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 thought I’d use a recipe I’ve made many times with Polawax and Ritamulse SCG, so I chose this body lotion my mom loves that I made back in June. I still have some of this and a version with Polawax in my storage bin, so I can do a direct comparison. Tuesday – Made...
Bo Penny of Penny Lane Organics very kindly sent me a whole whack of Natragem EW, an all-in-one, non-ionic Ecocert emulsifier from Croda. The INCI is Glyceryl Stearate (and) Polyglyceryl-6 Palmitate/Succinate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol. The suggested usage rate is 3.0% to 7.5%, and the manufacturer notes tha we can use it exactly as we would use...
In this post, Michael asks, I make a lotion that is leaving white smear marks on my face. It’s not a tragedy, but I don’t like it. I’ve increased the % of water, no change (now (75% water + 18% carrier oils + 6% E-wax NF).. I’m wondering if it’s the amount of emulsifier? I tried...
In this post, Maiti asks: I have 3 batches of lotion under my belt using your Basic Lotion Formula ™ and your Basic Lotionmaking 101 pdf (thank you for those, by the way!). My question is about adding the extra water that you say boils off during the heating phase.This is my most recent formula:12 2-oz...
Whew! It’s been a crazy few weeks with loads of youth programs, tons of work, and a chemistry final on the 16th for which I was studying quite a bit. I spent the weekend lounging about playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and feeling really guilty that I wasn’t running about getting things done, but I’m...