Make your range of products stand out by including professional herbal extracts.

           Series of Specialist Online Classes         

LEVEL: For formulators, retail brands and people with experience making their own natural cosmetics (i.e. not suitable for beginners, CLICK HERE for the beginner-friendly course instead!)

Est. 2019

This series of specialist classes is for you if:

  • You are already making or are learning how to make your own professional natural skin and hair-care products aimed at the retail market.

  • You want to learn how to include herbs in your products but don’t know the best way to do this.

  • You are confused by conflicting advice from online sources.

  • You are frightened that you might do something wrong.

  • You want to know how to do your paperwork for your own extracts so that they are legally compliant.

  • You are concerned about safety issues but don’t know where to get reliable info.

  • You have bought herbal ingredients but don’t know how best to use them.

  • You’ve wasted ingredients before trying to make your own extracts but they’ve gone wrong and you don’t know why.

Content of the Classes Includes....:

  • An overview of the various types of herbal extracts that are suitable for use in skin and hair-care products (including what’s practical to make yourself and what you’d be better to buy).

  • Making herbal infused (macerated) oils suitable for professional use.

  • How to write up your paperwork for your hand-made extracts e.g. glycerites, water infusions, macerated herbal oils etc.

  • Ingredient safety, concentrations and dosages.

  • Pregnancy: what’s safe; what’s not.

  • Reactions and sensitivities: how to avoid them; how to deal with them if they happen.

  • Lesser known skincare herbs: a change from the usual ingredients. Start to explore the potential of lesser known herbs for enhancing your products and giving them the edge to help them stand out from other brands.

  • Herbs and their suitability for different skin types e.g. herbs to avoid or use for people who have conditions such as rosacea, psoriasis, eczema etc.

  • Examples of various ways to add herbs in to a formula/recipe e.g. an emulsion face cream, a topical hair treatment.

  • Time in each lesson for you to ask me your questions.

This series does NOT include....:

  • This class will not teach basic cosmetic-making-techniques. For example I will not demonstrate how to make an emulsion (it is assumed that people doing this class will already have tried making these). Instead we will look at a standard sample formulae e.g. an emulsion face cream and the various and best ways to incorporate herbal extracts in to them.

  • If you’re looking for a course that teaches basic cosmetic-making techniques then please CLICK HERE for my other course.

How the Classes Work....:

  • This series consists of 4 x 2.5 hour live interactive classes broadcast online.

  • These live online classes are taught using Zoom webinar software (this is usually very quick and easy to download and use).

  • Vivienne presents live during these classes.

  • The classes contain Vivienne talking, slide show presentations and pdf guides and notes to accompany each topic.

  • There will be time for questions during every lesson.

  • Questions can be typed in to the chat bar.

  • The class size is restricted to 25 to ensure quality of teaching and allow people a fair chance to ask their questions.

  • Video recordings are available after each lesson.

Some of the Topics & Key Questions Vivienne Covers:

Weekly Lesson Guide:

WEEK 1: An Overview of Types of Herbal Extracts

* Herbal extracts that are suitable for use in skin and hair-care products e.g. water infusions, aromatic waters, hydrosols, tinctures, vinegar extracts, infused oils, powdered herbs, glycerites, CO2 extracts, essential oils, fixed oils etc.

*Which chemicals and compounds are known to extract into various solvents e.g. which chemicals are best extracted in water, oil, alcohol, glycerine etc.

*Which herbal extracts it is practical to make yourself and which ones you would be better to buy.

* Examples of various ways to add herbs/herbal extracts in to a formula/recipe e.g. an emulsion face cream, a topical hair treatment.

* How to create very different finished products (e.g. a light emulsion suitable for oily skin or a rich emulsions nourishing for dry skin) simply by selecting different herbs rather than using a different formula or technique for each product.

 

WEEK 2 : Herbal infused oils; a step-by-step guide to making your own extracts

*How to make your own herbal infused (macerated) oils suitable for professional use.

*Trouble-shooting what’s gone wrong with your oil (if you’ve made them before).

*Guidelines to avoid issues with oils so that you produce a lovely, stable and beneficial ingredient.

*How to combine infused oils in to cosmetic formulae and use them safely.

*How to write up your paperwork for extracts that you make yourself (the same process is used for other types of extracts e.g. herbal glycerites, decoctions etc.) so that it is legally-compliant and can be sent to your cosmetic chemist.

 

WEEK 3: Aromatic Waters & True Hydrosols (also known as distilled waters, hydrolats, floral waters)

* Clearing up confusion about these (the same INCI refers to various different methods of producing waters so you need to know and understand which one YOU are using.)

* Why some waters can be problematic ingredients in professional retail products; how to recognise and avoid these.

* How properly test for bacteria and contamination (and avoid them in the first place).

