Susan you are off to a great start! I would actually either start one thread with all of your questions that way you can get more experiences, or create a thread for each one to focus on that question specifically.
As for the mixture, I do not take it off, it seems to melt right in. You should not have to use that unless you have a problem, and now there are great products you can also use.
As for the mixture, I do not take it off, it seems to melt right in. You should not have to use that unless you have a problem, and now there are great products you can also use.