Scaling Formulas

Why Scale a Formula

Cosmetics formulas are often developed at a small bench size -- say 100 grams -- and then scaled up for production runs. Formuley's scaling tool recalculates every ingredient amount for you, eliminating manual math and reducing the risk of measurement errors.

Opening the Scale View

1. Navigate to the Formulas page and open the formula you want to scale.
2. On the formula detail page, click the Scale button.
3. You are taken to the scale page at /formulas/[id]/scale.

Setting the Scale Factor

At the top of the scale view, enter a scale factor:

• 1.0 -- the original batch size (no change).
• 2.0 -- double the batch, producing twice the original amount.
• 0.5 -- half the batch, useful for small test runs.
• Any positive number works. For example, 3.5 produces a batch 3.5 times the original size.

As soon as you enter or adjust the scale factor, all ingredient amounts update instantly.

Reviewing Scaled Ingredients

The scaled ingredients table shows each ingredient with:

• Ingredient name and phase -- unchanged from the original formula.
• Original amount -- the amount defined in the base formula.
• Scaled amount -- the recalculated amount based on your scale factor.

Review the scaled amounts carefully, especially for ingredients with usage limits (such as preservatives or fragrance oils). Scaling adjusts the absolute amounts proportionally, but you should always verify that percentages still fall within safe usage ranges.

Logging a Batch from the Scaled View

Once you are satisfied with the scaled amounts, you can go directly to batch logging:

1. Click the Log Batch button in the scaled view.
2. Formuley opens the batch logging form with the scale factor pre-filled and all ingredient amounts set to their scaled values.
3. Complete the remaining batch details (date, notes, quality checks) and save.

This workflow saves you from manually entering the scale factor and re-checking amounts in a separate step.

Tips for Scaling

• Start small for new formulas. Develop and test at a small batch size (50--200 g), then scale up only after the formula is stable.
• Watch for minimum thresholds. Some ingredients (like colorants or actives) may have minimum effective amounts that are difficult to measure accurately at very small scales. If you scale down significantly, verify that your measuring equipment can handle the precision required.
• Use scaling for costing estimates. Before committing to a large production run, scale up in Formuley to preview the total ingredient cost and cost per unit at your target batch size.
• Combine with version control. If you change anything about the formula while scaling, save a new version first so the original is preserved. Scaling itself does not modify the base formula.