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The Apothecary Os

Reference

What every tool does, and when to use it

Every tool in The Apothecary Os explained in plain language — what it does, how it works, and what it's for. Read it alphabetically, or follow the order real product development takes.

Every tool, A to Z

35 of 35 tools

A

Active Compatibility

What it does
Tells you which active ingredients can safely sit in the same product or the same routine.
How it works
Pick two or more actives. You get a green / caution / avoid verdict, the pH each one needs, and the reason behind the verdict.
What it's for
Before you stack vitamin C with niacinamide, or retinol with an acid, and want to know whether you are cancelling them out or irritating skin.
Open Active Compatibility →

Actives Library

What it does
Full library of treatment actives with usage percentages, pH windows and cautions.
How it works
Search or browse by concern. Each entry gives the working percentage range, the pH it needs to stay effective, and who should avoid it.
What it's for
Choosing the treatment ingredient that will actually do the job you are promising on the label.
Open Actives Library →

Antioxidants

What it does
Lists the antioxidants that keep oils and butters from going rancid, split by oil phase and water phase.
How it works
Browse the list, read the typical dose and which phase it belongs in.
What it's for
Every oil-rich product. This is what buys you shelf life on a butter or a body oil.
Open Antioxidants →

Astringents & Cleansers

What it does
Reference for astringent botanicals and traditional cleansing bases, including African black soap.
How it works
Browse entries with strength, skin-type fit and how to work them into a formula.
What it's for
Building toners, clarifying washes and traditional soap-based cleansers.
Open Astringents & Cleansers →

B

Batch Scaler

What it does
Scales any formula up or down while keeping every ratio exact.
How it works
Enter your formula percentages and the new batch size. You get the new gram weight for every ingredient.
What it's for
Going from a 100 g test batch to a 5 kg production run without redoing the math.
Open Batch Scaler →

Botanicals

What it does
Library of herbal infusions, extracts and hydrosols.
How it works
Search by name or benefit. Each entry gives the plant, what it does for skin or hair, and how it is usually added.
What it's for
Adding a botanical story to a formula without guessing at how much to use.
Open Botanicals →

Butter Texture Planner

What it does
Predicts whether your butter will come out whipped, firm or spreadable.
How it works
Set your butter-to-oil ratio. You get the expected texture, melt behaviour and how to nudge it either way.
What it's for
When the last batch came out grainy, greasy or too hard to scoop.
Open Butter Texture Planner →

C

Carrier Oils & Butters

What it does
Profiles for 58 carrier oils and 22 butters — fatty acid make-up, absorption speed and shelf life.
How it works
Search or filter. Each profile covers feel on skin, comedogenic rating, shelf life and best use.
What it's for
Choosing the base of any oil, butter, balm or cream.
Open Carrier Oils & Butters →

Cleanser Builder

What it does
Builds a surfactant blend that cleans without stripping a melanin-rich barrier.
How it works
Pick your cleanser type and mildness target. You get a surfactant combination with percentages and a pH target.
What it's for
Face washes, body washes and shampoos where over-cleansing causes flaking and dark marks.
Open Cleanser Builder →

Comedogenic Rating

What it does
Gives every oil and butter a 0–5 pore-clogging score.
How it works
Search an oil, or check the combined load of a whole blend.
What it's for
Anything for the face, the back, or acne-prone skin.
Open Comedogenic Rating →

Condition → Ingredient Recommender

What it does
Turns a skin or hair concern into the ingredients that actually address it.
How it works
Pick a concern such as hyperpigmentation, breakage or dry scalp. You get matched ingredients with the reason each one was chosen.
What it's for
Starting a new product from a customer problem instead of from a recipe.
Open Condition → Ingredient Recommender →

Costing

What it does
Works out what a batch costs you and what each unit costs.
How it works
Enter your raw ingredient prices and batch size. You get cost per batch, cost per unit and a suggested retail range.
What it's for
Pricing a product before you launch it.
Open Costing →

E

Emulsifiers

What it does
Emulsifier reference with HLB values, usage percentages and hot- versus cold-process notes.
How it works
Browse the list or arrive from the HLB calculator with a matched suggestion.
What it's for
Any product that mixes water and oil and needs to stay mixed.
Open Emulsifiers →

Essential Oil Safety Limits (IFRA)

What it does
Gives the dermal-safe percentage for every essential oil, by product type.
How it works
Pick an oil and a product type. You get the maximum safe percentage, plus phototoxic and sensitiser warnings.
What it's for
Before you scent anything. This is the difference between a fragrance and a burn.
Open Essential Oil Safety Limits (IFRA) →

F

Formula Builder

What it does
The guided step-by-step builder that produces a complete, balanced recipe.
How it works
Pick a product, review and edit the starting formula, then add butters, oils, water phase, extracts and essential oils. Every step is optional except the product itself. You finish with a phase-by-phase recipe and a quality rating.
What it's for
The main workspace. Start here for any new product.
Open Formula Builder →

Formula Library

What it does
Browse every ready-made starter template with full phase breakdowns.
How it works
Search or pick a formula, set a batch size, and read the gram weight of every ingredient by phase.
What it's for
Seeing how a proven formula is put together before you build your own version.
Open Formula Library →

