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 realized I don’t have a page about who I am and what I do, so here’s a little bit about me, SwiftCraftyMonkey! Hello, I’m Susan Barclay Nichols, perhaps better known as SwiftCraftyMonkey, writer, instructor, and formulator for this site, Point of Interest. I started creating bath, body, and hair care products in 2006 after … Read more
Hi everyone! Thanks for joining me here on the site in August 2022! Hope you’re all doing well and avoiding the heat waves that seem to be devastating so many parts of the world. We’re just coming out of a week 35˚C to 39˚C (95˚F to 101˚F) that felt like up to 44˚C (104˚F) with … Read more
Well, this is lovely! Windy Point Soap Making Supplies (Calgary, Alberta) is having a Christmas in July sale where you can get up to 20% on your order for the entire month! Save on everything from my favourite surfactants and shampoo bar ingredients, soap making supplies, emulsifiers, and my favourite line of cold process emulsifiers, … Read more
Didn’t I just say welcome to June 2022? Time is flying by so fast! I’m totally unprepared for July! Nevertheless, welcome to the first month of proper, official summer here in the Northern Hemisphere! My 50,000 km tune up continues until July 8th with more visits for Botox, epidurals, and anaesthetic into my arms, and … Read more
How did this beautiful, fluffy, gorgeous conditioner with Varisoft EQ 65 become that epic fail? This is what happens when the process required to make a product isn’t followed properly. If it needs high shear and you’ve used a hand mixer, the product will fail. If you’re supposed to alter the pH at a certain...