Turn an INCI list into a research draft

What you will accomplish

You will turn a label-order ingredient list into an editable research draft, review Formuley's estimated percentages, phases, functions, confidence, and market flags, then choose the correct handoff. Deformulation is estimation and screening; it does not reveal a proprietary formula or create a production-ready reconstruction.

Before you start

Open /formulas/deformulate with a readable comma-separated ingredient list or a PDF that contains one. You need at least 2 ingredients. Have the product name, likely formula format, leave-on or rinse-off application, and intended markets available. The deformulator requires Pro or higher access.

Add the reference

1. Paste the ingredient list. Keep the label order and spelling as close to the source as possible.
2. Choose Upload PDF when the list is in a document. Review the extracted text before analyzing it.
3. Enter the product name. Use a name that keeps this reference distinct from your own product.
4. Choose the closest formula format. Select the category that best matches the visible product.
5. Set product application. Choose Auto-detect, Leave-on, or Rinse-off for the market screening context.
6. Select intended markets. US and EU are core choices; additional unlocked markets depend on plan access.
7. Choose whether to Refine with AI. The default heuristic estimate works without AI refinement; AI adds a second advisory pass when enabled.

Analyze and review the rebuild

1. Run the analysis. Formuley parses label order, estimates percentage ranges, and assigns likely functions and phases.
2. Review every ingredient. Confirm the parsed identity before trusting the estimate attached to it.
3. Inspect confidence. Treat High, Medium, and Low as estimation signals, not proof of the undisclosed composition.
4. Edit estimated percentages when evidence supports a change. Keep the estimate total near 100 without implying exact knowledge.
5. Review phase assignments. Check Water, Oil, Emulsifier, Cool Down, Active, Fragrance, Preservative, and Other against plausible processing behavior.
6. Use Refine with AI only as another estimate. Recheck any changed assumption and preserve the original source separately.

INCI order has limited resolving power, especially around the one-percent region, mixtures, carriers, incidental ingredients, and equal-order possibilities. A precise-looking number remains an estimate.

Review validation and market screening

1. Open the validation step. Review formula-format notes, supplier-directory references, warnings, confidence, and the required next action.
2. Inspect Market compliance preview. Compare prohibited, restricted, and use-condition flags for the selected markets.
3. Treat the preview as screening. It uses the submitted estimate and stored rule context, not a verified formula or final market decision.
4. Check supplier documents. Confirm exact material identity, composition, recommended use, and processing guidance before choosing a raw material.
5. Plan bench verification. Define the control, test variations, process, pH, stability, preservation, compatibility, and quality work needed to evaluate the rebuild.

Save the correct handoff

1. Choose Create formula draft. Save the estimated percentages as a new editable formula and allow the selected-market draft compliance check to run.
2. Open the saved formula. Correct identities, amounts, phases, method, targets, and notes before treating it as your development record.
3. Choose Open import mapping when reconciliation is the better next step. Use the importer to map names to the raw-material records you actually own.
4. Keep the record in research status. A qualified formulator must assess feasibility and a qualified regulatory reviewer must verify market conclusions.
5. Release only after evidence. Complete bench, safety, stability, preservation, compatibility, scale-up, quality, and release review appropriate to the product.

Check your work

• The pasted or extracted list matches the source label and contains at least 2 ingredients.
• Product format, application, and markets match the reference being studied.
• Every identity, percentage, phase, function, and confidence value is understood as an estimate.
• Market compliance preview findings have been verified in the full formula and compliance workflows.
• The saved result is marked and handled as a research draft.
• A qualified formulator owns technical validation and qualified reviewers own safety, regulatory, QA, and release decisions.

If something does not look right

• If PDF extraction misses or reorders ingredients, correct the pasted list before analysis.
• If the estimate total is far from 100, review parsing, duplicate names, and edited values.
• If a phase assignment is implausible, edit the working formula and verify with supplier process guidance.
• If AI refinement is unavailable, continue with the heuristic estimate and validate it; the output remains a draft either way.
• If Market compliance preview is unavailable, save the draft and run /compliance/check/[formulaId] after correcting the formula.

Next steps

• Watch video 4: Use the Formuley Deformulator
• Edit the saved research draft
• Review all AI boundaries