Advanced Diploma in Organic Cosmetic Science
Our advanced online cosmetic formulation course is for formulators who want to work with high performance and advanced botanical ingredients.
COURSE FEES INCREASING IN 2025
The fees for this course will be increasing later in 2025.
Click here for more information.
Suitable for: Formulators with experience
Pre-requisites: Checklist
Time: 100 study hours
Course Modules: 5
Coursework: Self-study + tutor graded
Cost: £625 (British Pounds)
Next enrolment period: Enrolment opens on 16th January 2025
Enrolment opens in:
Enrolment closes in:
Our Advanced Diploma in Organic Cosmetic Science takes your formulations to the next level by incorporating advanced techniques and advanced high performance ingredients. Create exquisite luxury skincare with the finest cosmeceuticals.
This course is suitable for people with existing skincare brands or students who have followed our foundation Diploma. We have helped thousands of global organic cosmetic entrepreneurs and well-known brands enhance and complement their existing skincare ranges with this Advanced Diploma.
Recreate any Natural Cosmetic Product
Master the formula behind any skincare product in the shops by learning the secret of reverse formulation. Not only will you understand how your favourite products are formulated, but you will be able to improve them and make yours much better than the original.
Learn Advanced Formulating Techniques
Study the most challenging parts of organic cosmetic science – natural emulsification, solubilisation, chelation, stabilisation and natural preservation. Blend together oil and water to create thin, absorbent serums and lotions. Study cosmeceuticals to pack your products full of natural active ingredients. Learn about natural rheology modifiers.
Discover your Unique
Indie Beauty Niche
Research in-demand natural cosmetic niches such as anti-ageing, Halal, vegan and raw living skincare. Find out what your customers want to buy and target your own exclusive cosmetics niche. Learn how to create bespoke skincare and undertake client consultations to formulate products that work with your client’s skin.
Set up your own
Artisan Beauty Lab
Create detailed Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) procedures for your own artisan cosmetics lab, to make sure that your meet industry standards and understand how to create safe and stable cosmetics. Run through the equipment you’ll need and the tests you must use. Finally, explore your career opportunities as a cosmetic formulator.
Why enrol with Formula Botanica?
This course is for you if:
“As a body and skin care brand owner, I’m often asked how I learned about the intricacies of safe and effective organic skin care formulating without having a formal scientific background on my own. Formula Botanica was instrumental in teaching me the advanced instruction I craved, while giving me the confidence I needed to grow and mature in this industry over the years. The knowledge gained from taking these courses and being a part of this community is priceless. Years later, it’s still a valuable resource for me. Highly recommended.
– Maia, Astrida Naturals, USA
Course videos
Learn directly from the Formula Botanica team with our professional videos and course lectures.
Fun Online Games
Play games to help you learn how to reinforce the learning outcomes for your course.
Study books
Download your beautifully designed course notes to refer back to and keep forever.
Tutor Support
Speak directly to a tutor in our private “Ask the Tutor” forum for students.
Sequential Learning
Unlock new modules as you work through the course sequentially to enforce learning points.
Graded Coursework
Receive expert graded feedback to help you make your formulations safe, stable and sellable.
Module 1
Advanced Skin Science
In order to create high performance skincare products, you need to understand exactly how your skin works. In this first module, we recap on the learnings from our foundation Diploma and then we delve further into the anatomy and physiology of the skin.
Study the structure of the human cell and understand how it will prevent or channel certain cosmetic ingredients. Research percutaneous absorption, which is one of the single most important topics any skincare formulator needs to understand.
