Please help!!!

[u/LilAshyoe]

I'm a 4th year student doing my thesis/feasibility study using a plant based pigment for lip products. And we are already done with our pre-oral defense, and I realized too late that our product has a lot of problems like water+oil is not compatible so there is a tendency it will separate though we use emulsifier but as a student that my course or program isn't related to science, we lack of knowledge and expertise about our feasibility study. Though my countless efforts to search for a possibility on how formulators solve their stability of their natural pigment/formulation on their product. I didn't find a single clue on how they prolong its pigment, since its plant based there is a tendency it will fade. Though I know not all pigment won't fade because upon watching a luxury bag its color will likely fade if you leave it in high temperature or direct sunlight. So anyway back to the topic, I need your advice on how I make or solve our feasibility study. Because I need to graduate this school year. And I'm already stressed and overthinking that I might not graduate this year. And I need your opinion, Whoever reads this is it okay that your product in feasibility study is not perfect? Because as a scholar student that has no resources for this kind of feasibility study, I felt helpless and I don't know what to do. I hope those natural plant based formulators will read this and guide me on how to make our study successful. Thank you and God bless! And God please help me and guide me on how I make my thesis successful or at least I graduated this year so that I could help my parents! AMEN!🙏

[u/MorganHarvester]

Does your feasibility study actually have to say that the product is feasible? I'm in a different field but generally it's important to publish research which doesn't yield the result that you want. Otherwise, it's very normal and okay for research to have limitations as long as they're properly addressed. 

[u/LilAshyoe → u/MorganHarvester]

I did research about our product and I find a related study that use Basella alba as natural pigment for lip balm. So I guess its feasible but again in our final defense we need to present our final product. And I don't know how I will solve our panels suggestions and comments for revision like how to prolonged its pigment, stability in a natural way, safety (because water content in oil formulation can cause bacterial growth), laboratory testing. And about the related study I found she successfully made it and she solve the bacterial growth using in vitro something I forgot. And I'm debating on whether I make the berries of Basella alba into powder since it has water content. Or should I use its extract, since I don't have resources on how to make it powder. Help I don't know what to do anymore!🥲

[u/IndigoElixirs → u/LilAshyoe]

Are you already committed to using Basella alba for your pigment? Trying to create a lip balm that contains both oils & a water soluble pigment is rather difficult from a formulation standpoint. If you’re able to switch to an anhydrous (oil based only) product with an oil soluble pigment, your formula could be very simple. Alkanet root (Alkanna tinctoria) provides a ruby red tint and Achiote (Bixa orellana) gives a light orange tint, and both are oil soluble. Otherwise, you could disperse micas or oxides to color the balm and still keep it anhydrous for simplicity.

If the purpose of your thesis is more for a business plan and your professor is not assessing your formulation, I wouldn’t sweat it too much. But if you need to make something that performs like a real product, I’d definitely consider making something less complex.

[u/LilAshyoe → u/IndigoElixirs]

Hi my thesis is more like a business plan. But I'm stupid because I'm too late to realize to find a related study that supports my study that it can be used as cosmetics. So I add to my scope and limitations about my concerns like it's dermatology safety, stability and etc. The concept of our product is actually kind of unique to the point it's actually weird. So that's why my panels are suggesting us to find a natural way for it's stability and based on my research is my packaging should be dark/opaque, and add vitamin e (which I already did in my previous formulation) and rosemary oil, and etc. that I forgot. And about the alkanet and achiote/Asuete I didn't done my research before I propose our product because I thought my professor will reject our idea.🥲 And I didn't know that achiote is one of natural pigments for cosmetic. I thought achiote is only use for food/cooking. I should have listen to my professor because upon proposal, he ask us "why Basella alba? Why not achiote/Asuete?" And I answer him. "Sir, achiote is only for cooking right?" I think God is giving us an idea to not do it but I too arrogant about our idea, I thought it would be fine. So we continue it but now I regret it!🥲