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.
In this Saturday’s Weekend Wonderings, we discussed molarity and % w/v (weight/volume), but let’s get into a little more detail. In chemistry, what is a mole? A mole is how much 6.02 x 10(23) atoms weighs. (The 23 is to the power of as in 10(2) is 10 x 10. So 10(23) is 10 x 10...
Yeah, I could have made that title a little shorter, but I’m excited! I’m teaching three classes at Voyageur Soap & Candle in Surrey, B.C. this season, and the registration is open! What am I teaching? Get to Know Your Oils – Creating Anhydrous Products: This class taught by expert crafter Susan Barclay Nichols and is...
I’m quite excited to be playing with PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, which is a new-to-me solubilizer that promises to improve foam and create clear solutions. Yesterday, I told you about the experiments I did with this solubilizer, and today we’ll take a look at some of the results! BLACK AMBER LAVENDER FRAGRANCE OIL On day 6...
I finally found time to play with my PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil over my holidays, so let’s take a look at the results of my experiments! (I’ve done this kind of testing before using caprylyl/capryl glucoside. Check out the post here!) I chose four different fragrances that I hoped would cover the kinds I might...
I’ve been meaning to find time to use my new container of PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, but I haven’t had time. But holiday time means free time, so I had a chance to play with this product to see how it solubilizes fragrances! I bought mine at Voyageur Soap & Candle, but you can find...