Podcast 283: Will AI replace the cosmetic chemist?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a futuristic buzzword – it’s already shaping the way cosmetics are researched, formulated, and launched.

From AI-powered ingredient search engines to virtual de-formulation tools that can dissect a product’s INCI list in minutes, technology is making the product development process faster, smarter, and more data-driven. But with all this innovation comes a big question: can we keep formulation as an art as well as a science?

For generations, cosmetic formulation has relied on creativity, craft, and intuition – the texture tweaks you perfect over months in the lab, the surprising ingredient pairings that create something truly unique. Now, AI promises to remove bottlenecks, automate research, and even assist in regulatory compliance.

Is this the ultimate toolkit for formulators, or could it risk diluting the very human creativity that makes great products stand out?

In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations, Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier talks to Hejab Malik, co-founder of Potion AI – a San Francisco-based technology company with over 10,000 global users.

Together, they explore how AI is already embedded in beauty R&D, what it can (and can’t) do, and whether it will ever replace the cosmetic chemist. If you want to know how AI might transform your own formulation process – and how to stay ahead – you won’t want to miss this conversation.

“AI won’t replace you – but someone using AI will.” — Hejab Malik

In this episode with Hejab Malik, you will hear:

• From potential beauty brand to AI platform: How Potion AI began life as a tech-powered beauty brand before pivoting to provide AI tools for the entire cosmetics industry, and why that shift proved even more valuable.
• An AI toolkit for formulators: The range of AI-powered tools Potion AI offers – from ingredient search to regulatory compliance – and how they’re designed to support, not replace, the human formulator.
• Inside the de-formulator: How the reverse formulation tool works to decode a benchmark product’s likely ingredients, concentrations, and trade names in minutes, and why it’s used for innovation as much as for matching briefs.
• Building the ultimate cosmetic dataset: The challenges of creating a high-quality ingredient dataset in an industry known for secrecy – and how Potion AI partnered with suppliers and cosmetic chemists to achieve it.
• AI as a co-pilot, not a replacement: Why Hejab believes AI should free formulators from admin-heavy workflows, enabling them to focus on creativity, sensory evaluation, and innovation.
• Avoiding over-reliance on algorithms: A candid discussion on whether AI risks creating a generation of formulators who rely too much on automated tools – and how education and critical thinking can prevent that.

Key takeouts include:

• Potion AI’s mission and reach: The platform streamlines beauty product development using AI, offering tools for ingredient research, deformulation, formulation management, and compliance. These are already in use by R&D professionals worldwide, from students and indie brands to major contract manufacturers.
• Automating the repetitive work: AI can take on time-consuming tasks like collating supplier documentation, screening for regulatory compliance, or researching ingredient properties, freeing formulators to focus on hands-on creative work.
• The role of the de-formulator: Designed to speed up benchmark analysis in client briefs, the tool can make reverse engineering faster, but still requires experienced chemists to adapt results to project requirements and compliance standards.
• Data quality as the foundation: Potion AI uses public and private data, including direct supplier partnerships and bespoke datasets created with cosmetic chemists, to ensure accurate and relevant AI outputs.
• Heling, not replacing, formulators: Humans excel at sensory evaluation, creativity, and turning briefs into tangible products, while AI is best at data analysis, pattern recognition, and automating repetitive steps.
• The evolving future of AI in beauty: Expect more integrated tools across the full R&D workflow, but physical testing, human oversight, and creative formulation will remain central to the process.

Meet our guest: Hejab Malik, co-founder of Potion AI

Hejab Malik is the co-founder of Potion AI, a San Francisco-based technology company streamlining beauty product development through artificial intelligence.

With deep expertise in AI applications in beauty and a commitment to industry advancement, Hejab has helped launch a platform of cutting-edge tools – covering workflows like ingredient research, formulation, and compliance – now serving more than 10,000 beauty R&D professionals worldwide.

Potion AI is building the future of beauty R&D with an integrated, AI-powered workspace designed to make ingredient management, formulation, and compliance faster and smarter.

Find out more about Hejab and Potion AI:

• Website: potion.ai
• LinkedIn: Potion AI

Special offer for listeners: Get 10% off a Potion subscription using the code ‘FORMULABOTANICA’.

Related episodes:

• Episode 184: I asked ChatGPT to formulate for me
• Episode 245: Podcast 245: Could AI make your skincare more eco-friendly?

Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Formula Botanica Green Beauty Conversations podcast. If you enjoyed listening, please share, subscribe and review this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Youtube so that more people can enjoy the show. Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

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Lorraine Dallmeier

Lorraine Dallmeier is a Biologist, Chartered Environmentalist and the CEO of Formula Botanica, the award-winning online organic cosmetic science school. Read more about Lorraine and the Formula Botanica Team.