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.
In anticipation of a series of posts on the HLB system and lotions, here’s a post on emulsification. I know I’ve covered emulsions in the past, but I wanted to expand it a little bit here. What exactly is an emulsion? For the purposes of this discussion, I’m going to work with the oil-in-water lotion,...
It seems there are dozens of waxes to choose from for personal care type products, which it makes it both confusing and exciting for formulators! Waxes give structure to our products, keep them firm – in the case of lip balms or lotion bars – and help our products be flexible but not brittle. There...
Jelena posted the following question: Do you know what is the difference between Hydrovance (INCI: Hydroxyethyl Urea) and Urea (INCI: Urea)? Which one is more moisturizing? The short answer? I think the Hydrovance. Now for the long answer… Urea is a good humectant, found in the stratum corneum of our skin. It is a...
I’ve written an updated and longer post on this topic, which you can find here – What’s the deal with the “soaping effect” or those white streaks from emulsions? I encourage you to read this post as it goes into much more detail. Consider the post you’re on now a summary. The soaping effect is...
I thought I’d take a look at the chemistry of the pigments we use in mineral make-up with more detail on how to use the various pigments tomorrow.Inorganic pigments are formed from compounds of transition elements like iron, chromium, and so on. The colour is produced “as a result of the ease with which the...