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 see people asking all the time where to start the process of learning how to make lotions, and my first suggestion is to check out the beginners’ section of my blog where I have starting formulas for all kinds of products, from whipped butter and lotion bars to lotions, creams, and body butters along...
First, we took a look at the ingredient list for Coochy Shave Cream, Frosted Cake, then we figured out what’s important and how much of each thing we might use in our starting formula. Yesterday, we tried the formula and thought it could use a little more thickening, so let’s take a look at making...
On Thursday, we met a new-to-me oil, tamanu oil! Let’s take a look at how we might use this in a lotion! As a note, I find the smell too strong to use in huge amounts in an anhydrous product, like a lotion bar or whipped butter, but you could certainly use it in those...
So far we’ve reviewed the ingredients list, took a quick aside to talk about self-preserving lotions and hurdle technology; and thought about how much of each ingredient to use. Today, let’s make a prototype formula for this American Pie Body conditioner lotion! We’re following the basic lotion making instructions for this formula. 1. Weigh...
Over the last year, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking and writing about the sensory characteristics of our ingredients and products, so In Cosmetics was a huge, moveable feast of textures and sensations. This one was interesting! My awesome convention buddy, Nanette Vaughn of NV&O, noted that if she had made something that looked...