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.
How does a moisturizer differ from a lotion? A moisturizer is an emulsified product, like every other lotion, but they tend to have a higher water phase than other lotions. Generally moisturizers are 80% to 90% water, which means we have a 10% to 20% oil phase, which isn’t huge when you consider that we...
In this post, seventh77 asks: I’ve come across various “organic skin care” blog-type sites that claim propylene glycol “denatures” skin and causes it to age prematurely and sag. Is there any truth to that?I answer the question in the comments in the post, but the short answer is no, there’s no truth to these claims. And...
Thanks for your good thoughts about my math exam! I got an A-, something I didn’t expect as I wrote it while enjoying some serious back and hip flexor pain, a memento of a serious fall I had on a ferry four years ago. I hope to get back to writing more detailed posts on...
I’m doing my final exam for math tonight, so this morning is dedicated to doing last minute revisions to those concepts that have refused to take up residence in my head. I started the class in January, and I can’t remember anything past last week. What’s up with that? I’m stuck on logarithms and exponents...
I love this creamy exfoliating cleanser! I can use it for my oily skin maybe once a month and my best friend with normal skin can use it once a week, but someone with dry skin could use it every day, although I’d make a version without the jojoba beads because you don’t want to...