Hey, everyone! I thought I’d share some dates I was thinking about for Zoom workshops in May, June, and July 2026!
These will be open to Formulation and Innovation subscribers. As we have before, you’ll get a handout on the topic along with at least two formulas so you can follow along. I’ll share the meeting link, password, and printed materials a week or two before the big event.
I’m thinking tentatively…
💧 Sunday, May 17, 2026, at noon PDT (Vancouver, Canada time) – I know this is Victoria Day in most of Canada, but the 10th is Mother’s Day and we can’t do the 24th as it’s in the middle of e-book week).
💧 Sunday, June 14, 2026, at noon PDT (Vancouver, Canada time)
💧Sunday, July 12, 2026, at noon PDT (Vancouver, Canada time)
I will share the workshop a day or two after those dates so Formulation and Innovation subscribers can watch them later.
I’m not sure what topics interest you, but here are a few I like…
These are in no particular order, and I’d love if you suggested something that isn’t on the list as I’m always looking for ideas. We can do a workshop on one product – like shampoo or conditioner or body butter – or we can pick a concept and do a few different ones.
Hydrolyzed proteins & amino acids in hair care products, like leave in conditioners, rinse-off conditioners, light leave in conditioners, or shampoo. (This goes with the e-book for April 2026.)
Hydrolyzed proteins & amino acids in facial care products, like facial moisturizers, facial sera, eye cream, and more
Hydrolyzed proteins & amino acids in skin care products, like body butters, creams, hand & body lotions, and foot care products.
Fun with surfactants – body wash & bubble bath. Creating gorgeous, clear, thickened surfactant blends!
Fun with surfactants – shampoo and facial cleansers. Creating gorgeous, clear, thickened surfactant blends with hair actives!
Creating awesome gels to make eye gels, facial sera, and body gels. We’ll add all kinds of lovely actives that’ll make them even more awesome!
How to use various mixers, like high shear mixers (homogenizers, stick/immersion blenders) versus no/low shear mixers (hand mixer, overhead mixer, stand mixer, magnetic stirrer). We’d make a few different products – probably a cold process emulsion that needs high shear and a cationic emulsion, which uses low/no shear.
Fun with esters! We’d meet some esters we can use in our products – a few solid ones, like lauryl laurate, myristyl myristate, or cetyl esters, and a few liquid ones, like isopropyl myristate (IPM) or C12-15 alkyl benzoate.
Combining emollients! We’d learn about the viscosity and sensory characteristics of a number of emollients, then we’d make something with them to see how those properties affect the final product, like a facial serum or body oil. (We could also meet some hydrocarbons – like squalane, hemisqualane, and isododecane – along with esters, silicones, and natural oils.)
I’d love to hear what you think, so please leave a comment or message me at swiftcraftymonkey@swiftcraftymonkey.blog with your ideas and suggestions!