* How to prepare them to ensure high quality and a stable ingredient in your products.

* Chemistry of aromatic waters (what we know so far about what is in them).

* Comparing aromatic waters and other herbal water extracts e.g. decoctions (therapeutics and chemistry).

* Therapeutics of aromatic waters and why they are so beneficial in natural cosmetics.

* Recommended reliable suppliers of high quality waters.

* Recommended suppliers of distillation equipment (should you want to make your own).

 

WEEK 4 : Herbal repertoire for the natural cosmetic-maker; safety (dosage/reactions/pregnancy)

*A look at lesser known herbs for skincare, haircare and deodorants: a change from the usual ingredients.

*Exploring the potential of lesser known herbs for enhancing your products and giving them the edge to help them stand out from other brands.

*Details about each herb including: which chemicals they are known to contain, how best to extract these, which cosmetic products they tend to work well in, skin types they suit, products/skin types they might not be suitable in etc.

* Medical skin conditions e.g. eczema, psoriasis, roseacea etc: how to deal with questions about these when customers ask for you to recommend your cosmetic products for them.

*Ingredient safety, concentrations and dosages.

*Pregnancy: understanding natural ingredients; my guidelines to help you to determine if your ingredient is safe to use and how to use it.

*Reactions and sensitivities: how to avoid them; how to deal with them if they happen.

What you will need....:

  • In order to gain the most benefit from these classes it would be ideal if are available to attend the classes live.

  • However, video recordings will be available afterwards so if you can’t attend live you can send your questions in advance and watch the recording when it suits you.

  • A stable internet connection. It does NOT need to be super-fast broadband but I do recommend that it is a consistently-stable service. Webinar software broadcasts live over the internet. If you want to engage in this properly then the best service tends to be via a PC or laptop, especially if you use an ethernet cable. It will also work via mobile and Wifi but the service will vary depends on your mobile phone reception and if there are several other people in the household streaming services at exactly the same time.

  • If you can use Skype then you shouldn’t have a problem with these online classes because the technology is similar.

Save:

 Time

Worry

Fear

Money

Wasted ingredients

The drain of endless online searches that generate conflicting info

Avoid:

ROOKIE ERRORS and the time, money, ingredients and stock that they waste.

Save Money on Specialist Consultancy:

  • This series covers the most common topics that I’ve been asked about over the last decade by natural skincare formulators.

  • This is a cost-effective way to get a solid reliable basis of information from me.

  • This means that you can save your budget for tailored professional consultancy sessions for exploring issues specifically for your brand when you really need them.

 

ELEVATE your natural skincare brand quickly: lose the fear and work with confidence.

IN 2023 THIS SERIES WILL BE AVAILABLE IN NOVEMBER

  These groups fill up quickly: don’t miss your chance to join a group.

PRICE: €200

This includes:

  • The live classes (4 x 2.5 hours) and videos of the recordings from them

  •  The notes, pdf guides, record-keeping templates, recommended supplier lists etc.: download and print or read on-screen.

  • Q&A sessions (ask your questions during or at the end of each live class: or email them to Vivienne if you can’t attend live).

  • Access to the private online classroom for the class group (no expiry date on this).

 

Vivienne takes a maximum of 25 students per group to help to put students at their ease so they feel happy to ask questions, and to ensure quality of teaching.

If you know you want to join this, don’t miss your chance.

This specialist series only runs once per year.

Tuesday mornings in November

DATES : Tuesdays 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th NOVEMBER 2023

TIME:  10 am – 12.30 pm Ireland/Lisbon/UK time/GMT

TIME ZONE NOTE: This class usually makes it possible for people in East Asia, Australia & NZ to attend live, as well as people in Europe who are able to attend during their day time. Please check your time zone to get precise hours for your country. TIME listed is GMT.

RECORDINGS: Video recordings of the lessons will be available afterwards so you do not need to attend the live sessions. You can email your questions to Vivienne ahead of each topic and watch the recording whenever it suits you.

Thursday nights in November

DATES:  Thursdays 9th, 16th Nov, 23rd & 30th Nov 2023

TIME: 7 pm – 9.30 pm Ireland/Lisbon/UK time/GMT

TIME ZONE NOTE: This class usually makes it possible for people in USA & Canada to attend live during daytime hours, as well as people in Europe who would like to attend in their evening time. Please check your time zone to get precise hours for your country. TIME listed is GMT.

RECORDINGS: Video recordings of the lessons will be available afterwards so you do not need to attend the live sessions. You can email your questions to Vivienne ahead of each topic and watch the recording whenever it suits you.

NEED HELP BEFORE THE NEXT COURSE SERIES?

Consider booking Vivienne for a private consultancy session.

Availability limited and varies throughout the year.

