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.
Mineral oil. This is probably one of the most maligned ingredients out there. If you read just a sampling of what shows up in a google search, you’ll start to think it’s a greasy demon just waiting to damage your skin, give you cancer, cover your skin like plastic wrap, and generally kill you well...
In line at a shop the other day, a woman turned to me and told me that propylene glycol was in anti-freeze and ranch dressing! “I’m not eating anti-freeze,” she said. I have no idea why she told me this. It wasn’t like I was telling her about my love of cosmetic chemistry or holding...
Welcome to a short series on much maligned ingredients, those that are considered thisclose to being evil when it comes to cosmetic products. I’ll be taking a look at propylene glycol and mineral oil first, then moving on to a few of those found on the Suzuki Foundation’s “Dirty Dozen” list. As a quick note,...