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.
With all the running around I’ve been doing running various groups, trying to get my own crafting done, and finishing up the lotion book, I didn’t get time to write the post I wanted to on disodium cocoamphodiacetate, so I thought I’d put together this list… Crafty types can be hard to buy presents for...
After writing this post on substituting for less expensive ingredients, I got to thinking about esters. You know I love my esters, but if you can’t get them locally or find them more expensive than our oils, you can use fractionated coconut oil in place of most of oil soluble ones in lotions and anhydrous creations....
When I first started making products, I’d find all these amazing lotion recipes but it always seemed I was missing the oil or butter they suggested. I tentatively exchanged the oils, fully prepared for an epic fail, and they would work! Yay! Lotion success! I figured out which ones I liked based on skin feel...
So here’s an example of a label I use on my foot scrub bars. I package these in cellophane bags and close it with the label. I like to include three major pieces of information – the name of the product and fragrance, instructions for use (if it isn’t obvious), and a simplified ingredient list....
More beautiful creations from my craft group! We had 22 kids last Thursday making these adorable Christmas snowflake decorations! As you know, our youth programs are sponsored by readers like you. When you contribute to our groups by buying either the Back to Basics or Hair Care: Shampoos & Conditioners e-books or just making a donation to us, you...