The Science of Shade: Exploring Foundation Formulation for Deeper Skin Tones with a Cosmetic Chemist
Written by: Precious Umeasalugo
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We’re getting into the lab for this one.
As people of colour, it can always seem like the beauty industry makes no room for our skin tones. Lipsticks are always too light, blushes too faint, and the concealers do not do much for our dark spots. When the industry does cater to us, it also regresses quickly. This is especially true with colour cosmetics, where people of colour have been notoriously underserved for years, with foundations that are too ashy, too orange, or maybe just too light.
While things have improved with beauty brands like Fenty Beauty, About Face, and Made by Mitchell launching extensive shade ranges catering to darker skin tones, we are still seeing tone-deaf foundation launches, so it's time to ask: what really goes into foundation formulation for deeper skin tones?
To answer this, we called on experienced cosmetic chemist Magdalene Ekanem, and she took us behind the scenes into the foundation formulation process for darker skin tones.
The Expert
Magdalene Ekanem is the chief executive officer and senior cosmetic chemist at Inveo Labs, the foremost personal care research and development laboratory spearheading beauty product development in Africa.
She has a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Covenant University and is an active member of the education and learning committee of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists in Nigeria (NICOS). She has a decade of experience in personal care product design and formulation and has worked with several brands to create six-figure-generating products.
Why Finding the Perfect Foundation Shade for Darker Skin Tones Can Be a Challenge
Few things are as demoralising as a limited foundation shade range.
Many beauty lovers try to excuse and adapt to these limited shade ranges by mixing shades to get their perfect match. But others prefer to ask the question: Why is it so difficult to get a foundation in my shade? Well, Ekanem has an answer.
"The answer is they just don't care. It is that simple. These brands don't care enough about the melanin-rich consumer to actually serve the consumer. When formulators carry out R&D for foundations, they have to understand their target market's needs, which means they need to match the shades to people's skin tones. They need to ask questions like 'Who exactly has this skin tone?' 'Has it been tested on anyone?' How will a product be used for dark skin tones when you don't know who it's for?" Ekanem explains.
But when brands posture to serve deeper skin tones and fail to deliver, it can be even more frustrating than those who are clear on their audience from the get-go.
"Every brand that doesn't serve dark consumers does not care about dark consumers. For some brands that don't have products for darker or ethnic skin, it is just not their audience, and that is okay sometimes. It's okay to say, 'Hey, I don't serve this market'. People just have to look for brands who serve their market", she says.
It’s useful to acknowledge the different viewpoints people of colour have on this subject. In this context, I understand going where we are celebrated by supporting only the brands that create extensive shade ranges. On the other hand, I am also of the opinion that we need to push the brands who choose not to cater to darker skin tones. By pushing for better shade ranges and more inclusion, we open the door for more productive discourse on the social issues that underlie the lack of darker foundation shades.
The issue of cost in foundation formulation
Apart from the lack of intentionality beauty brands adopt when formulating foundations for darker skin tones, there's also the amount of money it takes to make one, especially for smaller, self-funded brands.
"Foundation formulation is expensive. An average formulation with as little as 5 shades can cost thousands of dollars. It takes a lot of money to pull through, and if you don't think your product will be accepted in the market, it may not be a good investment. That type of money is hard to spring out, and some people don't have the financial resources for it, which could lead to the lack of darker foundation shades", Ekanem shares.
So, now that we are armed with this knowledge, how exactly is foundation made? Unsurprisingly, it all starts with research.
A Research Roadmap for Cosmetic Chemists
Custom or Semi-custom Foundation Formulation
Cosmetic chemists straddle the line between science and the arts, infusing creativity with chemistry. When formulating foundations, the creative part comes after understanding exactly what the client or beauty brand wants.
"We start with a product development consultation [with the brand/client] to determine if they want to do a custom or semi-custom formulation for the foundation. A semi-custom formulation is one from our formulation catalogue that they can decide to run with or adjust. Semi-customs are generally easier to get into the market. A custom formulation, however, starts from scratch and takes longer to get to the market," Ekanem explains.
Many foundations in the market are custom formulations, and they usually start with a benchmark, which Ekanem defines as an already-existing product that the client (or beauty brand) wants to surpass or make exactly like. Think of the NARS Light Reflecting Foundation as a benchmark for skincare-infused foundation or the Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Foundation as a benchmark for medium-coverage, long-wear foundation.
Target Market Research
Formulating means nothing if you do not know the people who will use the product. As such, it's really important to know your market before getting into the lab.
"We ask questions like 'What do they want?' 'Have they used something like this?' 'Did they like it?' We're also researching how the product is being used so we can pick the right packaging while researching packaging compatibility," Ekanem adds.
