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.
This is one of those things that seems logical – when you’re about to use a jar or bottle or whathaveyou to package your products, give them a good wash before using – that isn’t. If you’ve stored your bottles in a box or a bag or a closed thingie, like a bin, when they’ve...
I’ve written a lot about packaging in the past, but I’d like to share with you a great study on the impact of packaging on preservation of our products – Type of Closure Prevents Microbial Contamination of Cosmetics during Consumer Use Before we start… I’ve written two e-books on preservatives… The big book of preservatives,...
Deanne asked in the Q&A post, Hi Susan! Just wondering what’s the best storage option for shampoo and conditioner bars? An air tight container or out in the open air? I am just curious because I make several bars at a time and have just been storing them on a table! Thank you so much. Great...
In the recent Zoom workshop about mixers, Liz mentioned in the chat, I would love a post on how to decipher the bottle/jar lid size code, and how to figure out what lids to buy for my vintage glass bottles/jars. Great idea! Thank you for the suggestion! As a note, I have a section in...
In this post, Why isn’t my toner spraying properly? we had a discussion about using misters to dispense toners. I think one of the problems is that the tube to the mister might not be wide enough if you’re using powdered botanical extracts that might precipitate a bit and spray poorly. We want something with...