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.
I’ve been enjoying my low surfactant facial cleanser with foaming silk surfactant a lot, but there’s always room for more tweaking! The Formulator Sample Shop sent me a bunch of really interesting new ingredients, so I thought I’d play with a new surfactant called foaming oat (INCI: Sodium Cocoyl Hydrolyzed Oat Protein). Full disclosure: The Formulator...
You do not need to use the HLB system for an all-in-one or self-emulsifying emulsifier like Polawax, e-wax, Incroquat BTMS-25, Incroquat BTMS-50, Ritamulse SCG, Rita BTMS-225, and so on. If the emulsifier is advertised as being a complete emulsifier, you just need to read the suggested usage rate and do it that way. In all...
I stumbled upon a recipe for an herbal shampoo recommended by Craft magazine over at Sweet Living Magazine that I thought would be a good example of another installment of how can you tell if it’s a good recipe? HERBAL SHAMPOO (originally from Sweet Living Magazine) 2 cups spring water 1/2 cup fresh herbs or...
In this post, Keisha asks: I’ve fallen in love with Laura Mercier’s Ambre Vanilla Souffle and was trying to replicate it. Looking at the ingredients, it seems like they might have used two different emulsifiers (glyceryl stearate & peg-100; cetearyl alcohol & polysorbate 60.) I’m curious, why would someone use two different complete emulsifiers? I was able to...
The summer semester is over, and it’s time to start studying for my mid-month final exam. I have two weeks of holiday time at the end of the month, and for at least one of those weeks, I’m planning to putter around the house and play in the workshop! I’m running out of everything again,...