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’ve been playing with Rita BTMS-225, a new conditioning emulsifier carried by Voyageur Soap & Candle. What do I think of it? In this post, Mychelle shared her experiences with Rita 225…I’ve been using the Rita BTMS 225 for a couple of months now and I really like it. As I predominantly used BTMS-25 from...
In this post, Anastasia writes, When you have time for a question (totally for my own info!), I am having trouble understanding the difference between cetyl esters and cetyl alcohol. When would I use one over the other? Thanks! In this post on formulating and using thickeners, I take a look at what each fatty alcohol,...
I’m an ingredient junkie, so you know that when Voyageur Soap & Candle brought in Rita BTMS-225, I had to have it. What’s it all about and how do we use it? The INCI for BTMS-225 is Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol. It’s a hair and skin conditioner as well as a complete emulsifier. If...
I found a comment from someone who was having trouble with lotion separation. In the message, she notes that she is using the base emulsifier from Aromantic in the UK. This is not a complete emulsifier – it’s glyceryl monostearate, a low HLB emulsifier that must be coupled with a high HLB emulsifier to create...
A few questions have come up around using BTMS-25 in a conditioner when you don’t have access to BTMS-50, so let’s take a look at what we could do here! (Click here for the post on substitutions, click for the post on emulsifiers!) What’s the difference between BTMS-25 and BTMS-50? BTMS-50 is behentrimonium methosulfate (and) cetyl...