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.
You know how much I love my foamy and lathery surfactants, so let’s add some PEG-7 olivate to a body wash to enjoy the reduction in irritation, slight increase in thickening, and increase in moisturization! We’re all on a quest to find body washes that don’t leave us feeling all dry and stiff after a...
PEG-7 olivate (or indeed, the other water soluble esters like sunflower, jojoba, macadamia nut, and so on) are great additions to facial products. They offer increased emolliency and moisturization and a reduction in irritation, which are always great qualities, and those of us with oily skin can often enjoy the benefits using oils without feeling...
Raymond and I are taking a much deserved camping holiday on the Oregon coast, leaving today and we might be back on Thursday or Friday (we haven’t decided yet). It’s going to be a little cold, but I understand Portland is a mecca for us crafty types, so there’s much fun to be a had....
As you can tell by the name, PEG-7 olivate is derived from oleic acid, which, in this case, comes from olive oil. It seems that what you’ll find at your supplier is OlivEm 300, a brand name for the product from B&T in Italy. It’s a polyethylene glycol ester, which means it’s considered a surfactant with...
You’ve seen these esters around, with names like PEG-7 olivate or PEG-12 laurate, but what the heck are polyethylene glycol esters? Point of interest: What we’ve been taking a look at for the last week are called alkyl esters, just one of the many types of esters! There are a ton of different types –...