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.
What does it mean if something is a molecule? “A molecule is an electrically neutral group of two or more atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds.” (Wikipedia). In other words, a molecule is when you have two or more atoms bound together in some way. One atom does not make a molecule – hydrogen...
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post on substitutions, I simply can’t make a substitutions list because substituting one ingredient for another is a matter of personal preference and context. There are some ingredients you can’t leave out – for instance, you must have an emulsifier in a lotion and no water containing product should ever...
One of the things I’m regularly asked for is a list of things you can substitute with other things. (Recently from the post what do you want to know?) I’m happy to write something like that up…but every time I try, I’m bogged down by the idea that you can substitute so many things for...
Sarah wrote in this post: I have a question… which oils would you please suggest for hair leave-in conditioners? I see you’ve mentioned coconut, camellia, sea buckthorn, jojoba, avocado in some posts, but is there a post that discusses recommended oils for different hair types (with reference to their properties)? There doesn’t tend to be a huge...
Darina e-mailed me to ask: My question is how many oils is too many? What I mean is you are creating a formulation perhaps a lotion or a cream does there come a point where adding another base oil is just over the top and not beneficial. I’m experimenting with a cleanser at the moment....