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 finally got around to buying some cationic guar or guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride (sometimes listed as GuarSilk) a few weeks ago from Creations from Eden (also available at the Herbarie) and I thought I’d try it out in a few surfactant based products to see how it compares to my other cationic polymers (like polyquat...
As people refer me to things they consider to be natural products, I keep seeing the words “coconut derived” beside surfactants, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, and other ingredients that are, in fact, coconut derived. But what does this mean? Coconut oil is often the starting point for surfactants because it has a fatty acid profile...
If you are going to make a product that contains water or might be exposed to water, you need to include a preservative. If you want to make a preservative-less product or want to use alcohol as a preservative or want to store things in your fridge, do it. If you’ve read all that I’ve...
As people refer me to things they consider to be natural products, I keep seeing the words “coconut derived” beside surfactants, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, and other ingredients that are, in fact, coconut derived. But what does this mean? Coconut oil is often the starting point for surfactants because it has a fatty acid profile...
Welcome to Workshop Stadium. This week the Chairman, Raymond (my lovely husband), has chosen the sixth Iron Chemist ingredient – Lanolin! Here are the rules. (Click here for the long version.) Raymond rolled a seven, which means he chose from the assorted butters and things that haven’t been put away properly box. I have until next...