Glossary · Formulation
What Is Vehicle (Base)?
The vehicle, or base, is everything in a formula that carries the active ingredients: the water, oils, emulsifiers, humectants, thickeners and preservatives that give the product its form. The vehicle determines texture, stability and preservation, and usually accounts for the large majority of the formula by weight.
Why it matters when you source
Two products with identical hero ingredients can perform completely differently because the vehicle differs, and most cost differences between quotes live here rather than in the actives. Brief the vehicle by describing the experience you want, not only by the ingredient list you saw on a competitor.
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