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 

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.

  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.