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.
Cetrimonium bromide isn’t used a lot by homecrafters as it isn’t easy to get, but it is a great cationic quaternary compound for really damaged hair, especially hair with gaps in the cuticle. It isn’t as lubricating as BTMS, so you’ll want to include some oils or silicones or cetyl alcohol to ensure you are...
Adding butters to a conditioner may only work for the most dry haired girls out there – normal and oily haired girls might find them too intense, and fine haired girls will probably hate these. All butters contain stearic acid, which is a great moisturizer, so they’ll work for a dry, itchy scalp, and some...
We know that adding oils to leave-in conditioners works well for dry and curly hair types, especially those who aren’t fond of silicones. Oils can reduce the impact of combing forces on wet hair by up to 20%, which can reduce potential damage to the cuticle. And oils can increase the shine and gloss of...
There are as many opinions about which oils are good for your hair as there are oils, so for the most part, it’s really up to you to decide which oils you like best for your hair. Some oils are used regularly by commercial conditioners – jojoba, avocado, sweet almond – and those are good...
Oils and butters are a great way to get extra moisturizing for your hair and scalp into a conditioner. There are tons of different oil and butter choices you can make – some of it will depend upon the goals of the conditioner, some of it will depend on what you’ve got in your workshop....