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.
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 –...
Camellia oil, known as “tea oil” or “tea seed oil” (INCI: Camellia sinensis seed oil), is a light, non-greasy, really affordable oil filled with oleic acid, polyphenols, and vitamins! It is generally cold pressed and comes from the seed of the tea plant, not the leaves. You can even cook with it (the smoke point...
What the heck is a CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) or CLnA (aka CLN or conjugated linolenic acid)? From Wikipedia, a conjugated molecule is an organic compound is one where atoms covalently bond alternating single and double bonds that influence each other to produce a region called the electron delocalization. In this region, electrons do not...
Gamma linolenic acid (C18:3) is another essential fatty acid, one our bodies can’t produce. It has three double bonds, meaning it is a fatty acid that is going to oxidize quickly, so we need to combine it with some good anti-oxidants or use it quickly in our lotions. It is found in small quantities in...