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’ve been playing with tamanu oil (INCI: Calophyllum Tacamahaca Seed Oil) for a while now, so let’s take a look at this interesting oil! Tamanu oil is a thick, rich oil with a distinctive smell and colour. It is reported to be an anti-microbial with anti-oxidant properties, and works well as a skin or hair conditioner....
Quite a few times, Marta has asked this question, and I’ve been remiss in answering it. She posed it again in the Discussion: How do you decide what to make? What about mulitifunctional products? How do you store and inventory your stuff? and shared what she heard from Lotioncrafter. I emailed Lotioncrafter to ask why the...
In the September Q&A, Charlette asked: This formulating obsession makes me less sad to see the coming end of gardening (which brings me much happiness!). I used to dread the inevitable next few months–but now don’t mind so much! My question is about a new ingredient offered by Lotioncrafters which sounds intriguing. The oil is called...
In this post, Let’s formulate: Chamomile & aloe botanical summer time body butter (formula), Andrea asked: Can I leave isopropyl myristate (IPM) out (don’t have any) and add a different oil? Or just leave it out? The short answer is yes, you can substitute it. The longer answer is that unless I indicate otherwise in...
In the June Q&A, LY asked: I saw a post about freezing oils to keep them from going rancid. Can you also freeze oil soluble extracts without them losing their potency? In the same post, Amber asked: What about Essential Oils? The main reason to put anything in a fridge or freezer is to slow down the process...