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 think most of us are thinking back to the year we had, and I thought I’d share some of the random thoughts, epiphanies, and rants I’ve enjoyed in 2018. I hope you’ll share your thoughts on some of these topics or add a few more of your own! Over the last year I’ve seen...
In the October Q&A, Charlette asked, Sometimes I’ll see sodium hydroxide at the end of an ingredient list for skin products and I wonder why would this be used? Wouldn’t it be much easier to use TEA (triethanolamine) to increase pH rather than lye (which is usually bought in huge batches when all I’d be using...
I know it’s hard to buy presents for crafters as it’s hard to know what specific and awesome ingredients we want, so I thought I’d share a few ideas then ask you for your suggestions to make life easier for those who might be buying us gifts for birthdays, Christmas, and other holidays. This post...
I can’t believe it’s only 39 days until Christmas, my favourite time of year! I love making and giving handmade gifts all year ’round, but I particularly love the fragrances that remind us of winter, cuddling up under blankets drinking hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows! Last year’s basket contained vanilla mint bubble bath, a lovely...
In the August Q&A, there were a few questions about different mixers! As an aside, I’ve been gathering all kinds of mixers over the last year that I’ve been testing to share with you, but I got bogged down because I wanted to set up my new viscometer so I had exact numbers instead of...