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.
Baking soda and oil will not create a soap. There is a fascinating process called saponification during which oils and a very alkaline thing like sodium or potassium hydroxide are mixed together to create a soap. We can’t extrapolate this to mean that every alkaline and every oil will mix to create a soap. Lye...
I love the way my hair looks after a day at the beach, all wild and untamed and not frizzy (for some strange reason!), but please note that these salt sprays increase the friction between your hair strands, which can lead to irreversible damage! The salt coats your hair, which makes the strands rub against...
When making just about anything with surfactants, you want to think about adding other things like moisturizers, humectants, skin conditioners, and so on because when they’re alone, surfactants can feel a bit drying, no matter how gentle or mild they may be. If you have no idea what’s going on, please check out part one...
Why did I choose the surfactants I did for my Japanese themed body wash? Always ask yourself about your goal and skin feel preferences to determine which ingredients you’ll use. I like to use at least two anionic (negatively charged) surfactants and one amphoteric (could be negative, could be positive) surfactant in my products because...
My husband loves all things Japanese (hence the Genshiken youth group he runs for the “society for the study of modern visual culture” at the library where they watch anime and read manga and discuss both for hours!) and I thought I’d make him a Japanese themed body wash with ingredients that remind me of...