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.
In this month’s Q&A, Ann asked, Hi Susan, I have a question about using allantoin in a balm. I found a formula (I dont want to link again if it’s going to be marked as spam but the title is ‘using allantoin in balm’) that used 5% (five whole percents not 0.5!) allantoin mixed into the...
In this month’s Q&A, Big G asked, Hi Susan, been subscribing for a while but this is my first time asking a question. I’ve been tweaking an anhydrous balm but my recent batch all had circles/clumps where the beeswax looks like it solidified separately from the rest of the constituents (not sure that’s what happened but...
In this month’s Q&A, Susan shared, I recently did a side by side comparison of thickeners to try to see and feel the differences between them. I heated 9 grams of fractionated coconut oil (FCO) with 1 gram each of the following: behenyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, cetyl esters, cetearyl alcohol, and stearic acid. I put all...
In the Q&A, Taylor Soapworks (Christy) asked, Hi Susan! More of a praise/comment than a question, but there are questions running through my head, too. I’m having difficulty wrapping my brain around the positively/negatively charged surfactants — but certainly not because you fail to explain — it just hasn’t clicked for me yet. So while bar...
In the Q&A, Krista asked: Happy February Susan! Quick question, I purchased Lotioncrafter’s LC1684 for a hair product I make – could this be used in place of regular Dimethicone in skincare for that “slip”? Also, do you use the DM6, or the DM350 for facial products? Thanks!!! Happy February, Krista! Lotioncrafter LC 1684 (INCI:Cyclomethicone...