Formulation Essentials: 

Oils, Butters and Waxes 

Curriculum updated in 2024!

Knowing how to make safe and efficient products is an integral skill for any essential oil user – professional or not. How do you make sure your product is safe, efficient and performs as you want it to? How to write a proper formula so that you never struggle to make that brilliant body butter again and again? What do you do when you pour a liquid balm into a container to set – its surface smooth as glass – only to find later that it’s gone grainy or is dotted with hard waxy nubs? Should you be adding essential oils straight into your bath salts? We will not only answer all of these questions, but help you find your own confidence in designing exactly the type of product you need. 

This course will set you up for success in your formulation adventures! Learn how to create consistent success, with oil-based products. 

2025 Cohort starting June 17, now OPEN for enrollment! 

Also offered as a part of our four-part Complete Formulation Program

Formulation Module 1

Payment in full
US$480
  • Paid in full – one payment.
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Formulation Module 1

Payment plan
US$120/month
  • Four payments of $120 over 4 months.
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Whether you’re an aromatherapy practitioner striving to create professional bases for your therapeutic blends, or a cosmetic formulator aiming to make luxurious products, this eight-week online certification course is for you.

During seven fascinating lessons, expert cosmetic formulator Lise Andersen will share her passion, know-how and professional techniques for creating silken whips, balms, serums, and more. You’ll explore the pros and pitfalls of several plant oils, waxes and butters, and discover how and where to procure the right equipment and fresh, raw ingredients.

There is also one lesson on Essential Oil Blending with Robert Tisserand. Offered in week two, Robert personally guides you in creating safe and beautifully scented therapeutic and cosmeceutical blends for adding to your formulations.

As well as gaining the proper methodology for custom formulating, you’ll get dozens of smart tested formulas, including essential oil blends designed by Robert. Stop relying on dubious DIY recipes that are potentially ineffective or unsafe, and confidently create your own sound formulations!

What You Get in Essential Formulation

8 WEEKLY LESSONS, Starting June 17, 2025
Eight pre-recorded lessons with Lise Andersen or Robert Tisserand.

Live Q&A SESSIONS
Four live Q&A sessions.

RECORDINGS
All live sessions are recorded for you to review and view in case you cannot join the live.

PRINTABLE COURSE MATERIAL
Extensive downloadable handouts and course notes with links to additional research and resources.

DEDICATED GROUP DISCUSSIONS
Access to our dedicated learning platform with online forum to ask questions and share your formulation adventures with the TI team and your classmates.

ONGOING COURSE ACCESS
Forums and feedback available for 8 weeks after the last lesson, and 6 months of view-only access to the recordings.

Plus You'll Get

A total of twenty individual tried and tested product formulations with detailed instructions.

Robert Tisserand’s six original essential oil blends, tested with Lise’s formulations.

An invaluable and comprehensive list of recommended suppliers for quality ingredients, tools, equipment and packaging. 

READY TO START FORMULATING? Get your spot!
Tisserand Institute Instructor Lise Anderson

Lise Andersen

Formulator | Founder of LisaLise Pure Natural Skincare & Formulators’ Kitchen

A self-professed ‘green’ formulator, Lise works with luxurious natural plant-based ingredients – preferably as raw and unprocessed as possible. As a trusted expert, she has decades of experience in researching, testing, and developing cosmetics.

Lise is the author of several DIY e-books on making skincare and haircare products, herbal extracts, and more. She also offers consultation and bespoke formulation for beauty brands. Visit her blog where she journals her experiments and shares know-how on everything from making no-soap cleansers to pressed eye shadow.

Robert Tisserand

Author | Speaker | Founder of Tisserand Institute

Robert is one of the world’s leading experts in aromatherapy with over 50 years of experience. He is a speaker, educator, author, and consultant on the science and benefits of essential oils and their safe and effective application. Robert has inspired audiences in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan on topics ranging from the therapeutic foundations of essential oils to examinations on essential oils and the skin.

Robert wrote one of the first books to bring awareness to aromatherapy in 1977, The Art of Aromatherapy, and is a co-author of Essential Oil Safety (2nd Edition, 2014), a book that sets industry standards for the safe use of essential oils.

Full 2025 Schedule

Formulation Essentials (Starting October 28, 2025)

Weekly lessons are live and will be held at 10 PST each Tuesday. Recordings will be posted within 12 hours from the live lesson.

Lesson 1: October 28, 2025 
Lesson 2: November 4, 2025
Lesson 3: November 11, 2025
Lesson 4: November 18, 2025

Course Breakdown
Essential Hair Care

What you'll be learning over the eight weeks:

Lesson 1 - Ingredients & Formulas (Lise Andersen)
  • Beneficial Ingredients for Hair & Scalp
  • Formulas for customizable products: 
    Pre Shampoo Hair Treatment
    pH Balanced Shampoo Bar
    Leave-in Hair Serum
    Single Use Clay Mask
Lesson 2 - Dry, Damaged & Frizzy Hair (Robert Tisserand)
  • Oil penetration
  • Dry hair
  • Damaged hair
  • Frizzy hair
  • Essential Oil blends to address these issues
Lesson 3 - Dandruff & Oily Hair (Robert Tisserand)
  • Oily hair
  • Dandruff
  • Treatment with essential oils
Lesson 4 - Hair Loss (Robert Tisserand)
  • Background
  • Alopecia areata
  • Androgenetic alopecia
  • Hirsutism
  • Best essential oils to address these
Get your spot!

