The home of SwiftCraftyMonkey Formulating Inc.! Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys). Often strange, occasionally useful, and always worth a stop as a point of interest on your journey through the Intertron.
Body wash can be moisturizing and cleansing at the same time, if you choose the right ingredients. What do you want in a body wash? mild to good cleansing abilities fluffy lather good foam a nice fragrance! What do we have to fit our requirements? Amphosol CG is an amphoteric, so it will thicken our...
What the heck is a surfactant? The word surfactant is short for “surface active agent” and has a hydrophilic (water-loving) head and a lipophilic (oil-loving) or hydrophobic (water-hating) tail. This means it can bring things together like oil and water. So an emulsifier, like emulsifying wax or Incroquat BTMS, is a surfactant. (Click here for...
I cannot stress enough the idea of learning why you’re using the ingredients you are using when you are creating. Yeah, it’s easy to follow a recipe, but if things go horribly wrong (for instance, the lotion doesn’t emulsify) or you want to change something, you need to know why you’re adding what you’re adding....
I figured a picture of my best friend having a great time making lotion was a great accompaniment to a post on how much fun it is to formulate! I have become a huge fan of toner in recent months as I have very oily, acne prone skin that does not like moisturizers all that...