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.
pH indicators: You can get pH strips from your local supplier, and there always seems to be a great debate about whether or not they are useful. There’s always a place for testing your pH in bath and body products, but my experiences with strips have been spotty at best. I’ve tried three different kinds...
Let’s get back to our look at equipment! Mixers: There’s always this great debate about mixers – do we go with a stick blender, hand mixer, Kitchenaid, or whisking by hand? Yes. I went into a little detail in this post about mixers, and you can use any of those mixers listed above when making lotions....
The more you create, the more it seems you need to buy special equipment for your crafting…but it doesn’t have to be that way. I’ll give you an idea of which things I feel I really need and which I don’t (and I hope you’ll chime in with your favourite toys for the workshop) Scale:...
In the small batch post, Annette asked: The problem I have is with the mixing – The oil phase is so small, it starts to re-solidify really fast! Also, what do you use to mix the small batches? I have tried just about everything but a hand whisk! Any tips for the mixing phase? Before we...