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.
Castor oil (INCI Ricinus communis (castor) seed oil) is an oil with a very interesting fatty acid profile. It contains about 2 to 6% oleic acid (C18:1), about 4% linoleic acid (C18:2), and 85 to 95% ricinoleic acid (C18:2, w-9). It is a very thick, pale coloured oil with very little taste. In fact, it...
Hemp seed oil (INCI: Cannabis sativa seed oil) has an interesting fatty acid profile with 6% palmitic acid (C16), 2% stearic acid (C18), 12% oleic acid (C18:1), up to 57% linoleic acid (C18:2), 19 to 25% linolenic acid (C18:3), and up to 5% gamma linolenic acid (C18:3). You might see it claimed that hemp seed...
Grape seed oil is a light oil containing 7% palmitic acid (C16), 4% stearic acid (C18), 16% oleic acid (C18:1), and 72% linoleic acid (C18:2). With such high levels of unsaturated acids and such low levels of Vitamin E (at 265 ppm), this oil has a very short shelf life of 3 to 6 months,...
Because life became quite chaotic this week, and because the headache is making me sleep late (for some strange reason), please enjoy this post on what I consider to be the best Christmas card I’ve ever made and join me tomorrow for a post on grapeseed oil! I have a small obsession with chemistry –...
I’ve been suffering from an ongoing headache since August, and it’s flaring up this week. So instead of information on an oil today, I give you a short tutorial on sushi candles!I know I’ve written about making sushi candles in the past, but they were so cute and I made so many for Christmas, I...