The home of SwiftCraftyMonkey Formulating Inc.! Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys). Often strange, occasionally useful, and always worth a stop as a point of interest on your journey through the Intertron.
In the monthly Q&A, Susan asked, Hey Susan, I’m debating making a face lotion with either 8% Hemisqualane for the liquid oil or splitting the 8% between hemi (5%) and regular squalane (3%). I’ve made it both ways and there’s only a slight difference in feel between them. Is one of the oils better for...
In the monthly Q&A, Noémie asked, Hi Susan, I’m a new subscriber and I love your work. I’m a beginner and I have a quite basic question : why only natural oils/butters are prone to oxidation ? If I well understood, oxidation occurs on double bonds in hydrocarbon chains, but don’t esters (derived from natural fatty...
In the monthly Q&A, Tina asked, This may sound really dumb, but here goes. If I have 100x Aloe Vera powder and used 2 grams and added to 98 grams distilled water would this give me 100 grams of 200x Aloe Vera juice? I hope this makes sense. Hi Tina! There are no dumb thoughts...
In this post, Adapting formulas to use ECOcert ingredients: Montanov™ 68, Christi asked, Seppic the manufacturer says Montanov 68 is an oil in water not a water in oil emulsifier. Would this not interfere with it emulsifying to add it this way? Let’s take a look at this concept! I think Christi is referring to...
Cationic ingredients – those that are positively charged used as conditioners, like BTMS or BTMC – can smell fishy. It’s not a sign of the quality of the ingredient, it’s just what happens because of the nitrogen. It’s a you thing — like smelling or producing asparagus pee, smelling ants, or tasting cilantro like soap,...