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.
I admit, I’m not a fan of patchouli essential oil. I find the smell reminds me of concerts I attended as a teenager, some of which I had to leave early because the overpowering smell made me physically ill. I have banished from my workshop because even having the bottle in my fragrance cabinet made...
It seems like people like to have a little tingle in their hair care products, so let’s take a look at how we could formulate a shampoo for dry hair with a little peppermint in it. First, let’s take a look at our surfactants! When I’m formulating for dry hair, there are three surfactants I really...
If you take a look to your right, you’ll see the links to lists section of the blog. I’ve created a permanent link to all the essential oil posts and I’ll be updating the sections as I write the posts. Blogger’s been kind enough to give us 20 pages that we can keep in this...
A big reminder before we get started formulating with peppermint essential oil – don’t put peppermint essential oil in any product in which you might soak (bubble bath, bath bombs, bath salts) or that might get close to tender mucous membranes. That lovely tingle we like on our feet doesn’t do well for other parts...
A few more things about peppermint and then we’ll do a little formulating with it! Smelling peppermint oil might be good for enhancing your memory and increasing alertness (Moss et al, 2003). Peppermint oil might be good at repelling mice and it might be good at repelling ear mites (put a little on a Q-tip...