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’ve been seeing posts from David Wongk for a course and Facebook group called “Start a 6 Figure Beauty Business” where you learn to make massive batches of really easy products using a variety of bases to create yourself a business where you can make a six figure (gross) income. There are free “recipes” available … Read more
Someone asked me why their conditioner bars were soft in the syndet shampoo bar group I admin with Jo-Anne Emery on Facebook, and they shared their variation on my formula in which they’ve included 5% coconut oil and an unknown butter, and I thought I’d expand on what I shared with them over there… Important...
I’m getting a lot of questions about conditioner bars, which makes me think you’re all making them out there. Woo hoo! Aren’t they awesome? Table of contents Where do I find formulas and information for making conditioner bars on this site? What’s the best process for making a conditioner bar? How to best melt BTMS...
Hi everyone! I’m up to mid-September in the comments, and I continue to work through them. Thanks for your patience. A few thoughts: Why does everyone think it’s so hard to melt sodium cocoyl isethionate (SCI)? If you pick the right version and couple it with the right surfactant – disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, cocamidopropyl betaine, … Read more
In the monthly Q&A, Noémie asked, Hi Susan, I’m a new subscriber and I love your work. I’m a beginner and I have a quite basic question : why only natural oils/butters are prone to oxidation ? If I well understood, oxidation occurs on double bonds in hydrocarbon chains, but don’t esters (derived from natural fatty...