The home of SwiftCraftyMonkey Formulating Inc.! Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys). Often strange, occasionally useful, and always worth a stop as a point of interest on your journey through the Intertron.
Original post shared 2009. Slowly updating it for 2023 with new information and diagrams. This is definitely a work in progress as there’s so much more to share! At one time or another, we’ve all experienced epic lotion failure and asked ourselves what we did wrong. We call it separation, but do you know why...
Cranberry oil – INCI: Vaccinium macrocarpon (cranberry) seed oil – is an interesting oil. With 3 to 6% palmitic acid (C16), up to 2% stearic acid (C18), 22 to 26% oleic acid (C18:1), 30 to 38% linoleic acid (C18:2), and 20 to 38% linolenic acid (C18:3), you’d expect it to have a short shelf life...
Original post from 2009! If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you’ll know I’m a fan of isopropyl myristate or IPM. I use it primarily as a dry or astringent emollient to reduce the greasy feeling of other oils in a lotion or lotion bar. You can use it in large...
These are what I consider to be the basic instructions for making lotions for most types of emulsifiers, including Polawax, emulsifying wax, Incroquat BTMS-50, Simulsol 165/Lotionpro™ 165, and more. Always check how the emulsifier you’re using needs to be used as this method won’t work for other emulsifiers, like Olivem 1000, Montanov 68 MB, Varisoft...
…in the Barclay-Nichols’s household. (Don’t hit me!) It’s might seem like Christmas is a huge 61 days away, but when you’re a crafter, you have to start early! I don’t think it’s helpful for me to start posting recipes on December 1st because you need time to try out these products, see how the fragrances...