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’ve been playing with tamanu oil (INCI: Calophyllum Tacamahaca Seed Oil) for a while now, so let’s take a look at this interesting oil! Tamanu oil is a thick, rich oil with a distinctive smell and colour. It is reported to be an anti-microbial with anti-oxidant properties, and works well as a skin or hair conditioner....
Another beaker broken during the grand oil thickening experiments! I don’t know what it is about high shear + clay based thickeners, but if this keeps up, I’ll have to order the 100 and 150 ml by the caseload! Oh well, it’s all in the name of figuring out how we can use these ingredients...
In the November Q&A on Patreon, Ingrid asked: I understand the heat and hold process when making lotions and creams. Can you please tell me if I do this with oils such as pomegranate seed oil, red raspberry seed oil and evening primrose oil, will any of their properties be diminished, or are they ‘tough’...
I admit it: I don’t like coffee. My parents were very British, and we were a family of tea drinkers, so I didn’t get much exposure to coffee until my first day of university when I was surrounded by at least 300 people all sipping their morning brew, the smell of which was completely overwhelming....
I admit it, I’m in love with plum kernel oil (INCI: Prunus domestica seed extract). It’s light, non-greasy, and smells absolutely of almonds, although I think it’s more like marzipan, which I adore! On top of all of that, it has a richness I generally only find with thicker oils. (It reminds me of pomegranate...