FAQ about Serums & Active Treatments
Can I use a cream machine for serums?
You can, but only if the batch is large enough to cover the homogenizer properly. A 1,000 L vessel asked to mix 50 L will not do it well. If serums are a real part of your output, a smaller production machine or a lab machine from the same family is the better buy.
How do you avoid degrading vitamin C or retinol?
Dose them low and last — after homogenising and after most of the cooling, below about 40 °C — and mix under vacuum to limit oxygen exposure. Keeping the high-shear stage short also helps, since some actives are shear-sensitive as well as heat-sensitive.
Is high shear necessary at all for a serum?
Usually not at cream levels of intensity. Most serums need enough shear to disperse a thickener or to emulsify a small oil phase, not the prolonged homogenising a heavy cream requires. Running the homogenizer longer than necessary is a common way to thin a serum below its target viscosity.
What batch size makes sense?
Most serum production sits between 50 and 500 L. Work out how many units that represents at your fill size before choosing — serum batches are often smaller than people expect because the product is dosed in millilitres, not grams.
