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.
In the August Q&A on Patreon, Mildred asked: Question pls: Can I use a glycolic toner followed by a Retin A cream? I read a blog that these two needs to be used on alternate days but I can’t seem to find that writing any more. And Mercedes asked: I would like to know more...
In this post, A few thoughts for a lazy Saturday, Fuchia asks: A bit off topic but I’m curious about making a Vitamin C cream. I have a face cream recipe I make now and love (it does not contain Vitamin C but uses Optiphen Plus as a preservative) and keep reading online that you can...
I recently bought some Vitamin C in the hopes of using it in my products. So let’s see what this vitamin brings to the party! Vitamin C is a water soluble anti-oxidant has been proven in studies to be an anti-inflammatory that can stimulate collagen formation, lighten skin, treat hyperpigmentation, and heal wounds. It’s water...
Carotenoids are tetraterpenoids, which are a large and varied class of hydrocarbons produced by plants, particularly conifers (wow, that sounded text-booky, eh?) They are either carotenes (oil soluble) or xanthophylls (more polar, water soluble with oxygen functional groups) with 40 carbon atoms. I’ll be going into more detail about terpenes and terpenoids in the near...
Vitamin A – what is it good for in bath & body products? It’s an oil soluble molecule that can improve skin barrier function, increase cell proliferation, increase thickening of the skin, and increase collagen production. It can also help increase skin’s water retention, and it may be effective in preventing, retarding, or restoring changes...