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.
I’ve been taking some time to inventory my ingredients, formulas, and draft posts to find out what I haven’t shared with you yet. I didn’t realize I’ve been playing with St. John’s wort oil for quite some time now! Let’s take a look at this interesting oil! There are two versions of St John’s wort...
I wrote this last year, but didn’t share it, for some strange reason. It was supposed to come after the ingredient entry for cream of tartar last November… So why use might we use cream of tartar (INCI: Potassium bitartrate) instead of citric acid? Why do I use it in my bubble bath bars instead of citric acid?...
I’ve been playing a lot with Plantapon® TF, a non-ionic surfactant blend, using it in all kinds of cleansers, so let’s take a look at a relative of this surfactant blend – Plantapon® SF (INCI: Sodium cocoamphoacetate, glycerin, lauryl glucoside, sodium cocoyl glutamate, sodium lauryl glucose carboxylate), a naturally compliant, COSMOS approved surfactant blend that...
Let’s go back to the original post for a moment to see what we’re making! The basic formula for this natural hair oil from Institute of Personal Care Science is is 9.5% Cetiol CC, 0.5% essential oil blend, 0.5% Argan oil, 0.2% Dermofeel Toco 70, and up to 100% Cetiol Ultimate or Vegelight 1214 LC. As...
Two days ago, we took a look at Cetiol® Ultimate (INCI: Undecane and tridecane), a very light, thin, volatile emollient that works as a cyclomethicone or isododecane substitute. It’s naturally compliant – it has certification from NaTrue, ECOCERT, and COSMOS. Then we took a look at Cetiol® CC (INCI: Dicaprylyl carbonate), a carbonate ester with...