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.
On Thursday, we met a new-to-me oil, tamanu oil! Let’s take a look at how we might use this in a lotion! As a note, I find the smell too strong to use in huge amounts in an anhydrous product, like a lotion bar or whipped butter, but you could certainly use it in those...
I’ve been playing with tamanu oil (INCI: Calophyllum Tacamahaca Seed Oil) for a while now, so let’s take a look at this interesting oil! Tamanu oil is a thick, rich oil with a distinctive smell and colour. It is reported to be an anti-microbial with anti-oxidant properties, and works well as a skin or hair conditioner....
Can you tell I’m obsessed with this new-to-me surfactant, Iselux Ultra Mild, yet? Let’s take a look at suspending micas today! Are you wondering why the shiny micas in your pretty bubble bath fell to the bottom or your jojoba beads floated to the top of your facial cleanser? Thickening your product with Crothix, Ritathix...
It’s not hoarding if you’re monitoring your product for stability, observing how it morphs over time, loses viscosity, takes on or loses fragrance, changes colour, or generally behaves when left untouched for a while. This was my first formula using Siligel as a suspending thickener based on a formula with decyl glucoside created by Jane...
Just a few of the many many samples I’ve created for the Iselux Ultra Mild surfactant – which I bought from Windy Point Soap Making Supplies. It takes ages to test out different ways it might thicken, what might thin it, how it clears up, and how stable it is over time. I have at...