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.
Do you have an idea for a product you’d like me to look at duplicating? This is the post for you! This is the official post for posting the things you’d like me to consider duplicating. When you make a suggestion, please include a link to the product with a full and proper ingredient list....
Sorry for the delay in posting this. I thought I had written it up earlier in the week, but it turns out I didn’t save it or maybe I just dreamt I wrote it?You might see things in this post I’ve written elsewhere, so I beg your patience as I try to figure out where...
I have two things I would love to own – a mixer that I don’t have to hold and a magnestic stirring hot plate. The magnetic stirring hot plate would do two things – stir and heat, which would be awesome. You get a little metal capsule, which you put into the beaker, then it...
In yesterday’s post, we started a discussion on the pH of our products when using AHAs. Today, let’s take a look at willow bark as per Marta’s question in the January Q&A! I’m a big fan of willow bark extract as it contains all that lovely salicylic acid, but it’s far easier to use in...
In the January Q&A, Marta asked: What is the recommended pH for a facial product containing fruit acid complex or willow bark extract? You have discussed concerns about a pH being too low in formulations containing (straight) alpha hydroxy acids or salicylic acid. Yet, should one be reducing the pH in a product containing fruit acid...