The home of SwiftCraftyMonkey! 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.
As you probably know, I’ve been pretty much stuck in bed or on the couch for more than 10 weeks now, and I’m running out of everything from conditioner to facial cleanser to foot cream and there is no way I can bring myself to buying any of those things! So I’ve been thinking of … Read moreDiscussion: How have you modified your formulas or workspace to accommodate your unique needs?
I swear I shared this with you in another post, but I couldn’t find it, so please indulge me if you’ve heard it before. A few years ago, a cosmetic chemist contacted me and said he could always identify my formulas as I have a very strong signature, in this case that I use certain … Read moreDiscussion: What’s your signature when formulating?
I was considering the discussion we had in this post – Discussion: What are your favourite ingredients? Lotions and facial products – and thought we should talk emollients! What are your top 5 oils or butters? I always tell this story in my classes and presentations…When I started making products, I’d see a formula like … Read moreDiscussion: What are your favourite ingredients? Top 5 oils or butters?
People ask me all the time how I manage to keep all the stuff I know in my brain, and the short answer is that I’ve deleted anything related to cleaning, tidying, or generally not being a slob to make more room for cosmetic chemistry fun. 😝 I paid my way through university the first … Read moreDiscussion: How do you learn?
Over the last year, I’ve gone on a few spending sprees and at least one jag – never a good idea when I’m full of muscle relaxants and codeine, but at least I get to formulate with new things, right? – and I find myself in possession of at least 400 new ingredients. Some of … Read moreDiscussion: How do you get your splurge on?
What’s your origin story? How did you become the awesome crafter you are today? What were some of the things you made? I’m sure you’ve heard this story from me before… I was offering a free craft program at the library, and really wanted to make bath bombs. I’d made them quite a few times, … Read moreDiscussion: How did you get started making products?
This is a hard question for me as I really love making so many things so I have to think for a bit… Okay, I think my favourite thing to make is body wash. I love figuring out nice surfactant combinations, working with humectants to hydrate my skin after bathing, adding cationic polymers like polyquat … Read moreDiscussion: What’s your favourite product to make? What’s your least?
In the February Q&A, Cecilia asked: I’m picking up some new things again. Looking for more naturally-derived/natural adjacent stuff. Looking for thickeners, emulsifiers, surfactants (I have SCI, CB, decyl and coco glucosides I think), any cool actives, preservatives… doesn’t have to be natural. but what would be your top say 10 or so ingredients, I … Read moreDiscussion: What are your favourite ingredients? Lotions and facial products
In the Patreon February Q&A, Tash asked: When you get ingredients, what’s the best way to store them? Obviously liquids will be in bottles or the thick bags with spouts, but for powders, pellets, dry stuff that comes in bags, how do you store those? Is it best to get some kind of sealed jar? Are … Read moreDiscussion: What’s the best way to store ingredients?
I’m trying to do some writing for the blog and e-zine, and I thought I’d share this picture of various thickeners I’ve been trying with all kinds of surfactants, including Miracare Soft 313 (from Lotioncrafter). I started these experiments in the summer, but I need to watch what I make for months and months as … Read moreDiscussion: Have you had a product morph over time?