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.
Okay, get ready for a little organic chemistry. I know, I can hear some of you saying, “But it’s summer. We don’t have to learn!” but it’s a fascinating journey into the world of esters and I know you’ll have fun! What is an ester? (From Wikipedia) Esters are chemical compounds derived by reacting an oxoacid...
Well, that’s it for nails for now. Here’s a quick set of links on this topic… Chemistry of nailsLecithinLanolinFormulating a balm with lanolin and lecithinFormulating a whipped butter with lanolin and lecithinFormulating a lotion bar with lanolin and lecithinOil based scrubsIncorporating water soluble ingredients in an anhydrous creationOther ideas for nail products...
Although I really like yesterday’s recipe – it’s great as a light lotion without having to go to the effort of using emulsifiers and water – I really wanted a balm. What do I need to change? I realized I’d left out the cetyl alcohol or stearic acid, so I added 6% cetyl esters (again,...
We’re already aware of the awesome power of lecithin and lanolin in our nail care products, so let’s take a look at a lotion or cream you could make as a nail and cuticle treatment product. Considering this would be a lotion or cream, we want the same types of ingredients you’d find in those...
I touched on this idea a little in this post – how to research ingredients – but I thought I’d add a little more on finding data bulletins or data sheets. Let’s say you find an ingredient that looks interesting – let’s say Amphosol CG – but you want to know more about it. You...