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 love this puzzle piece mold (okay, it’s really a silicone ice cube tray from Ikea…) and I always keep it around for those times I have a little more soap than I need because I like having tons of multicoloured pieces to put together. Take a good look at the pink one – it’s...
I hope you enjoyed making melt & pour soap today! I’m sure you can see the possibilities for making your own soap molds using silicone ice cube trays, chocolate molds, and containers from around the house. If you are interested in melting & pouring at home, here are the instructions from today’s class. Soap handout,...
Incroquat OSC is Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-3 Distearoylamidoethylmonium Methosulfate, Polysorbate 60. It is 25% active, meaning it contains 25% PEG-3 (I’m going to call it this because I don’t think I can type it over and over again!) with the rest being the fatty alcohol, and polysorbate 60. You’ll remember cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol...
You can add slip and glide to your conditioners using fatty alcohols – like cetyl alcohol – which will offer extra oomph to the cationic quaternary compound. Fatty alcohols offer what oils offer – slip, lubricity, moisturizing, and a thin film over the hair strands to keep them from rubbing together. There are a number...
I do like my esters. I’ve been experimenting with jojoba esters for the last few weeks and wow, do they add some lovely slip and glide to a facial cleanser! Esters can add moisturization and lubrication to a conditioner, making it feel nice and glidy without adding oils to hair that might not need any...