Fresholi | Melting Pot Café

Hi everyone! I've been registered here a while but haven't had the time to do any serious mooching around until recently. Great board with loads of great advice! Thought I'd introduce myself...

I'm Susan (aka Swift, aka Swiftcraftymonkey - not Swifty - in homage to the writer, not because I move quickly!) and I live on the West Coast of Canada with my wonderful husband and adorable dog. I'm a chemistry geek and I'm a little obsessed with making bath & body products. I make pretty much every product I use - except deodorant and toothpaste - but I haven't tried making CP soap yet (I haven't found the time and I figure I can buy lovely soaps from amazing soapmakers!). I'm especially interested in hair care products and surfactants, but I love making any product! I'm always experimenting with new ingredients - right now I'm on an esters in everything spree - and I spend a lot of time at the computer researching and writing.

I'm an avid crafter; I'm experimenting with resin casting and trying to perfect my fabric stencilling right now, but I have to learn every craft I can as my husband and I run free programs for youth at the library and I need to be able to do whatever they ask! I don't sell my products - it seems like way too much stress, but I admire those who do - so I usually give my stuff away to friends and family. I love food based fragrance oils, and my current favourites are cream cheese frosting and Clementine cupcake (it used to be Wedding Cake, but they stopped making it - eek!)

What else about me? I love Doctor Who but I can't accept Matt Smith in the role yet, I've re-discovered the awesomeness that is ir*n Maiden thanks to Rock Band, and I quote lines from the Simpsons at inappropriate times.

Thanks for having me here!

Hello Susan - welcome aboard.

Our "resident" chemistry geek is taking a break ATM - but he should be back shortly.

I've not seen any Dr Who since the days of Tom Baker so can't comment on the later ones.

Hi Susan, nice to see you here.

Love your blog and I refer to it often  :buttrf:

I can't comment re Dr Who as I don't watch it but I did watch the new Sherlock holmes last week and LOVED it. Not sure if it will wing it's way to you but definetly worth watching.

Hello, welcome  ;D

Hello Susan & welcome!  :)  Hope you enjoy it here! 
I do watch Dr Who and have to agree with you re. Matt Smith.  I just can't get to like him as Dr Who!  :( 

Ps. I am also a fan of your blog, I find it an endless source of useful & fascinating information, and has really helped me learning to make creams/lotions & conditioner!

Hi Polly! I've seen the entire new series and I can't warm to it. Matt Smith just doesn't have that same love of humanity as David Tennant, and I feel like Amy is just a watered down and less interesting version of Donna. Why they didn't have David Morrissey or Stephen Fry or Anthony Head in the role, I don't know! I'm looking forward to Torchwood as Russell T Davis is writing them!

Hi ElaineJ! Woo hoo! Another chemistry geek. I'm not alone (although he probably knows a lot more than I do as I'm studying most of it on my own)!

Hi Vanilla! Thanks for the kind words about the blog. I received so much help and learned so much from others who shared when I was a newbie, I'm just trying to give a little back.

And thanks for the welcome, Lissi!

Hi Susan, a very warm welcome to forum.  Its very nice to have you here.  We have a very mixed bunch here, from those who are just starting out to experienced folks, from aromatherapy to soaping, the community is broad and inclusive  :buttrf: :buttrf:

I haven't really watched Dr Who since DT 'regenerated', DT was just too good.  I first got to know him when he did Casanova and I nearly fell off my chair when I later saw an interview with him and he was Scottish!!!  My goodness, that guy can do a good English accent, I had no idea (mind you Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy does an incredible English accent too - Stewie totally convinces me  :mwaha:).

Anyway, I really look forward to chatting and getting to know you more around the boards  ;D

Hi Susan and welcome!  :buttrf:

Hi Susan, it's lovely to welcome you here. Your blog has been a wonderful resource for me - I printed off most of your PDFs and have them in a file.

Stephen Fry would make a fab Dr.Who - I'm ever so slightly in love with Stephen Fry  :mwaha:

Hello and welcome

Hi, Susan - really good to see you here. I, too, have many of your pages bookmarked and will be posting pics of a new product soon that I made with your help. So, Thanks! I don't watch Dr. Who, but I am in North America so I think that makes me your closest neighbor here! Welcome!

Hi swift, nice to see you here. I have almost every corner of your blog imprinted on my brain now. And I still suck at making shampoo. ::) But love my serums, solid shampoo bar (syndet) and conditioner (liquid).

Eire (rosehan)

@Lilli, my gawd girl, what is wrong with you, Stephen Fry. :mwaha:

I adore Stephen Fry! As an aside, there was an online discussion about whom a specific man would "go gay for" and Stephen Fry's name came up. The man answered that if you had a chance to spend time with Stephen Fry, why would you waste it not talking to him? That's not saying he's not "delicious" (his word, not mine), but to spend time with that mind...well, that's my idea of heaven!

