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 post on facial cleansers, Esther asks: I’m interested to put this into a foamer bottle. How much extra water would you add in that case? If you want to put a surfactant blend into a foamer bottle, in general, you’ll want to add double the amount of water to the mix to make...
My best friend and I resolve to try two new things a year, and we always have great fun. Trying two new things lead to me taking chemistry for the first time, going river rafting, lifting weights at the gym, taking singing lessons…and so on. I had to throw away my fears and just go...
I’m a big fan of having highly coloured products, as you can plainly see. The easiest way to get those colours is from LabColours (link to Voyageur Soap & Candle, but available elsewhere), which are suitable for melt & pour soaps, surfactant mixes and yes, even our lotions. (Although I don’t know how I’d feel...
How to measure small amounts? There are a few hints I can share with you about this! Get a small scale, like the one you see in the picture. This is a jeweller’s scale. I purchased it in one of those places that smells a bit like incense and skunks, if you get my meaning,...
In the What do you want to know post, J asked: I always wonder which products it’s worth making. I know that there’s plenty of fun to be had from pottering around being crafty, but I suppose I’d like to know which things I can make that will save me money/be better quality than shop...