Welcome to the home of SwiftCraftyMonkey Formulating Inc.! Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys)! Here you’ll find over 5,000 posts and formulas written over the past 16 years for everything from lotions, creams, and body butters to hair care products to fancy facial products filled with actives and cosmeceuticals! Enjoy the site without distractions – no ads, pop ups, sponsored posts, affiliate links, “one weird tricks” – all supported by readers like you.
Kat wrote to me to ask these questions: I have made several of the lotion recipes you’ve posted on your site. They are all wonderful, to be sure. However, I’m confused because every single one has come out too thick to pour. I define lotion as being pourable. Am I wrong? In fact, I’ve altered (to...
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at three Ecocert preservatives – Leucidal, Advanced Leucidal – Aloe, and NataPres. I think my general apprehension about using these preservatives are threefold – they have short shelf lives, they are far more expensive than the preservatives I generally use now (liquid Germall Plus, Germaben II, and Phenonip), and...
NataPres is an Ecocert preservative I found at Lotioncrafter. I purchased it, but haven’t used it, and that’s primarily because of the need for a secondary preservative. Click here to see the data sheet. NataPres INCI: Glycerin (and) Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate (and) Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract (and) Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Extract (and) Populus...
Please read this post I wrote on this preservative as there are some concerns that it might not work well or at all. I know the appeal of natural can be very strong, but if it’s on par with using no preservatives, we are putting ourselves and our loved ones at risk for all kinds of...
In this post, Katie posed this question: I also read that you do not consider there to be any natural preservative. Your post was from a little while ago, so maybe you have changed your thoughts on this? I should clarify that sentence – there are “natural”* preservatives, but I have yet to find one comparable...