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.
Hi everyone! I thought I’d share a little update with you here. I’m afraid I’ve been a bit under the weather this month. I went to Calgary to teach and spend time with my lovely friends, Michele and Keith, but I think I pushed myself a little harder than I should, and instead of resting … Read more
You asked, I’m sharing! Here are some of my favourite formulas from my classes! Some are fairly straightforward and great for beginners; others are more complicated and suitable for those who want to take their formulating to the next level. We use all kinds of butters, oils, silicone substitutes, emulsifiers, surfactants, and more. I’ve even...
In the October 2018 duplicating post, Lisa asked about Puritan’s Pride Panthenol Hair Thickener and Conditioner. Let’s take a look at this to see what it’s all about! Add New Body to Lifeless Hair! Pamper your hair with Puritan’s Pride Hair Thickener & Conditioner. After continuous use, your hair will have more body, feel stronger, and look...
A few people in this post – Potential duplication of Evan Healy Blue Lavender Cleansing Milk (part four, the formula) – wanted to know what was the emulsifier. In the original formula, we find two anionic emulsifiers in the form of sodium lauroyl lactylate and sodium stearoyl lactylate. Copied from part one of this duplication… Sodium...
In the October Q&A, Charlette asked, Sometimes I’ll see sodium hydroxide at the end of an ingredient list for skin products and I wonder why would this be used? Wouldn’t it be much easier to use TEA (triethanolamine) to increase pH rather than lye (which is usually bought in huge batches when all I’d be using...