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.
When I first started making products, I’d find all these amazing lotion recipes but it always seemed I was missing the oil or butter they suggested. I tentatively exchanged the oils, fully prepared for an epic fail, and they would work! Yay! Lotion success! I figured out which ones I liked based on skin feel...
Hi, I’m Swift and I’m a surfactant junkie. I have to have at least 500 ml of any surfactant I find in my workshop at all times, and if I see a new one, I buy it. I recognize you have lives that don’t revolve around lathery, bubbly products, and I try to keep that...
How many times have you stumbled across an amazing sounding recipe only to realize you have maybe one or two of the ingredients? I know I sound like a broken record, but knowing your ingredients and their purpose in the formula can save you a ton of money and energy, and it might mean you...
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the cost of our ingredients. I’m fortunate I live within driving distance of three suppliers, have next day service from another one, and can drive to Otion whenever I feel like subjecting myself to the line-ups at the border, but a lot of us have to buy our...
We took a look yesterday at how to modify a lotion with ingredients we have at home. Let’s take a look at two different recipes we could create by substituting ingredients. In this first recipe, I’m trying to get a similar skin feel, which is to say I’m going for an oily version. Note the...