Certifications and Raw Material Research
After determining the client's wants and the market's needs, raw material research becomes necessary.
"Unlike other branches of science where you want something to react or happen, in cosmetic science, we like to ensure everything is stable and that all the raw materials are in synergy. So, we determine how we want the product to function, research raw material interactions, and find out where we can get these raw materials," Ekanem states.
Ingredients have always been a hot topic in the beauty industry, and with the number of certifications popping up, it still is. As such, cosmetic chemists are also conscious of the bar the foundation can achieve with its formulation.
"We also look at what certifications the client wants to attain with the product. Does the brand want its products certified organic, clean, or vegan? Will it be COSMOS-certified, Clean at Sephora, or Leaping Bunny standard? R&D is a continuous process where we keep researching because we have to keep going back to the drawing board", she adds.
The Science Behind Creating Foundations for Darker Skin Tones
Creating the base of the foundation
The base of the foundation is the formula without the colours or pigments. This base is different for different foundations, depending on what the beauty brand is aiming for with its foundation. Let's assume we're creating a matte, skincare-infused, long-wear, medium-coverage foundation prototype in Ekanem's lab.
"When foundation is made, it's not just the colour we consider. It also depends on what the client wants in the foundation. Some foundations can have ingredients that help with skincare, like niacinamide and hyaluronic acid. So we premix those colours and those ingredients," Ekanem says.
The foundation can also be sheer, medium, or full-coverage, depending on how much titanium dioxide you add.
"Cosmetic chemists also consider opacity during formulation, or as marketing calls it, coverage. Titanium dioxide is an opacifying ingredient. If we want the foundation to be more sheer, we reduce the amount of titanium dioxide in the formula. Sometimes, people use zinc oxide and titanium dioxide together to get some SPF value, even though it's not significant enough to skip sunscreen," she adds.
When it comes to the finish of the foundation, some beauty brands aim for either a matte or dewy look. Of course, this is considered during formulation.
"If the foundation needs to be matte, we include silica or isododecane to cause that effect by soaking up oils and drying up immediately. We also try to use pre-dispersed pigments, which are pigments incorporated in oils or silicones, so we get a better mix and avoid patches when it's applied across the skin", Ekanem explains.
Again, cosmetic chemists have to be creative, depending on the client's requirements, even when the client wants something other than a conventional foundation.
"Some brands want an in-between, something that's not quite foundation like BB creams or tinted moisturisers that contain hyaluronic acid or niacinamide. Some could also have brightening ingredients to make it a dual-purpose product: tackling hyperpigmentation and covering the skin. It's really intricate", she adds.
Mixing up Undertones and Skin Tones
In addition to the base, the colouring process is another crucial step in foundation formulation. Foundations for fairer and deeper skin tones are usually formulated using three principal oxides: red, yellow, and black. As Ekanem notes, sometimes blue and green pigments are used to balance out these colours.
But why does foundation formulation involve so much colour mixing? It's all thanks to your undertones.
"People have different undertones: yellow, red, or olive. We use more red in some foundation shades because some people have a more red-than-yellow undertone. If we add more yellow, we get a lighter shade of brown. If we add more red, we get a deeper shade but not a darker one. And if we add more black or blue, we get a darker shade. We can add more red or blue to balance the grayscale from the black. It's really a balance of colours, depending on the person's undertone and skin tone," Ekanem says.
This intricate balance of colours gives an extensive shade range with the right undertones, and when time isn't taken to really test the shades, it can result in a gap for people with darker skin tones.
Prototypes and benchmarks for complexion products
After a ton of research, base-formulating, and colour-mixing, your fancy-bottled $100 foundation starts as a prototype in a plain, white container.
"Prototypes are where we combine the raw materials to give us a product. While we do this, we look at the benchmark product to see if the prototype surpasses the benchmark. On average, we make more than ten prototypes in the lab. And sometimes, we're lucky to get it on the first three tries," Ekanem states.
After the foundation prototypes are made, they are sent to the client for what Ekanem dubs an informal consumer panel.
"When we feel like we have a prototype that surpasses the benchmark, we send it to the client for product evaluation with a form for them to tell us their thoughts. Shade-matching with other people in the niche you're formulating for also helps with feedback.
After the first evaluation, they tell us what's wrong with the product, and we make changes to it to meet their satisfaction. If it's a custom formulation, we send the final prototype and an intellectual property (IP) document for them to sign, transferring the foundation formulation's IP to the client for trademark or patent," Ekanem adds.
From prototyping to undertone mixing, there is a ton of expertise and money that goes into foundation formulation. But by demystifying the process behind colour cosmetics, we can begin to answer the questions that plague our makeup routines and demand better, extensive shades for darker skin tones.
Keep reading: Viola Davis' Best Foundations for Every Occasion and Budget
