The home of SwiftCraftyMonkey Formulating Inc.! 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.
In this post, A bunch of comments I missed in March, Kathrine asks: I was curious if you had any insight on the efficacy of using Caprylhydroxamic Acid (and) Glyceryl Caprylate (and) Glycerin as a preservative. I haven’t been able to find a lot of information on it, other than the suppliers who swear by...
I wanted to share with you my new e-zine, Formulating with botanical extracts, part one. I’m sharing what I know about various extracts, including goji berry, willow bark, pumpkin seed, and more, including a ton of brand new recipes, including a few for a clay mask and a liquid blend you could add to it,...
In this post, Lotion bars, asks: BoCron asks: I’m excited to make my first lotion bar. I’m trying to get something like the Lush Buffy bar. I love how it moisturizes but not how it smells. I was going to try 33% beeswax, 33% shea butter, 33% coconut oil and 1% fragrance. From what I’m learning,...
In June’s Q&A thread, Laura asked: Question about botanical extracts: I want to avoid using liquid extracts because may contain Phenoxyethanol and my clients DO NOT want it. Nor do they want Sodium Benzoate. There are not many available preserved with Leucidal Liquid. I do use some powdered extracts, but they tend to not dissolve,...
At least once a week I have someone stop by the blog to ask why the product they’re trying to make with polysorbate 80 is separating. Upon further investigation, it turns out they are trying to use a solubilizer – mostly polysorbate 80 – as an emulsifier. Polysorbate 20 and 80, PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil,...