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.
Edited to add: As a note, if you are getting a message that you need to be “invited” to read the blog, that is because that’s the error the old blog gives to you. I cannot change that message The old blog is gone. No one will be invited to it because everything from there – … Read more
I’ve taken the old blog down. Welcome to the new blog! Please read this post to learn more. Over the last week, I’ve been under constant attack by a woman running a shampoo bar group. But that’s not what’s upset me – it’s watching people whose names I recognize jumping on the monkey pile to … Read more
Every day I’m asked, “I don’t have ingredient X. What can I use instead?” This is like asking, “What’s a substitute for black pepper?” In what kind of food? What flavours are you hoping to achieve? What other ingredients are you using in this meal? Who will be eating it? Consider what the response might...
We made it! We have a few more things to think about, then it’s formula time! To recap – part one, part two, part three, and part four – but the most important parts of this product are the surfactants, those bubbly, lathery, foamy things that make the shampoo do its magic! Water (Aqua), Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine,...
I’m not sure what’s going on out there in the world, but there seem to be some serious misunderstandings about acids, bases, pH, and more, so let’s just get down to it. I’ll give you a quick summary in bold, and a longer explanation, if you want it. WHAT DOES pH MEAN? pH is a...