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.
Gondoic acid (C20:1) – also known as 11-eicosenoic acid – is a monounsaturated oil found in jojoba oil, camelina oil, and moringa oil, amongst others. It works as a moisturizing, skin conditioning, and emollient ingredient. I can’t find out much about this fatty acid, to be honest, and why it’s more special than any other...
Arachidic fatty acid is a saturated, straight chain fatty acid with 20 carbon atoms in the chain. It has a melting point of 75˚C (167˚F), and a boiling point of 328˚C, so it can handle being heated and held. It’s found in a number of our favourite oils and butters – cupuacu butter, illipe butter,...
In the June Q&A, Andrea asked, Another question about ingredients: in the list below what the heck is coconut acid? A proprietary and moisturizing blend of sodium cocoyl isethionate, stearic acid, coconut acid, water/aqua/eau, coco glucoside, sodium isethionate, argania spinosa (argan) kernel oil, panthenol (pro-vitamin b5), camellia sinensis (green tea) leaf extracts, humectants, sucrose cocoate, glycerin,...
On this post on creating foot scrub bars, Yekatherina asks: Back in December 29, 2011 you posted about the Solid Foot Pumice Bars with a recipe that included sodium lactate. The one on this particular post does not include it and it adds more of the stearic acid. Is there a particular reason why you took...
What have we learned about stearic acid this last week? 1. It’s a fatty acid derived from animal or vegetable sources. (Ask your supplier if this concerns you.) It’s found in almost all our butters and oils, and even in ourselves! 2. It’s oil soluble, meaning you can combine it with oils and butters well,...