The home of SwiftCraftyMonkey! 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.
As a note, there are a few different kinds of carrageenans we can buy, the most common being iota-carrageenan or kappa-carageenan. I’ll be writing about both. If you’ve ever made jelly soap, you’ve probably used iota-karageenan, which creates soft, wiggly, elastic gels. Genugel® G-130 carrageenan (kappa) is an anionic or negatively charged water dispersible thickener derived from…...
Wow, it’s been a whirlwind month, and I appreciate your patience so much. As you may have seen, we left for England March 5 and had planned go to In Cosmetics in Barcelona for March 31 to April 2, but then the apocalypse happened, and I spent much of my so-called holiday trying to get…...
I’ve tried to write this post more times than I can count, on the plane and over the last few days, but I always stop and never finish. This time I’m finishing it… I hope this post finds you all safe and well. Sorry I’ve been MIA, but I’ve been trying to get back to … Read more
We made it home from England early this morning after the longest day of our lives that took us from Liverpool to Manchester, then to Paris, Toronto, and, finally, Vancouver. (Friday, March 20th lasted 30 hours for us with all the time zone jumping.) 🛫✈️🛬 Because we have most definitely been exposed to the Coronavirus … Read more
Hi everyone! Thought I’d let you know what’s going on around here as we are living in very surreal times. I hope all of you are hale and healthy, and I hope those of you who have caught this virus are on the mend. No, we’re not in some old-timey quarantine in England. That’s what … Read more
On Monday, we met one of my favourite new cold process oil-in-water emulsifiers, ViscOptima SE (INCI: Sodium polyacrylate, ethylhexyl cocoate, PPG-3 benzyl ether myristate, polysorbate 20), which you might find as GelMaker RHEO from Making Cosmetics, and yesterday, we reviewed the ingredients we might use in a super hydrating, cold process, strawberry smoothie cream suitable…...
My hands are getting so parched from all that hand-washing and sanitizer, so I wanted to develop a quick and easy super emollient and hydrating lotion that would moisturize without being too heavy. I thought this would be the perfect creamy lotion to bring away with us on holiday to Liverpool, England, which is a…...
As it seems all I’ve done for the last five days is speak on the phone and watch for incoming emails as we get organized to leave England, and as it’s the end of the world as we know it – am I exaggerating? – Newbie Tuesday will not be seen this week. We’ll try to … Read more
If you’ve read my e-books, Beyond Emulsifying Wax, part one or 10 minute lotions, you’ve met this super fast, cold process emulsifier before. I bought mine as GelMaker® RHEO from Making Cosmetics, which is their name for it. 125 ml or 4.2 ounces is $13.90 US before taxes and shipping and such. As a note,…...
Update: We’re coming home on Friday on a very very long flight home – Manchester to Paris, Paris to Toronto, Toronto to Vancouver! As you can see, Raymond, Emrys, Bryce, and I are still in Liverpool, England, away from home on the other side of the world. We’re all doing well – no signs of … Read more