The Lipid Formulators
Membership & research community focused on lipid oils, carrier oils, plant butters and oil focused formulating.
Find recipe templates and formulas to create successful lipid and anhydrous formulations.
Discover lessons and inspiration to formulate with ease and explore new possibilities in creating your own formulations.
Stay up to date on new oils and lipids for formulating new and innovative products.
Developing effective, high-quality skincare formulations with lipid oils and plant butters
If you’re new to the oils and formulating, you’ll find recipes and formulas to use as either templates or as written, for your personal skincare routine or a product line you want to create.
For those of you who have some experience formulating and working with oils, the Lipid Formulators membership is a place to find inspiration for new combinations and get feedback from Susan on your work.
And if you are deep in this world of lipid oils, formulating new products for your skincare line, or your clients, this is the place to stay current with new oils as they come to market to advance your formulating practice with Susan as your guide.
I love the membership; it's like my personal oil encyclopedia!
~ Naudia Lorraine
We're susan & Olivia
Mother-daughter team here to share the wonderful, and rather vast world of the lipid oils with you.
Whether you are looking for a recipe to recreate a formula template to adapt, or you need to look up a new oil you want to work with, we are here to guide you in your work and research.
With warmth,
Susan & Olivia
Staying up with all the wonderful new oils available
Thirty years ago, when Susan was developing her product line, available oils were few, rosehip, evening primrose, sweet almond for formulating, sesame and olive for infusing, and a few others made up the bulk of what was available.
Today, we have new oils emerging constantly as producers source and press a growing array of seeds, nuts, kernels and fruits for the fatty acid rich oils inside.
The Lipid Database
In the Lipid Database you'll find 159 (and we add more as we get new data) oils and butters searchable by dominant fatty acid, INCI, botanical family, iodine value, SAP value (for the soap makers among us) more. The Database is included for all members and is a valuable resource for developing a new formula, writing up a blog post or creating a compelling product description.
New Oils: Kiwi, blueberry, strawberry, pear seed oil, lunaria, and buah merah oils are only available recently, plus a rich array of butters like kpangnan, kombo and cupuaçu butter are just a few of the new solid oils we’re working with.
158 + Fatty Acid Profiles & Pie Charts
Compare pie charts to get a visual of the fatty acids in your oils, or compare the fully fatty acid profile of the oils in your formula.
Searchable Database of Carrier Oils
Search by dominant fatty, rare fatty acid, common or botanical name to find the perfect oils for your next project.
SAP & Iodine Values
Whether you are making soap or formulating a facial oil, the database gives you access to data for over 148 oils including dominant fatty acid, Sap value and iodine value.
Discover new oils and butters to work with so that your skincare products stand out and deliver exceptional results
Find the information you need quickly so that you can...
A few of the resources inside
The formulators lab
Lessons on the Art of Formulating, ideas for working with different oils plus a collection of recipes and formulas.
research center
Susan has put together an extensive research center where you will find lessons on unsaponifiables, unique fatty acids, detailed oil monographs, botanical families to guide and inspire your formulating work.
lipid database
Search 158 different oils and butters by dominant fatty acid, INCI, iodine value, SAP value, common name, unsaponifiables, botanical family...
Monthly Masterclasses
Each month you'll get a masterclass on a carrier oil topic. These range from formulating, specific oils for skincare, and much more. The classes are recorded and posted in the portal.
forum
Ask questions and get ideas in the Lipid Forum. This is a dedicated space to geek out on lipids, get help troubleshooting, source new oils or just hang out and chat about oils and formulating.
ongoing support
Find a community of formulators where we focus on oil-only anhydrous formulating to explore the extent of what is possible with oils and butters.
monthly
$
47
$47 billed monthly
Cancel anytime inside your membership portal
Annual
$
$470
Sign up for the year and get 2 months free!
14 day money back guarantee
FAQ.
If you work with lipid compounds at all, oils, butters, waxes, lecithin, etc. this is the place to find detailed information about the subject. I mean how many people can remember the fatty acid profile of ten different oils much less over 100?
It is designed to serve any one who works with the oily, buttery lipid raw materials for formulating and skincare whether for personal use or for clients and customers.
You can cancel any time right inside your membership portal on the monthly plan. For annual members, you have 2 weeks (14 days) to try out the membership and request a refund if you find it is not right for you.
YES! You can sign up with the annual plan and you'll get 2 months free. When you sign up for annual, you have 14 days to make sure its a good fit for you and request a refund if not.
The short answer is no. The longer answer is why we have an extensive membership site dedicated to these raw materials :-) but seriously, carrier oils and other lipids all bring unique qualities in the balance of fatty acids and plant compounds (the healing fraction) of oils.
You get access to everything inside the Lipid Formulators membership including lessons, recipes, the database, oil monographs and call recordings for as long as you continue your membership.
Yes! You can get started with simple recipes and get to know the oils in the monographs section and build on your knowledge from there.
I have been working with these oils for 30 plus years, and I still need to reference specific information on one oil or another. That’s why I wrote the book Power of the Seed and developed the Lipid Database.
Let me know and I will probably be adding it soon. I have a passion for the oils, and wonderment at all the new ones becoming available.
That you’ll have to decide for yourself but by making the Lipid Database a home screen icon on my iPhone and iPad I find I use it regularly when formulating a new product or writing an article or blog post. Information at your fingertips.
Quick note: You can cancel at any time but you will lose any grandfathered in monthly rate if you decide to rejoin at a later date.
Pie charts are a quick look at an oil to get a visual idea of its make up without looking at the percentage of the different fatty acids. I do my pie chats using the same colors for the fatty acids in a consistent way so that you can line up several pie charts and compare oil’s composition easily.
They are what make up the oils 95 to 99%. And there are many many fatty acids but they fall in to several main groups which when you have experienced them will help you choose among the oils.
That small but important part is called the healing fraction (unsaponifiable) that is where we find the vitamins, plant sterols, carotenoids, squalene, and more in the oils.