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.
This is one of those things that seems logical – when you’re about to use a jar or bottle or whathaveyou to package your products, give them a good wash before using – that isn’t. If you’ve stored your bottles in a box or a bag or a closed thingie, like a bin, when they’ve...
Great question! These ingredients are used to thicken water. Why would we add it to the heated oil phase of an emulsion? We add something like Sepimax ZEN, Sepinov EMT 10, Xanthan Gum, SOLAGUM™ AX, and so on to the heated oil phase so it won’t start to hydrate while it’s in the water phase,...
It feels like there’s a lot of misinformation being spread about how to test and adjust pH when making a formula – emulsion, cleansers, body washes, shampoos, conditioners, and so on – and I thought I’d share some good information with you. Related section: pH & information about pH meters, always found under the “resources”...
I’ve noticed quite a few people worrying about their lotions having bubbles in it when they’re mixing it after combining the heated oil and water phases, and the message in this post is don’t, there’s nothing to worry about! The bubbles will be gone soon enough. You’ll do more mixing when you add the cool...
I can’t stress enough how vital it is to follow the instructions as written for a formula. When I create a formula, I share the exact instructions with you. These aren’t guidelines, these are what you need to do to achieve success. Deviating from them can result in epic fails – epic, epic fails. Don’t...