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 don’t think it would be helpful to talk about essential oils without talking about the chemistry, so I’m going to take a few days to review what we find in these oils. If you’re interested in learning more chemistry, this’ll be a two-fer as we delve into the various molecules we might find in...
As we saw from the studies on tea tree oil, using it in our facial products could help with acne. I’m going to include it in a facial cleanser with one small disclaimer – this is not an unscented product! It has a light medicinal smell, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, so you might...
Last Christmas, I made my friend Ken a shampoo that might have been good for dandruff. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear back from him about the product, so I don’t know if he liked it or not. I had a little problem with some flakes during the summer, so I tried it and quite liked it....
What are the claims about tea tree oil? It’s often listed as an anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-septic, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic essential oil. Let’s take a look at the science behind tea tree oil and see if it lives up to these claims! (And note – I’m not making claims about tea tree oil,...
Tea tree oil (Melaleuca alternifolia) is often listed as an anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-septic, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic essential oil. It has been touted as a natural preservative for our products – and we can imagine how I feel about that statement! – and it is supposed to be helpful for dandruff, lice/nits, acne,...