or take several months. The choice is yours.

If you are looking for a longer and more in-depth course then you may wish to consider our Diploma in Natural Skincare Formulation.

Studying online is easy and convenient. You can study at your own pace from the comfort of your own home (or office/library - wherever you wish!).

As soon as you enroll you receive access to the course inside our online classroom. There you’ll find the whole curriculum laid out for you. We provide a variety of study materials - written lessons in beautiful downloadable pdfs, video demonstrations, audio lessons, downloadable worksheets, reference charts, activities and quizzes.

Once a week on a Monday, you'll have the opportunity to ask questions to our experienced, professional Cosmetic Scientists through our specialised Tutor Q&A forums, hosted in our online classroom.

You’ll meet your classmates in our private student support group (hosted in Facebook). Here, you can chat to other students and graduates to ask for their advice, knowledge and expertise. We encourage peer-to-peer support and know how valuable access to a community of like-minded individuals can be when studying remotely. 

When you have worked through the lessons you can take the end-of-course quiz. Once you have successfully completed the quiz you’ll be issued with your Certificate of Completion. You can retake the quiz as many times as you need to.

You'll have access to the online classroom for 18 months, so plenty of time to study. We recommended that you download the files and documents to your own computer for safekeeping, that way the material is yours to keep forever!

In terms of ingredients we recommend that you start off simple! With just a handful of ingredients you can make many types of product. We suggest you begin with inexpensive carrier oils that are still very beneficial for the skin. This means as you are practicing and learning you won’t waste expensive ingredients.

So it’s probably best to start with:

• 1-2 emulsifiers.
• 1 preservative.
• 1 antioxidant (Vitamin E).
• 2 stabilizers (cetyl alcohol and xanthan gum).
• 1 humectant (glycerin).
• 1 wax (beeswax or a vegan alternative).
• A few basic carrier oils (eg sweet almond, sunflower, apricot kernel).
• A few specialist carrier oils (eg avocado, macadamia, rosehip, raspberry seed, evening primrose).
• A few butters (eg shea and cocoa).
• A few essential oils (the course covers 14 essential oils in depth - you could start with 3-5 of these).

You can download the ingredient list for the course here: Ingredient list. You don't need to buy everything. We suggest that you read through some of the recipes and decide what you’d like to make. You can also look through the ingredient charts to see which oils sound appealing to you. Then you can order your ingredients accordingly.

Don’t get overwhelmed - keep it simple! You can always add more ingredients to your collection later.

If you are looking for a wider range of ingredients and more advanced ingredients then our Diploma in Natural Skincare Formulation or Advanced Certificate in High-Performance Serum Formulation might be a better choice for you.

There are many excellent suppliers of cosmetic ingredients. We provide a very extensive supplier list within our courses that covers suppliers in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, UK, USA, Canada and more.

The Certificate in Making Natural Skincare Products uses easy-to-source ingredients and it’s likely you’ll be able to find what you need in your country. Depending on where you live you may need to order emulsifiers and preservatives from overseas if you wish to use those approved by natural/organic certification bodies. Many suppliers ship internationally.

In terms of equipment, you don’t need anything expensive. You can start with simple kitchen/home lab equipment. For example, you’ll need:

• Digital scales.
• Simple glass lab thermometers.
• Some way of creating a double boiler for example jugs/heat-proof beakers and saucepans.
• An electric stick blender.

We have an article and video here that shows you the equipment you need: https://www.schoolofnaturalskincare.com/equipment-you-need-making-natural-skincare-products-home/

Yes! The course is a fully online training program that consists of downloadable recipe files, online training videos, worksheets and an online student community.

It is designed to be taken from home from anywhere in the world. We’ll provide information on ingredient suppliers in many different countries and will guide you to the relevant regulations wherever you are based, too. We have students in over 150 countries so you’ll be joining a thriving community of global students when you join!

Yes! Once you have completed the course there is an end of course quiz to take and then we'll issue you with a Certificate of Completion.

No. The Certificate course will teach you how to make products by learning the principles behind each product type and following our recipes (adapting them, if you wish). If you want to learn to formulate skincare products from scratch or to start your own brand then our Diploma in Natural Skincare Formulation would be a good choice for you.

The Certificate course can certainly be the first step you take towards starting your own brand or formulating your own products but you will need to complete our Diploma in Natural Skincare Formulation afterwards.

The Certificate in Making Natural Skincare Products is our beginners’ course and useful if you want to create products for yourself, family and friends and primarily follow our recipes rather than creating your own. You will gain a good foundational knowledge of different types of products, when and why to use preservatives, emulsifiers and antioxidants and you'll get lots of recipes to try out. By the end you’ll confidently be creating a range of natural or organic skincare products for face and body including creams and lotions, cleansers, toners, serums, body butters, lotion bars and scrubs.

Our Diploma in Natural Skincare Formulation takes your skills to the next level. This more advanced course will teach you how to formulate your own products from scratch, rather than following our recipes. This means you’ll design a unique product by identifying who the product is for and the benefits you want it to offer. You’ll then use our guides and templates to help you choose your ingredients and create a unique formula. We cover a wider range of ingredients and also help with business essentials such as creating a brand and selling your products legally. If you want to start a brand or sell your products then the Diploma in Natural Skincare Formulation is designed to help you do that.

Many students only take the Certificate course as that helps them achieve their goal of making products for themselves and their friends and family. Many also start with the Certificate course and then move onto the Diploma course to help develop their skills further. Some students who already have some experience with making skincare products only take the Diploma in Natural Skincare Formulation.

The course is a self-study, self-paced course so you can study at a time that suits you and complete the course as quickly or slowly as you wish. Everything is waiting for you in the online classroom when you are ready to study.

Generally, anhydrous products (those that don’t contain water) don’t need preservatives and the course includes many types of preservative-free anhydrous products such as oil, balms, butters, lotion bars and face masks. These products have a good shelf-life of around six months or so without preservatives.
Some of the recipes do need preservatives – creams, lotions and toners, for example. Where preservatives are needed we recommend those that are permitted by natural and organic standards, and include detailed information on how to use them and where to buy them.

Yes! The course contains recipes for every skin type - normal, oily, combination, dry, mature and sensitive, plus recipes suitable for skin prone to eczema or acne. You will learn which ingredients are suitable for which skin types so you can adapt and design recipes that suit you.