ADOCS 1001
Skin Science
- Study the structure of the skin in detail
- Recap on basic skin anatomy and physiology
- Follow the journey of a skin cell as it travels through the 5 layers of the epidermis
- Learn how to each of the epidermis’ layers affects the overall health of the skin
ADOCS 1002
Cell Biology
- Learn about the human cell and study how it works
- Cover the main organelles in the cell
- Study how the main components of the cell influence the health of our skin and how cosmetic products work
ADOCS 1003
Skin Penetration
- Learn how to formulate for skin penetration
- Understand the ‘500 Dalton’ rule
- Study the 7 mechanisms for enhancing skin penetration
- Learn what would constitute the perfect high performance cosmetic product
ADOCS 1004
Skin Ageing
- Learn the effects of dermal ageing
- Study the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic ageing of the skin
Module 2
Advanced Formulation Skills
In this module you will be learning pre-formulation skills that will enable you to become a more professional formulator of advanced skincare products. It is important to cover all the groundwork first before starting to make the actual products.
Designing high-tech natural skincare relies upon advanced knowledge of ingredients, techniques and of the correct equipment for the job. We will study high performance cosmeceuticals and nutriceuticals in this module, as well as learning advanced formulating skills.
ADOCS 2001
Anhydrous Techniques
- Master anhydrous formulation techniques
- Learn how to avoid graininess in your butters and balms
- Study heating and cooling techniques for your cosmetics
- Study Project: Learn how to create smooth butters and balms in your lab
ADOCS 2002
Natural Emulsification
- Master natural emulsification techniques
- Study the difference between natural and synthetic emulsifiers
- Study the difference between O/W and W/O emulsifiers
- Study the difference between hot-process and cold-process emulsifiers
- Study Project: Learn how to tell the difference between W/O and O/W emulsions in your lab
ADOCS 2003
Oil-in-Water Emulsification
- Master natural O/W emulsification techniques
- Learn the science of O/W emulsions
- Understand how to heat, cool and blend O/W emulsions
- Study Project: Gain confidence in making O/W emulsions by trialling different formulation techniques
- Bonus: List of 33 natural O/W emulsifiers
ADOCS 2004
Water-in-Oil Emulsification
- Master natural W/O emulsification techniques
- Learn the science of W/O emulsions
- Understand how to heat, cool and blend W/O emulsions
- Study Project: Gain confidence in making W/O emulsions by trialling different formulation techniques
- Bonus: List of 10 natural W/O emulsifiers
ADOCS 2005
Natural Solubilisation
- Master natural solubilisation techniques
- Study the difference between solubilisers and emulsifiers
- Understand the science of solubilisation
- Watch our expert formulators in action to learn how to use a solubiliser
- Study Project: Use natural solubilisers with essential oils
ADOCS 2006
Green & Natural Surfactants
- Master green surfactant techniques
- Learn the science of surfactants
- Understand how to choose the right green surfactant for your cosmetic
- Study Project: Gain confidence in blending green or natural surfactants
- Bonus: List of 22 green or natural surfactants
ADOCS 2007
Natural Viscosity Modification
- Master natural viscosity modification techniques
- Learn gum dispersion techniques
- Study the importance of solubility and particle size
- Study Project: Gain confidence in making gels by blending different natural gums
- Bonus: List of 10 natural gums
ADOCS 2008
Natural Chelation Techniques
- Master natural chelation techniques
- Learn what chelators do in your cosmetics and how to formulate with them
- Study examples of chelators in nature
- Bonus: List of 5 natural chelators
ADOCS 2009
Natural Preservation Techniques
- Master natural preservation techniques
- Learn why, when and how to use preservatives
- Study different naturally derived blends of broad spectrum preservatives
- Study Project: Research the importance of preservation in your lab
- Bonus: List of 7 broad spectrum natural preservative blends
“Great school for those wanting to learn how to create their own natural cosmetics! I have just completed my course in Advanced Diploma in Organic Cosmetic Science and am happy to say that my skills as a formulator have increased tremendously from this one course.”
– Wendee Lee, Singapore
Module 3
Advanced Product Formulation
You’ve spent the last Module learning how to perfect your skills and techniques as a formulator. Over the course of the Study Projects which you undertook for Module 2, you have been learning how to gain confidence in experimenting in your artisan cosmetics lab. Now it’s time to put those experiments into action and design your first high-performance range.
