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’ve started using a lot more niacinamide these days, and this article really reminds me why it’s such a great ingredient! This water soluble powder can be included in your toners, moisturizers, and other facial and body care products suitable for all skin types. It’s inexpensive – $3.95 for 1 ounce at Lotioncrafter or $4.50 for...
In this post, Experiments in the workshop: A 3-in-1 that might be good for swimmers, Marg asks: Can you explain your thinking on adding white willow bark extract to your 3 in 1? I love that product, and use it in my aftershave lotion to soothe tiny nicks or scrapes, but not sure if its...
Welcome to all the new readers of the blog! I’m so happy to see your enthusiasm for making your own bath & body products! I can’t encourage you enough to do a search for what interests you or take the quick tour of what the blog has to offer to see where you can find information....
Yesterday we took a look at what was important in a shampoo. Today we’ll take a look at how to incorporate some greener ingredients in this product. What does it mean to be “greener”? Honestly, much like the word “natural”, this is undefined and varies from person to person. So I’m going to go with...
Someone asked if I could make a shampoo recipe with fewer ingredients than those that are currently on the blog. The answer is yes, but… Yes, but the problem that those ingredients are the ones that take a shampoo from okay to freakin’ awesome! If you’re new to the idea of creating a shampoo, take...