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.
Susan Barclay-Nichols In this post, anonymous asks: When you weigh your ingredients in your pyrex jugs and put them into the double boiler, are you actually putting the pyrex jug on the top part of the double boiler, or are you adding the ingrediets in the double boiler itself (without the pyrex jug)? I’m a beginner and I...
Well, this was an interesting week and I didn’t think I’d meet the challenge*, but I managed to pull it off by Saturday! This week’s challenge was all about LSB, a surfactant blend of SLSa and DLS mild from Stepan (click here for more information and the rules of the challenge). *I’ve been messing around...
How does one colour a lotion? You can use any water or oil based colours you like. For instance, a few drops of LabColours or other liquid colours you like will work well. You can add some micas to the mix to make the lotion shiny – the more you add, the more sparkly you’ll...
You probably saw the post the other day on the min-maxed toner becoming a moisturizing gel (which I’m still very much enjoying) and probably saw this picture of it in a Pyrex jug. Don’t leave your products in a container like that for too long before bottling! Evaporation tends not to be our friend in...
Keeping notes isn’t just important, it’s essential when we’re formulating our products. Keeping and staying organized isn’t my strong point, but I am meticulous when it comes to my products! I combine the computer and my notebooks to make sure I have records of everything I make or formulate. My first suggestion: Create a folder...