In this Module we walk you through many different groups of high performance ingredients and show you how to research them so that you can create products that actually do what they say they will. You will also learn the coolest skill in cosmetic science: reverse formulation. We walk you through reverse formulation step by step and then challenge you to undertake your own experiment.
ADOCS 3001
High Performance Cosmetics
- Learn what high performance cosmetics are and do
- Review the difference between ‘normal’ and high performance cosmetics
- Gain inspiration from the global beauty market
- Study the different type of products typically sold as high performance cosmetics
ADOCS 3002
High Performance Ingredients
- Learn the 16 main cosmeceutical groups
- Understand which types of cosmetics you can use each high performance
ingredient group for - Review formulation challenges for various high performance ingredients
- Undertake your own research into novel high performance ingredients
ADOCS 3003
Reverse Formulation Techniques
- Learn the 9 steps of reverse formulation
- Understand how to reverse formulate a product step by step
- Follow our detailed 7-page reverse formulation of a popular high performance cosmetic cream
- Study Project: Reverse formulate your own high performance cosmetic
Module 4
Niche Cosmetic Formulation
When launching your own skincare business it’s very tempting to try to make a range to suit everyone. Skincare entrepreneurs are usually painfully aware that in the beginning cash flow will be tight and sales will be few – so there is often a powerful pull towards being generic in the hope to appeal to more people in the hope of making more sales.
The reality is that it is actually better to specialise and create a niche brand. This way you will not only stand out in a crowded beauty market but you will also attract loyal followers who need exactly what your products provide. In this module you will learn how to find your niche in skincare formulation.
ADOCS 4001
Niche Product Formulation
- Learn what a niche is and why you need to find one
- Study the 3 steps to finding a niche for your beauty business
- Review the main obstacles and self-limiting beliefs of beautypreneurs
ADOCS 4002
Anti-Ageing Cosmetic Formulation
- Learn the main principles of anti-ageing cosmetic formulation
- Study anti-ageing ingredients and formulation techniques
- Understand anti-ageing labelling requirements and market opportunities
- Study Project: Create your own anti-ageing cosmetics
ADOCS 4003
Raw Cosmetic Formulation
- Learn the main principles of raw (living) cosmetic formulation
- Study raw ingredients and formulation techniques
- Understand raw labelling requirements and market opportunities
- Study Project: Create your own raw (living) cosmetics
ADOCS 4004
Vegan Cosmetic Formulation
- Learn the main principles of vegan cosmetic formulation
- Study vegan ingredients and formulation techniques
- Understand vegan certification requirements and market opportunities
- Study Project: Create your own vegan cosmetics
ADOCS 4005
Halal Cosmetic Formulation
- Learn the main principles of Halal cosmetic formulation
- Study Halal ingredients and formulation techniques
- Understand Halal labelling and certification requirements and market opportunities
- Study Project: Create your own Halal cosmetics
ADOCS 4006
Customised Cosmetic Formulation
- Study the 5 steps of undertaking client consultations
- Run through the ‘do’s and don’t’s’ of client consultations
- Understand legal compliance and the Code of Practice you should use
- Study Project: Create your own customised cosmetics
- Bonus: Client Consultation Form template
Module 5
Lab Skills & Career Pathways
This module is the grand finale to everything you have learnt so far. You are now an excellent designer of high-performance skincare products, you understand how to formulate, how to research and you know how the human skin works. What next? There is so much more to this role than simply churning out skincare products like a factory – as a skincare professional your learning never stops!
In this module we will look at Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and career pathways available to you as a skincare formulator.
ADOCS 5001
Lab Equipment
- Run through the 26 pieces of equipment you can consider for your professional cosmetics lab (note: we don’t recommend you buy all of them!)
