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.
There are as many opinions about which oils are good for your hair as there are oils, so for the most part, it’s really up to you to decide which oils you like best for your hair. Some oils are used regularly by commercial conditioners – jojoba, avocado, sweet almond – and those are good...
Does being scared keep you from crafting? Have you read so much about lotions that the mere idea of buying emulsifying wax has you terrified? Do you long to make an amazing shampoo, but you can’t step into the workshop without fears of failure? I remember seeing a lotion recipe and deciding I would try...
Oils and butters are a great way to get extra moisturizing for your hair and scalp into a conditioner. There are tons of different oil and butter choices you can make – some of it will depend upon the goals of the conditioner, some of it will depend on what you’ve got in your workshop....
If you look at the ingredients in anti-frizz sprays or sera, you’ll see two ingredients (and variations thereon) – cyclomethicone and dimethicone. It’s not hard to make one of these at home. The big difference between the serum and the spray – the serum tends to use the higher c.s. dimethicone (thicker), whereas the spray...
Silicones – like cyclomethicone and dimethicone – offer film forming, occlusive, and emollient properties to your conditioners to decrease friction, increase gloss and shine, improve wet combing, and decrease moisture retention or frizzing (which are all part of the conditioner’s goals!) Every hair type can benefit from silicones. Dry hair can benefit from the emollient...