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.
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...
I’m declaring April the month to try something different (at least for me, but you’re welcome to play along). I made a lotion yesterday with all kinds of ingredients I’ve never used before, and today I thought I’d make a new whipped butter. (If you want to know more about babassu oil, click here!) WHIPPED...
I ended this body butter post by saying there aren’t many variations on lotions, which might seem like a bizarre statement considered the probably millions of recipes you see on suppliers’ sites, manufacturers’ sites, blogs, and forums (that should be fora, right?). The basics of every lotion are oil, water, emulsifier, and preservative, but it’s...
Let’s play with our extracts and oils to come up with a really decadent light facial moisturizer for someone with dry, aging, weather damaged skin. (For the post on basic facial moisturizers, click here…) Let’s start with our oils and butters. I don’t like to use butters in a facial moisturizer because it can bother...
I do love body wash, and I know I’ve already tweaked this recipe a thousand times, but let’s take a look at including white willow bark extract in our body wash! Why would we want to use it here? It works well for oily skin, acne prone skin, and aging skin to reveal new and...