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.
Earlier today, I shared with you a duplication of Lush’s Jumping Juniper shampoo bar in which I used sodium coco sulfate. What is this surfactant and why would we use it in a shampoo bar? Sodium coco sulfate (SCS) is closely related to one of the most disliked surfactants, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), so what...
In the April Q&A, Kirsten asked: Hey here’s a question…have you played with glyceryl caprylate caprate? I am considering playing with it, and wondered if you had any insights, or “for the love of God…don’t do ——-” lol. I haven’t used this ingredient, so let’s take a look at some of the things I found out...
I’ve been working on these posts about all the new surfactants and thickeners I have for almost a year, and every time I think I’m ready to share, I end up down a rabbit hole as I follow my curiosity for a few hours as it’s just such an interesting topic. I think I know...
It’s pretty incredible to see how changing one small thing – the type of fragrance oil you use – can make such a huge difference in the viscosity of surfactant based products, like bubble baths, body washes, cleansers, and more. In the video below, I used this formula for my ultra bubbly bubble bath. I thickened...
We’ve been talking a bit about increasing viscosity over the last few days as we worked on a potential duplication for Bath & Body Works CocoShea Honey Shower Jelly (Member exclusive). I’ve been working with so many new thickeners over the last 2 years, and I’m getting it all together to finally share what I’ve been...