Hi, everyone! Spring is almost here in Chilliwack after the mildest winter we’ve had in years. We had a sprinkling of snow on Boxing Day, but it looked more like someone had spilled their powdered sugar than anything else. (Which stinks, because I love snow!)
We’re getting ready to get on bikes soon! Woo hoo!
Holy cow! February was an even busier month than January! I shared 31,077 words here on the site and 42,290 words in my latest e-book, for a total of 72.367 words. Is that a record?
💧 If you were a February 2026 Innovation subscriber, click here to get the coupon for the e-book.
💧 If you weren’t, click here to see the e-book in the shop for $30 CAD.
If you’re an Innovation subscriber, we have suppliers’ coupons for you this month from Lotioncrafter (USA), Voyageur Soap & Candle (Canada), and Windy Point Soap Making Supplies (Canada). Click the link to see what’s there for March. (It’s Sunday on the 1st, so I’ll get Windy Point for Monday.)
As always, you’ll find no ads, sponsored posts, pop ups, affiliate links, or anything like that and you will never ever ever ever find AI here in any form. We want you to have a seamless reading experience with nothing to distract you because that’s so annoying!
Zoom workshop in March!
Don’t forget about our upcoming shampoo bar Zoom workshop on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at noon PDT. Please look up the time for Vancouver, BC, Canada, because we go on daylight savings time in early March, so we’ll be out of sync with places like the UK, for instance.
The workshop is open to all Formulation and Innovation subscribers. Please RSVP to me (Susan/Swift) at swiftcraftymonkey@swiftcraftymonkey.blog so I know how many are coming. It will be limited to the first 100 people.
Find all the information you need in this post: Zoom workshop: Shampoo bars on March 15, 2026! (For Formulation & Innovation subscribers!)
If you’ve emailed me, you’re in. I haven’t written back to everyone yet as Sasja has been very ill, and I have just now had a chance to get to the computer.
Also, please share your ideas for what you’d like to see for the next few Zoom workshop.
What will you see this month? Cold process emulsifier series!
I’m not getting much feedback on the cold process emulsifier series with Sepigel 305 or Sepiplus 400, but I want to finish up the series, so you’ll see that happen this month.
Here’s the latest post: Formulating Friday cold process emulsifier series: Sepigel™ 305 and Sepiplus 400 – adding more humectants, part four
Then we’ll move onto Jeequat® NDCS or Jeesperse® ICE-T CPCS with some information about their other cold process emulsifiers thrown in for fun. This will probably take us until mid-April when we’ll start working with FLUIDIFEEL™ EASY.
As we aren’t able to get ViscOptima SE™ in Canada any more, I will add another emulsifier for that part of the series. I’m not sure which one, so if you have some suggestions for a cold process emulsifier that could do with this one, let me know in the comments or by emailing me at swiftcraftymonkey@swiftcraftymonkey.blog.
Chemistry Thursday continues!
Chemistry Thursday continues with the Chemistry Thursday series in March, starting with polyatomic ions, then solubility, then acids and bases.
I want to have the first four weeks ready with the assignments and worksheets completely done when I share then first post, so it might not be ready for a few weeks as I make sure it all fits together.
Click here to see links to the complete series!
Finishing up February’s Zoom workshop modified formulas!
I’ll be finishing up the two formulas we made in February’s Zoom workshop on cold process emulsifiers this week and next with links to where they are in the videos so you can see us making them and trying them out on our skin.
These posts are limited to Formulation and Innovation subscribers, just like the Zoom workshops.
Zoom workshop: Modified formulas from the workshop – SEPILIFE™ NUDE!
Zoom workshop: Modified formulas from the workshop – Sepigel 305!
We’ll work with some Montanov™ emulsifiers some more!
And we’ll get into working with Montanov™ emulsifiers a bit more with a post coming up on how to deal with the soaping effect you always get with these emulsions!
See part one of the series here: Having trouble with Montanov™ emulsifiers? Here are my instructions for how to use them, some troubleshooting, and a place where you can ask questions or seek help! (Part one of a series…)
Cost spreadsheets are coming!
I still have to finish the UK cost spreadsheet, start the New Zealand and South African ones, and tidy up the Canadian, American, and Australian ones. I hope to share those this month too.
Quick question!
Why is everyone in love with facial cleansers the last few months? I mean, it’s awesome as they’re an essential part of skin care, but it seems like there’s so much more interest lately.
I’m being asked for them all the time, and I’m happy to create more, but I do have a bunch on the site here and in my e-books on surfactants.
I do have a creamy facial cleanser made with SCI I’ll be sharing again shortly, but it is here somewhere as I taught it at Windy Point in 2019!
Wow, I have far too many ideas and I’m scrambling to share them all with you. If you have suggestions you’d like to offer, please share them in the comments or by emailing me at swiftcraftymonkey@swiftcraftymonkey.blog. Thanks!