What kind of packaging should you use for hot pour formulas?

The two main components of your beauty product are the formula and the packaging. For the most part, you can use historical knowledge and a little bit of lab work to figure out if a component will work with a formula. You should always do formal compatibility testing on your products, but for the purposes of development and deciding what primary to use, there is one category of formulas where the decision must be made in unison.

These products are called “hot pours” and they include any product that is poured into their final component and allowed to cool in that component. Examples of hot pour formulas include chapstick, skin balm, eye balm, and deodorant.

This sounds pretty simple, but just like with everything else, the details are what matter here. The main reason that you need to pick your component along with your formula in the case of hot pours, is that the component itself can have a drastic effect on your end products’ color, texture, consistency, and feel. Because different components will have different shapes, sizes and materials, the cooling curve will be different for each component, and therefore depending on the rate of cooling and the formula, you will have different results.  

Now it is 100% possible to make adjustments to the cooling rate with a cooling tunnel or a cooling table or even by adjusting the temperature the formula is dropped or poured at. All of these decisions can play a role in the final product.

This is exactly why we recommend being on-site during a pilot and line trial. This is your time to ensure that the parameters on the line are recorded and set to produce the correct final product over and over again. It's where we set final acceptable criteria, and it's where we learn what the limits of the formula are.  

For example, is there a temperature that if the formula is heated beyond it will not recover and need to be scrapped? Is there a temperature that if we pour it within 5 degrees we have a perfect product? These are the types of questions to work through on the line with the manufacturer to ensure a quality formula and final product.

Need help figuring out how to dial in your hot pour formula to achieve the end product you desire? Please reach out.