Welcome to the home of SwiftCraftyMonkey Formulating Inc.! Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys)! Here you’ll find over 5,000 posts and formulas written over the past 16 years for everything from lotions, creams, and body butters to hair care products to fancy facial products filled with actives and cosmeceuticals! Enjoy the site without distractions – no ads, pop ups, sponsored posts, affiliate links, “one weird tricks” – all supported by readers like you.
I’m declaring April the month to try something different (at least for me, but you’re welcome to play along). I made a lotion yesterday with all kinds of ingredients I’ve never used before, and today I thought I’d make a new whipped butter. (If you want to know more about babassu oil, click here!) WHIPPED...
Rosemary extract offers anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, which makes it perfect for anhydrous balms, unguents, and ointments. Because we will be looking at anhydrous products, we can’t use rosemary hydrosol without some kind of emulsifier, and the powdered extract will be a little harder to include. For the most part, if you want to use...
Caroline wrote to ask about graininess in lip balm. She’s using mango and cocoa butter and wants to know how to get rid of the grains…The first thing I’d try is changing butters – but that isn’t going to make a difference because the inherent problem is with the cooling down of the lip balms,...
Okay, so you’re going skiing (or you’re running for the bus in Calgary!) You want something heavy duty to protect your skin from the elements. What might you choose for a heavy duty winter facial lotion bar?A basic lotion bar has the following formula33% beeswax33% butter33% oil1% fragrance or essential oilIf you are new to...
Lotion bars are considered pretty basic bath and body products. Melt, pour into a mold or container, wait until hardened, use. Their simplicity makes them a great place to play when we are trying to figure out what oils we like in what combinations. I figured it would be fun to show the process of...