The home of SwiftCraftyMonkey Formulating Inc.! Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys). Often strange, occasionally useful, and always worth a stop as a point of interest on your journey through the Intertron.
I have a really interesting question from this month’s Q&A that I want to answer, but first we need to take a look at hydroxypropyl guar. I have this ingredient as Jaguar® HP-105 from Solvay but you can also find it as Polycos, so some of this might be specific to one version or another. Hydroxypropyl...
First, we met my new favourite gum, gellan gum, then we took a look at the Moisture Renew Body Wash formula from the manufacturer along with some ideas on which preservatives will work for it. Today, let’s make this formula and take a look at how to mix it along with testing and adjusting the...
The other day, we met my new favourite gum, Kelcogel® GG-LA, low acyl gellan gum, so let’s get formulating with it today! The first formula I tried was a variation on their Moisture Renewal Body Wash, which uses a combination of gellan gum and xanthan gum as a thickener and suspender. As a quick aside,...
In the August Q&A, Kh asked: Question: about xanthan gum and the pilling issue, (cause if I’m stuck with the ECOcert emulsifiers, I might be stuck with xanthan). Is it possible that it is pilling because of it’s interaction with another ingredient, like a wax maybe, or one of the film formers? I have tried many...
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN USING CROTHIX AND XANTHAN GUM?Angela sent me an e-mail to ask: When making a body wash, shampoo, etc. What is the difference between using Crothix and Xanthan Gum? The main difference will be the skin feel of the different ingredients. Both Crothix and xanthan gum will thicken your products, but they may...