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.
A huge thank you for purchasing the e-book as a way of supporting my youth groups! If you don’t know about it, here’s a quick synopsis… It’s a 122 page e-book entitled Back to Basics: Anhydrous Products. The book includes over 50 recipes and explanations for making lotion bars, whipped butters, balms, oil based scrubs, bath...
Iodopropynyl butylcarbamate (IPBC) is a non-formaldehyde releasing chemical based on iodine. It is effective against fungus and bacteria and can be combined with diazolidinyl urea or parabens to create a broad spectrum preservative. The Cosmetics Ingredient Review Panel notes it is safe to use at levels equal to or below 0.1% and the EU allows...
Phenoxyethanol is a phenolic compound with an alcohol functional group that we find in quite a few preservatives. It is not a formaldehyde releaser. It has good activity* against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria as well as yeast, and is generally paired up with another preservative – a quaternium, benzoic acid, or parabens to...
An update on the Aviva Community Fund competition. We didn’t make it into the top 10 last round – we were number 19, which is still awesome, but not enough for the top 10 – so we’re on to the second round as of October 25th. If you voted for us before, please consider voting...
Imidiazolidinyl urea is one of the most common preservatives, found as Germall 115 (a powder). Created through a chemical reaction of allantoin and formaldehyde in the presence of a sodium hydroxide solution, it’s then neutralized with hydrochloric acid and evaporated. It’s a good anti-bacterial preservative that isn’t great with fungus, so it is generally combined...