When You Complete the Course

CERTIFICATION
Your certificate – issued by the leaders of evidence-based instruction – demonstrates your knowledge of safe and effective use of essential oil blends in anhydrous formulas, aqueous sprays, bath products and facial masks.

 

What previous students say about this course:

This course was so complete and easy to follow. I loved the live webinars with Lisa and Robert (Lesson 2) and appreciated the structured classroom, as I have discovered that I do best in this type of setting. Also, thank you so much to Hana for her support, input and knowledge for each lesson! ~ Darlene Sekijima

I so enjoyed Lise’s personality and the banter between Hana and Lise. I have a very high stress life, and many times Lise, and Lise and Hana put a smile on my face or made me chuckle when I needed it most. Better than CBD! ~ Sheila McKenna

I appreciated the passion that was put into the course. I stumbled across this by chance and I am so thankful I did. This has expanded my passion and knowledge about formulations. It has enhanced my learning about essential oils. I just want to thank you for offering this course and all that you do. I feel so confident having your institute as my education platform. I am a beginner but feel confident with your amazing education that it wont be long before I am a pro!! ~ Penny Ferguson

The personalized attention and friendly feel. Sometimes you feel like instructors are holding back their best secrets or knowledge. But I didn’t feel like that with either Lise or Robert. Lise was delightful. I felt like I could just pull up a chair with a cup of tea and we could talk formulations! Also being able to learn about blending from Robert was an incredible treat! I would love to have a larger course about that!! ~ Kristi Maxwell

I loved the way the information was organized and the depth of information. I can do some real formulating now- like a pro! I also just love the “freshness” of Lisa and Hana, and the calmness of Robert. What a great team! I also SO appreciate the ongoing feeling that I am dealing with experts when dealing with Tisserand Institute. Thank you! ~ Tina Hammer

I really liked that we had the options to view live or on our own time. This was amazing as my schedule is very volatile and I wasn’t able to be there at the scheduled time as I thought I would. I really like Lisa and thought she was a fun and engaging teacher. I like the video format as well, so that I am engaged visually and can listen, because if it’s just one or the other I find I get distracted too easily. I also liked that some basic formulas were provided to get beginners started with the types of formulas that they are not familiar with. ~ Michaela
Friendly and fun, very well explained. Loved the course – thank you ~ Lilly Zoch
I thoroughly enjoyed this class! Felt like I was right in the same room and also appreciated the candor and humor. There was so much valuable information given by both Lise and Robert.
Not one thing – EVERYTHING! with all my TI courses. Quality of course content, facilitators, teachers and their knowledge, teaching platform – everything! ~ Niki Klelin
The dynamic between Lise and Hana was wonderful — it caused this course to be fun, interactive and so engaging. I’d subscribe to their podcast, if they had one. ~ Rhonda M
I notice I have been mulling things over a lot from this course and that more has gone in than I thought. I’m having my own distilled understandings arriving – which is proof of quality education. Overall i think it was a very good course and that your online platform is superb – as good as any I have used. ~ Nigel Sutton
This is a rare opportunity to study with one of the world’s leading experts on essential oils – don’t miss this chance! Let Robert Tisserand guide you in creating safe and effective blends with parameters based on clinical trials and scientific research.

Ready to get started?

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FAQs

Will there be notes for me to review?
Yes. Each lesson comes with printable handouts of the slides used in the lesson, and additional lesson notes. These are sent to you before each lesson and are for you to keep and refer to at any time.
I am a certified aromatherapist. Will I learn anything new?
Many of our students have commented that our courses helped them grasp what they learned elsewhere in more detail, or complemented their previous education. Some of our students are lifelong learners, and some are teachers.
I am new to essential oils. Is this course for me?
We will let one of our previous students answer this one:

“The information presented is appropriate for all levels, and although I am just beginning my aromatherapy journey it all makes sense.”

Will there be assessments or exams? What kind?
Each weekly lesson is followed by a multiple choice quiz, and there is a summary test at the end of each course. Passing both the weekly quizzes and the final tests is a requirement for certification.
When will the live Q&As take place?

See above in the course description for specific dates. All live Q&As are recorded and you can ask questions any time on our online platform.

Will I be able to ask questions?
Absolutely! In addition to the live Q&A sessions, you can post your questions in the dedicated student forums.
How long will I have access to the recordings?

You will have access to all the recordings and course materials for at least twelve weeks weeks after the last lesson. All the printable materials (notes, handouts, charts, etc.) are of course yours to keep for reference forever. You can also re-enroll into all of our courses for a flat fee of $50 – and enjoy the full access to tutors and fellow learners again. 

Do you offer continuing education credits?
Because we have students from all over the world and of many professions we are not able to offer credits for specific organizations – there are simply too many. However, we issue a confirmation of CE hours gained on the course that you can apply with your professional organization and will be happy to assist with any additional documentation.
What if I fall behind or cannot attend classes?
We have found that running classes on specific dates works best to help you finish a program. You join a class of students, and learn along with them. Many students help each other with queries, and of course our tutors are there too. That said, if you miss a few classes you should be still able to comfortably jump right back in and if you do fall behind you can request extra time. Of course this cannot be indefinite, but we do our best to help you get your certificate.