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.
I stumbled upon a recipe for an herbal shampoo recommended by Craft magazine over at Sweet Living Magazine that I thought would be a good example of another installment of how can you tell if it’s a good recipe? HERBAL SHAMPOO (originally from Sweet Living Magazine) 2 cups spring water 1/2 cup fresh herbs or...
In this post, Keisha asks: I’ve fallen in love with Laura Mercier’s Ambre Vanilla Souffle and was trying to replicate it. Looking at the ingredients, it seems like they might have used two different emulsifiers (glyceryl stearate & peg-100; cetearyl alcohol & polysorbate 60.) I’m curious, why would someone use two different complete emulsifiers? I was able to...
The summer semester is over, and it’s time to start studying for my mid-month final exam. I have two weeks of holiday time at the end of the month, and for at least one of those weeks, I’m planning to putter around the house and play in the workshop! I’m running out of everything again,...
I thought this article on fruit oils and SPF was an interesting read. They won’t let me quote sections, so I took a picture of the warning. Please don’t think that using fruit oils can work as an effective sunscreen! There’s an interesting article about claims at Cosmetics Design and the difference between cosmetic and...
I can’t believe how many things I’m seeing on things like SnapGuide or Instructables or in my favourite forum about making sunscreens. All I can say is please don’t. There is no guarantee that these products work, and you’re risking short and long term damage for yourself and the people you love. I know we...