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 could probably start a blog called “modifying your oils and butters for lotion bars” and write posts every single day for a year going over every single possible combination – but since I already have a blog that I enjoy writing and since the whole point of this series of back to basics is...
Yesterday we took a look at the basic recipe for lotion bars. You can change the skin feel, melting point, and hardness of a bar by playing with the wax type and amount without changing the type of butters or oils. Although the basic recipe is 1/3 beeswax, 1/3 butter, and 1/3 oil, playing with...
Consider the lotion bar. Easy to make, easy to tweak, and easy to carry around in your purse or pocket. We can make them as simple or as complicated as we wish. We can wrap them in foil or cellophane, package them in adorable tins, or put them in lip balm or deodorant containers. I...
Whipped butters are so impressive but so darned easy to make! They might seem all complicated with their whippiness, but they’re simple to make if you have a mixer with a whisk attachment. (I bought my Black & Decker 250 watt mixer for $20 from Canadian Tire with two whisk attachments! I’m sure you could...
We know that adding oils to leave-in conditioners works well for dry and curly hair types, especially those who aren’t fond of silicones. Oils can reduce the impact of combing forces on wet hair by up to 20%, which can reduce potential damage to the cuticle. And oils can increase the shine and gloss of...