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We read the formula.

Material scientists are part of our team. They check claims, stability and regulatory exposure at the level of the molecule, before a retailer, a buyer or a regulator does.

Three actives, up close.

Pick one and turn it. The structure explains what the formula has to protect it from.

Choose an active
  • Carbon 6
  • Hydrogen 6
  • Nitrogen 2
  • Oxygen 1

Drag to turn the model, or focus it and use the arrow keys. Structures built with RDKit and checked against PubChem.

Niacinamide

A pyridine ring carrying one amide group. Small, flat and freely soluble in water.

Molecular formula
C6H6N2O
Molecular weight
122.12 g/mol
Also known as
Nicotinamide, the amide of vitamin B3
In a formula
A water-soluble skin-conditioning ingredient. It dissolves in the water phase of a serum, lotion or toner.

What a formulator watches

  • pH. In strongly acidic or alkaline formulas the amide hydrolyses to nicotinic acid, faster with heat. Nicotinic acid can cause flushing, so formulators hold the pH between about 5 and 7.
  • Specification. Cosmetic grades set a limit on residual nicotinic acid. Check it on the certificate of analysis.
  • Pairings. Low-pH actives such as ascorbic acid or alpha hydroxy acids pull the formula out of that window, so the pH needs checking over shelf life.

What we check.

  • Claims substantiation

    Whether the tests you hold support the words on the pack. A 72-hour hydration claim needs an instrumental study on the finished formula; a supplier’s data on the raw material does not carry it. A retailer’s compliance team or a competitor’s challenge finds the gap first.

  • Stability and compatibility

    What the stability programme covered: temperatures, freeze-thaw cycles, the final pack. Where the formula moves first, in viscosity, colour, pH or the assay of the active, and whether that fits the shelf life printed on the carton.

  • Preservative system

    Whether the system passes a challenge test, ISO 11930 or USP <51>, in the final pack and at the pH the formula holds. Which preservatives a retailer’s restricted list would make you replace, and what replacing them does to the rest.

  • Regulatory status by market

    Each ingredient against the rules where you sell: the EU annexes, MoCRA and state law in the US, Canada’s hotlist, China’s inventory of existing ingredients. A restriction with a date ahead of it is a reformulation cost a buyer will find.

  • Hero ingredient supply

    Who makes the active your story depends on, how many qualified sources exist, and what the specification and certificate of analysis guarantee. A single-source active is a price and continuity risk that belongs in the valuation.

  • IP exposure

    Whether a supplier’s patent or trade name covers the hero ingredient or its use, and what your supply agreement lets you say. Whether you own the formula, or your contract manufacturer does.

A dated rule starts a clock.

The EU restricts cosmetic ingredients through the annexes of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 and amends them most years. An amendment usually sets two dates: one after which a product that does not comply cannot be placed on the market, and a later one after which it cannot be sold at all.

Reformulating means a new formula, stability and challenge testing, an updated safety report, new artwork and a plan to sell through old stock. Those run in sequence and take months, so the date to plan from is the first one.

Paste an INCI list into the deadline checker to see which ingredients have an EU date ahead of them.

Check an INCI list

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