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 October Q&A, Charlette asked, Sometimes I’ll see sodium hydroxide at the end of an ingredient list for skin products and I wonder why would this be used? Wouldn’t it be much easier to use TEA (triethanolamine) to increase pH rather than lye (which is usually bought in huge batches when all I’d be using...
I know it’s hard to buy presents for crafters as it’s hard to know what specific and awesome ingredients we want, so I thought I’d share a few ideas then ask you for your suggestions to make life easier for those who might be buying us gifts for birthdays, Christmas, and other holidays. This post...
I have a few duplications I’ve been working on for a while now – specifically Tarte’s Frxxxtion Stick, an exfoliating cleanser in stick form, and Benefit’s Pore-Fessional Face Primer. I had to wait for ingredients to arrive so I could make up prototypes and such. (I’m very excited about the silicone waxes I was sent as...
Oh, the weather outside is frightful – okay, not where I live as it’s sunny with a high of 13°C, but it’ll be cold and windy soon enough – and that means wind and cold chapping! There are a few awesome ingredients you can use to protect your skin from the elements, like allantoin, which...
I had such a great time at Windy Point Soap in Calgary. It was hard to leave as I already miss spending time with Michele, Keith, and Amanda, and I met some new people, like Jenna, Vanessa, and Carla. I felt like a kid in a fireworks, candy, and puppy dog store as they let...