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.
I’m sure you’ve seen it in all my formulas – after making the product, wait until it cools to room temperature (20˚C/68˚F) before packaging – but why is that thing? Let’s take a look at a few reasons why we should wait to bottle! I definitely know how tempting it is the package an emulsion...
This may be a little on the late side as it’s been hot for ages, but don’t forget to get your oils, butters, solid oils, and other fine meltables into colder spaces, including the fridge or freezer! This’ll keep them better longer – heat and light speed up rancidity – and can prevent grains from...
Welcome back to another instalment of tips & techniques! I thought I should create a separate and updated post on this topic because I see people going through all the work to test and alter pH for emulsions that are just fine on their own. As you’ll see, most emulsifiers are designed to create formulas...
A quick tip for you: You don’t need to clean your packaging before you use it. Putting your bottles and jars into a dishwasher before you use them for products can introduce contamination. Using dishwashing soap and a bottle cleaner can leave residue. There may be water in places you don’t expect and that can...
There’s this weird idea out there in the DIY world that we can’t easily melt ingredients that contain behentrimonium methosulfate (BTMS), found in Incroquat BTMS-50, Incroquat BTMS-25, Rita BTMS-225, and many BTMS emulsifiers, in a double boiler. It seems that no matter how times I demonstrate it in a class or Zoom meeting or post,...