Fragrance Pyramid

What it does
Balances your scent into top, heart and base notes at IFRA-safe percentages.
How it works
Choose your oils. You get the 30 / 50 / 20 note split, drop counts and a pairing rating.
What it's for
Making a scent that opens well and still smells good four hours later.
Open Fragrance Pyramid →

H

Hair Porosity Profile

What it does
Maps low, medium and high porosity hair to the ingredients and weights each one needs.
How it works
Pick a porosity level and curl pattern from 3a to 4c. You get oils, proteins and humectants matched to it.
What it's for
Hair butters, leave-ins and oils that need to work on textured hair rather than sit on top of it.
Open Hair Porosity Profile →

Herbal Extracts

What it does
Library of 64 advanced botanical, Ayurvedic, maritime and hair-growth extracts.
How it works
Search or filter by category. Each entry gives the botanical name, benefit, usual form and which phase it goes into.
What it's for
Adding targeted botanical actives, and knowing whether yours is a liquid, powder, oil infusion or CO2 extract.
Open Herbal Extracts →

HLB Calculator

What it does
Calculates the required HLB of your oil blend and matches an emulsifier to it.
How it works
Enter your oils and their percentages. You get the required HLB number and emulsifier options that hit it.
What it's for
Any lotion or cream. Wrong HLB is the usual reason an emulsion separates.
Open HLB Calculator →

I

INCI Lookup

What it does
Converts common ingredient names into their legal INCI label names.
How it works
Search a common name such as shea butter. You get the INCI name to print on the label.
What it's for
Writing the ingredient list on your packaging.
Open INCI Lookup →

K

Kitchen Measure Converter

What it does
Converts gram weights into drops, teaspoons, tablespoons and cups.
How it works
Enter grams and the ingredient. You get the closest kitchen measure.
What it's for
Formulating at home without a 0.01 g scale.
Open Kitchen Measure Converter →

P

pH Calculator

What it does
Gives the target pH range for actives, cleansers and hair products.
How it works
Pick a product type or an active. You get the pH window and how to adjust up or down.
What it's for
Anything with acids, anything that cleanses, and anything meant to close the hair cuticle.
Open pH Calculator →

Pigmentation Stack Planner

What it does
Builds a hydroquinone-free brightening protocol tuned for Fitzpatrick IV–VI.
How it works
Set the concern and any restrictions such as pregnancy. You get an AM and PM stack with percentages and an expected timeline.
What it's for
Dark marks and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, where the wrong active makes things worse.
Open Pigmentation Stack Planner →

Preservation Guide

What it does
Picks the right preservative for your pH, phase and water content.
How it works
Enter your product's pH and whether it contains water. You get compatible preservatives with usage percentages.
What it's for
Every product containing water. Without this, you are selling mould.
Open Preservation Guide →

Proteins & Humectants

What it does
Matches protein strength to hair porosity, and humectants to your climate.
How it works
Filter by protein strength or by how the humectant behaves in dry versus humid air.
What it's for
Avoiding protein overload, and avoiding a leave-in that turns sticky in humidity.
Open Proteins & Humectants →

R

Routine Builder

What it does
Composes an AM and PM routine by skin condition and Fitzpatrick type.
How it works
Pick a skin type and concern. You get an ordered routine with the role of each step.
What it's for
Showing customers how to use a product range together, and spotting gaps in your line.
Open Routine Builder →

S

Saponification (SAP)

What it does
Calculates lye amounts and superfat for cold-process soap.
How it works
Enter your oils and weights, choose a superfat percentage. You get exact lye and water weights.
What it's for
Soap making, where the math is a safety issue rather than a preference.
Open Saponification (SAP) →

Scalp Condition Guide

What it does
Protocols for dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis, dryness and product buildup.
How it works
Pick a scalp condition. You get the causes, the ingredients that help, and the ones that make it worse.
What it's for
Scalp oils, clarifying washes and treatment products.
Open Scalp Condition Guide →

Shelf Life

What it does
Estimates how long your product will actually last.
How it works
Enter preservative, water content and packaging type. You get an estimated shelf life and what is limiting it.
What it's for
Setting a best-before date you can defend.
Open Shelf Life →

Stability

What it does
Checks whether your emulsion will hold across temperature and time.
How it works
Enter your emulsion details. You get the likely failure points and how to fix them.
What it's for
Before a production run, and before shipping anything in summer.
Open Stability →

Sunscreen Formulator

What it does
Builds mineral SPF stacks with iron oxide tint for visible-light protection.
How it works
Set your SPF target and skin tone range. You get filter percentages and a tint recommendation.
What it's for
Sun protection that does not leave a white cast, and that blocks the visible light that drives pigmentation.
Open Sunscreen Formulator →

Surfactants

What it does
Cleansing agents grouped by charge and mildness.
How it works
Browse by type. Each entry gives charge, mildness, typical usage percentage and what it pairs with.
What it's for
Choosing the cleansing base for a wash, shampoo or syndet bar.
Open Surfactants →