>> CLICK HERE for details

CAN'T MAKE 2023 COURSE DATES? Register to receive a notification for 2024.

Using Herbs in Professional Natural Cosmetics

The benefits of actively learning in small, specialist groups:

  • While it is not vital to attend to attend all of the lessons live and video recordings will be available to all students, I think that people tend to gain more benefit when they actively learn by engaging in a live class because the questions that other people ask can stimulate more ideas and lead to very interesting areas of further discussion.
  • We live in an age of passively collecting information and end up with too much information, much of it poor quality and conflicting, and lots of it that we won’t ever read or use properly. This is not genuine learning. Storing information is a not the same as having true knowledge and understanding of a topic.
  • Committing to engage together in a class on a focused subject is usually a much more efficient, active and productive way to learn.
  • They are an inexpensive way to learn.
  • I’m keeping the group size small so that everyone gets a fair chance to ask their questions and I can help more by following up on issues that people have.

Here’s What Some People Have Said About This Series…

“Thank you so much for your detailed responses to my questions. 

You put a lot of time and effort into answering me, and I really appreciate it.”

“Yet another fantastic lesson yesterday! Thank you!”

“I would like to thank you first for the amazing course, you are very generous in sharing the information and I really appreciate the effort and time you put into it. “

“The debut online series was fabulous!”

“Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us in this class. I found the class informative and I can’t wait for spring to start infusing cleaver, chickweed, red clover and daisy.”

CAN'T MAKE THE 2023 COURSE? Register to receive a notification for 2024.

Using Herbs in Professional Natural Cosmetics

FURTHER QUESTIONS

*If you have any questions or if these classes have already sold out when you try to book then please email me to get on the waiting list for the next class.

Email: info@theherbalhub.com

Tel/Text/WhatsApp from within Ireland: 0868899168

Tel/Text/WhatsApp from countries outside of Ireland: 00353868899168

Why learn from Vivienne?

  • Vivienne has taught herbal classes since 2004.
  • She is a qualified medical herbalist [BSc (Hons) 2003].
  • She formulated and produced her own professional natural skincare cosmetic range from 2010-2015.
  • She consults for professional natural skin and hair-care brands.
  • She knows the process of legally producing cosmetics for retail, the challenges this can pose when making your own extracts and how to do so safely, consistently & reliably.
  • In 2017 she gave a lecture and Q&A about the best ways to use herbs in professional natural cosmetics for the organic skincare school Formula Botanica.
  • She understands herbal ingredients very well and especially the issues that natural cosmetic-makers can have with them e.g. trying to find suppliers of high quality ingredients, whether or not ingredients are suitable in pregnancy, medical conditions that can cause skin problems and which cosmetic ingredients to chose that are least likely to cause problems with these, how to extract herbs to get the most benefit from them etc.
  • She takes foraging walks for natural skincare makers and professional holistic therapists.
  • She is passionate about introducing people to the potential of using long-forgotten, little known local wild herbs as dynamic, effective and unusual ingredients for natural skin and hair-care.
  • She aims to teach people in a way that is  informative, reliable, practical and enjoyable to enable people to use herbal ingredients with confidence and joy.
  • You can read more about Vivienne here: https://theherbalhub.com/about-vivienne/

BOOK NOW:

For  2023.

Tuesday mornings in November

DATES : Tuesdays 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th NOVEMBER 2023

TIME:  10 am – 12.30 pm Ireland/Lisbon/UK time/GMT

TIME ZONE NOTE: This class usually makes it possible for people in East Asia, Australia & NZ to attend live, as well as people in Europe who are able to attend during their day time. Please check your time zone to get precise hours for your country. TIME listed is GMT.

RECORDINGS: Video recordings of the lessons will be available afterwards so you do not need to attend the live sessions. You can email your questions to Vivienne ahead of each topic and watch the recording whenever it suits you.

Thursday nights in November

DATES:  Thursdays 9th, 16th Nov, 23rd & 30th Nov 2023

TIME: 7 pm – 9.30 pm Ireland/Lisbon/UK time/GMT

TIME ZONE NOTE: This class usually makes it possible for people in USA & Canada to attend live during daytime hours, as well as people in Europe who would like to attend in their evening time. Please check your time zone to get precise hours for your country. TIME listed is GMT.

RECORDINGS: Video recordings of the lessons will be available afterwards so you do not need to attend the live sessions. You can email your questions to Vivienne ahead of each topic and watch the recording whenever it suits you.

CAN'T MAKE 2023 COURSE DATES? Register to receive a notification for 2024.

Using Herbs in Professional Natural Cosmetics

NEED HELP BEFORE THE NEXT COURSE SERIES?

Consider booking Vivienne for a private consultancy session.

Availability limited and varies throughout the year.

>> CLICK HERE for details