Eire: How do you suck at making liquid shampoos?

Now Stephen Fry's brain is a diferent story altogether. If it was legal, I would do a direct drip feed.

swift, you answered my questions on the dish. My main problem was understanding the different surfactants available to me here and what is available in the States. Then consistancy, it was totally runny. Added 1% salt, still runny, left it aside for a few days to see if any changes occured, it turned into jelly glop. Just need to practice and play more.

Eire

Oh wow, how great that you're here (Now I am going to sound like someone who will pick your brain mercilessly - don't worry, I have broken myself in on everyone else here poor souls so it will go lightly with you!  :mwaha:) I have been on your site loads of times for reference and advice - welcome!  :hi:

Hello and welcome along.   ;)

HI there! I too am a huge fan of your blog. A great source of information. I don't make soap either, but I make and sell other B&B things. Look forward to some pictures of your things, bath and other craft alike.  :buttrf:

It's his brain Eire, combined with his winsome charm. Awww, he's just lovely  ;D

Hello, and welcome!

Hi Susan, it's lovely to see you here although a little embarrassing to think that you'll see all the gushing that us newbies do about your blog!

 :-[

Hi Susan, and welcome! I too am a great fan of your blog, still on the beginners stuff though.

 :hi: Susan, welcome to the forum, look forward to chatting with you.

Hi and welcome

Hello Susan :)
Just joined myself too. Have read your blog and want to say thanks for taking the time. It really is fabulous.
I will admit however, that sometimes I get to the end of a post and haven't got a clue what you were talking about. Quartery this, dimethacone that... I am a fog when it comes to the more intricate chemical reactions and formulations.
But I will persevere! And one day I shall progress from mashed avocado and olive oil face masks to a Swift inspired formulation and you will be proud!!!

Welcome - love your blog too!

I didn't like MS when he started as Dr Who at first but he's grown on me, by the last one I was pretty much a believer.  Cannot stand Amy in any way shape or form though, ugh.  Not sure what it is - the constant pout maybe?

BTW wondered if you sell your products or are they purely for personal use?

Hi Ollieblue! Everyone is a newbie once, and it takes time to get all that stuff in in your head to stay! My suggestions are always to read, play, read some more, play a little more, and be ready to fail. We learn so much when we fail - the reason I started all of this is thanks to a batch of horrible bath bombs that lead me to the Dish forum and beyond!

Hi Honey. I still don't like Matt Smith. So many other actors could have done the part so well - Stephen Fry, Anthony Head, Catherine Tate (why not? a female doctor would be awesome) - and he just seems okay to me. He doesn't seem to embody the character enough. I think part of my problem is that so many of the lines sounds like David Tennant should be speaking them and it sounds flat coming from someone else.

I don't sell my products - too much work, too much hassle with people not wanting this ingredient or that preservative, and too many deadlines. (I have so much respect for those who do sell - it's such a lot of work!) I prefer to spend my time researching, experimenting, and playing! I do, however, give things away a lot to co-workers, family, and friends. My husband is my biggest fan, always wanting something lovely, and quite content with me tweaking and playing and adding new things! He offers me great feedback, although most of it is praise!

Swift - interesting that you don't sell and enjoy the experimentation so much.  I'm just back from hols and was trying to work out things about my company ... I think I enjoy the experimentation too, it's like a chase.. the thrill is in the chase itself.  I'm not too mad on other aspects of the business but there's nothing I can do about them... the biggest thing is that I feel like I'm on call to people which I don't enjoy.  But I think that's my perception more than anything. 

Anyway, great to see you here, hope you enjoy it!

Ah well, you see, if I were a newbie, that would be understandable! But I've been in this game long enough that I should know the chemistry of what I do inside out. I can whip up a delicious butter but ask me to explain how... not!

I hope that sentence didn't sound insulting - what I should have we're all newbies to chemistry once, and it's a whole new world of technical information and (sometimes) jargon, which aren't easy things to remember. When I first started learning this stuff I had to consult my references constantly - what's a cationic polymer vs. a quaternary cationic, what are the different fatty acids, why do emulsifiers work, and so on - over and over again until I finally found things sticking in my head. I think it's easier to learn all this stuff if you've been making things for a while because you've had experience with the ingredients and you know what they can do, how they feel, how they interact with other things. The interesting thing I've found is I really haven't changed a lot of my recipes - they were lovely pre-chemistry and they're still lovely now - but it's nice to know I can if I wanted to do so! I'm addicted to learning this stuff - I'm bringing two of my textbooks with me on my camping holiday - and I'm fortunate to have the time to do it.

Hello and welcome.

 Hi Susan
 I must have missed this post earlier, anyway a belated hello from me, I am sure you will love it here.
Kath

Hi Susan,

Welcome...I think your blog is fabulous... :buttrf: :buttrf: 

Hiya, I used your recipe for a basic lotion/cream yesterday and it came out fab!!