Search the Formuley ingredient database

What you will accomplish

You will search the shared Formuley reference catalog, review an identity match, and use it to prefill a user-owned record in My Raw Materials without confusing reference data with your supplier and inventory records.

Before you start

Have at least one identifier for the material: its common name, INCI name, or CAS number. If you know the exact supplier grade, keep its TDS, SDS, label, or purchase details nearby so you can confirm the reference describes the material you actually buy.

The search field on /ingredients/reference is labeled Common name, INCI, or CAS.

Search and review the reference

1. Open the database. Go to /ingredients/reference from Raw Materials or Formuley Database.
2. Search the identity. Enter the common name, INCI, or CAS number in Common name, INCI, or CAS.
3. Narrow the results. Use category filters when the search returns several possible functions or material families.
4. Review the result. Compare the common name, INCI, CAS, category, function, and available Formuley reference source details.
5. Choose the closest identity. Confirm that the reference matches the material rather than relying on a similar trade name.

Add the reference to your library

1. Start the prefilled record. Choose Add to My Raw Materials on the selected reference.
2. Review the prefill. Confirm the display name, INCI, category, CAS, and other available identity details on the create form.
3. Add your operating fields. Choose a default stock unit and add supplier or opening-stock details only when you have them.
4. Save the user-owned record. The material is created in your library; the shared reference is not edited.
5. Verify before controlled batching. Open /ingredients/identity when you are ready to review the identity and make the material Batch-ready.

The Formuley reference is shared identity data. Your user-owned raw material record is where supplier names, preferred sources, supplier SKUs, stock, cost, purchase history, lots, and documents belong. Saving a shared reference does not automatically make the resulting record Batch-ready, source-ready, or GMP-ready.

Check your work

• The search result matches the intended common name, INCI, or CAS.
• Only the materials you use appear in My Raw Materials.
• The saved record has a display name, INCI name, and default unit for formulation.
• Supplier, lot, and cost data describe your purchased grade rather than the shared reference in general.
• The readiness label reflects the identity and evidence you have actually reviewed.

If something does not look right

• If the search is too broad, use an exact INCI or CAS number and apply a category filter.
• If two results look similar, compare their CAS, function, and source details before adding either one.
• If no reference is suitable, create a user-owned record at /ingredients/new and document the identity review manually.
• If a supplier grade differs in carrier, assay, or bench behavior, keep it as a separate raw material record.
• If the record is Formula-ready but not Batch-ready, finish the identity review at /ingredients/identity.

Next steps

• Watch video 12: Search the Formuley ingredient database
• Build and verify your raw material library
• Add your first raw materials