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.
And I’ve had time to research new ingredients! Hooray! I am hoping to get a few posts written this weekend, and get to some comments. Thank goodness for long weekends, eh? Thanks for your patience and support! ...
As I go through the comments and messages you’ve sent me in the last few weeks, a few thoughts arise. I thought I should probably link to these posts… Why are you making products from scratch when you’re new to bath & body products? If you’ve never made anything, find a recipe that you know will...
I continue to see oils listed as having essential fatty acids or containing omega 3, 6, or 9. What does this all mean? An omega 3, 6, or 9 bond means the fatty acid contains a double bond between carbon atoms that is 3, 6, or 9 atoms from the end of the molecule, as...
Decyl glucoside is a very mild non-ionic cleanser that works well as both a primary or secondary surfactant as it is a good foamer. It has an alkaline pH – 7 to 11.5 – so you’ll have to bring your pH down with citric acid or another acidic ingredient to ensure it reaches the right...
Lotionpro 165 (INCI Glyceryl Stearate (and) PEG 100 Stearate) an all-in-one non-ionic emulsifier based on the HLB system used in our heated oil phase to emulsify water and oil together to creation lotions and other emulsified products. It has an HLB value of about 11.2. (You don’t need to know this in order to use it, but...