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.
So what the heck is an ester and how or why would I want to use them in our bath and body creations? An ester is a molecule that has undergone esterification. (Wow, that was clear, eh?) Esterification is a chemical reaction – for our purposes between a carboxylic acid (like a fatty acid from...
I love making gels – they aren’t hard to create and they have so many uses. There are a few ways to make gels – with a polymer like Ultrez 20 or with cellulose – but I’m going to concentrate on the polymer method as I haven’t had a chance to play with cellulose yet...
And it’s name is ununbium, number 112 nestled between Uub and Uuq . It’s super-heavy – the heaviest, in fact – made from fusing zinc and lead. While I’m pleased for the new element and all that, I need an E element for my mental periodic table of the elements Scrabble! (From the category of...
Thanks for your responses to last week’s question – Why do you avoid silicones? There are four major reasons…1. Environmental impact of silicones;2. Environmental impact of the manufacturing process;3. Dislike skin or hair feel; and4. Unavailability of products. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF SILICONESI didn’t think about the environmental impact point, so here’s a little research I’ve...
In comments on this blog and in posts on other fora, I’ve noticed people want to stay away from silicones. As someone who can wax poetical about silicones and puts them in in pretty much every product I make, I’m wondering why formulators would avoid these ingredients. There are alternatives to silicones. You can try...