- Understand the need for regular calibration and maintenance of your equipment
ADOCS 5002
GMP
- Study the 12 main elements of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) according to ISO22716:2007 – the global cosmetic GMP standard
- Audit your own lab against ISO requirements
- Create your own lab’s GMP procedure
- Bonus: Detailed GMP checklist for your lab, covering personnel, premises, equipment, materials, production, quality control, re-calls and more.
ADOCS 5003
Lab Testing
- Understand the main lab tests that you will need to master and study in more detail
- Study the general principles of pH testing, stability testing and dipslide testing (not a substitute for microbial challenge testing)
ADOCS 5004
Cosmetic Careers
- Consider your Cosmetic Career – thinking about all the opportunities available to you as an Organic Cosmetic Formulator
- Run through 10+ options for enhancing your career and raising additional finance for your business
“This Advanced Diploma course was very interesting , challenging and fun. I enjoyed it very very much because of the much more advanced technic of formulation challenges. It has taught me to understand other brands’ products better and it’s more meaningful now when I read their ingredient list and am able to imagine what was used, how it was formulated and manufactured. The feedback from the tutors were so meaningful and an encouragement to improve further.”
– Noni Fauzi, Malaysia
Course Bonuses
When you study with Formula Botanica, you become part of a close-knit international community of students and graduates all around the world. We support you all throughout your studies and beyond, and we give you access to our expert botanical skincare science and business files while you are enrolled on your courses.
Bonus 1
Become Part of the Loveliest Formulation Community on the Internet
Once you enrol with us, you are welcomed into our international student community groups which contain many thousands of our students and graduates from all over the world. Everyone knows each other and many of our students meet up in their respective countries to share information and formulate together.
In our groups you will receive expert tutor support and peer support. Ask questions, share photos, troubleshoot formulations. Celebrate your victories and get encouragement when you need it. You are never alone.
Bonus 2
Access our Student Library
When you become a student with Formula Botanica, you also gain exclusive access to our Student Resources Library for the duration of your course. Access our:
- Preferred supplier guide which contains hundreds of global companies
- Extensive ingredients directory with listings of over 100 natural ingredients
- Formulation percentage-to-weight calculator
- Scientific research collection
- Useful links section to additional resources
Bonus 3
Ongoing Support After Graduation
The support doesn’t finish when you graduate. We want to keep in touch with you once you’ve finished your course and support your career in organic skincare. We offer lots of free promotion for our graduates because we want to help give your business the support it needs when you launch it or as you grow it.
You remain a member of our Online Classroom for life, because we want to keep in touch and support you and your beauty brand. We reach over 1,000,000 people per month through our digital networks and will help you get your brand in front of the world.
Bonus 4
Earn Formula Botanica Bonus Badges
Formula Botanica issues special Moodle Badges to students who pass their courses successfully (Moodle is the name of our award-winning and accredited eLearning Platform). These badges can be used on your resume, social media pages and LinkedIn profile to demonstrate that you are a skilled organic formulator. We have also hidden a few surprise badges in the course materials for students who pass certain Modules with a distinction grade!
Enrol for our Advanced Diploma in Organic Cosmetic Science to take your formulations to international standards, using advanced techniques and ingredients to create high performance products.
Pre-enrol for our next termPrerequisites
Suitable for students with formulation experience, ideally graduates of our foundation Diploma.
Start Date
Term Times. Self-paced training where you have up to 2 years to complete your course.
Assessment
Projects, activities and reflexive learning. Each module ends with a short test.
Online Classroom
Peer support & tutor support via a private Facebook group.
Accreditation
Formula Botanica is accredited by the Open & Distance Learning Quality Council.
Expert Support
Our Tutor Team has an educational background in cosmetic chemistry, biology, education and business management. Let us support you.
Formula Botanica operates a term time system, so we can get all of our students started at the same time and run online study groups.
Term times run in the following months:
- Winter Term: January
- Summer Term: July
Enrolment for all of our courses will be open during this period. If you want to be the first to hear when we open enrolment, make sure you pre-register for this course.
Pre-enrol for our next termLike this course?
You might also like:
