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.
Let’s make a version of a whipped anhydrous body butter you can pumpkin spice up with a variety of different ingredients! We’ll start with a basic formula with three variations with instructions, then we can look at how we might alter it to meet our theme! The formula! Weigh the oils and butter in a...
A friend alerted me to this absolutely atrocious recipe the other day, and I couldn’t not share it with you! This is an excellent example of a really poorly created recipe – or as I like to call it a “terrible recipe” – from a DIY page that was shared by a supplier – argh,...
In the monthly Q&A post, Chavi asked, This may be a silly question but it occurred to me while I was reading the new ebook.. why aren’t we concerned with pH when it comes to lotions, conditioners, body butters, etc? I’m sure the answer is in my head somewhere but at nearly midnight, it’s not coming...
In the monthly Q&A post, Shelby asked, Hi Susan! I’m back with another question! I have seen some products that are mostly water based, thickened with xanthan gum, but have a small amount of oil added. There are no real emulsifiers or solubilizes for the oil either. So how are these products not separating? Are they...
Xanthan Gum is an anionic (negatively charged) polymer derived from the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris, which can be found on cruciferous veggies like cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli (all of my least favourites!). In the manufacturing of this ingredient, they actually use the bacteria in a fermentation process. It’s permitted in food and cosmetic products and the typical usage...