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 love cocoa butter in a body butter. It will make the recipe thicker, but it will also offer more occlusion and barrier protection against the elements as winter approaches! If you’re an outdoorsy type of person who likes to spend time in the cold and snow, you’re going to want something with serious barrier...
If you’ve been reading this blog, you’ll know I like my lotions to be a bit oily – I hate that word, but it fits! – with lots of slip and glide. If you’re a non-oily lotion kind of person, there are a few things you can try to reduce that feeling and make a...
I do love shea butter in most of my creations, primarily because it offers great softening and moisturizing qualities and adds slip and glide to pretty much anything! I love shea butter in a whipped body butter. I have tried making whipped butters with with mango – nice, but a little dry – and cocoa...
Shea butter is composed of 3 to 7% palmitic acid (C16), 35 to 45% stearic acid (C18), 40 to 55% oleic acid (C18:1), and 3 to 8% linoleic acid (C18:2). With all these saturated fatty acids and a ton of anti-oxidants, we get a soft butter with a great shelf life! (Please note, the region...
I scatter bottles of hand lotion all around my world during the winter – in the car, at the office, beside the computer, on my bedside table – because I consider it essential for the fall and winter months! And I love rice bran oil in this recipe. What do I want in a hand...