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 found this thing called SnapGuide tonight, so I created a guide to making an emulsified sugar scrub. I’ll be posting more on my channel – which is under my name, Susan Barclay Nichols, not Swiftcraftymonkey – when I have time! I only have the one guide so far, but I would love to hear...
I love this cosmetic bag pattern! I made a ton of them for the kids in my group last year, and I’m making some more this year because I love them so much! If you have the time and energy, make a lining for the bag. I take one to the gym every day, and...
I’ve read the e-mails and the comments and I know some of you are seeking alternatives to silicones. Fortunately, you can find ingredients that will offer the same kind of conditioning, slip, film forming, and shine enhancing qualities of dimethicone to include in your hair or skin care products. (You really can’t mimic the effects...
I’m really enjoying sewing cosmetic bags! I made a ton of them over the holidays as presents for the older kids in our youth programs who do all the volunteering for us (setting up, cleaning up, enforcing the rules, running games, and so on), so I thought it was apt to share this pattern with...
Part of the problem in trying all new ingredients in a lotion is that it’s hard to figure out exactly what you like and what you don’t like. (I’m referring to the lotion I made on Thursday.) What I should have done is create a usual recipe then switch out one ingredient – say the...