Soap Making Books

Smart Soapmaking: The Simple Guide to Making Traditional Handmade Soap Quickly, Safely, and Reliably, or How to Make Luxurious Handcrafted Soaps for Family, Friends, and Yourself

Anne L. Watson

Amazon Price: $11.25 List Price: $12.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Shepard Publications Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $11.25

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Soap Making
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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Too simple, issues with lack of photograpy and visual appeal 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

No issue with the content, just with the book's limitations.

As a beginning soap maker I needed lots and lots of pictures so I could know what to expect visually through every step of the process. There are less than 8 nicely drawn illustrations of tools in the book but not a single photograph of soap or steps in the soap making process.

There are about 10 recipes, very nice selection. They are all perfect for beginners. There is hardly anything about soap additives, scents, or colors. I think a beginner's books should have at least a page or 2 about each.

The how to instructions of making soap is excellent as everyone has said, but I found it hard to read because of the page layout. Recipe pages have all the white space in the world, but the how to instructions aren't separated by white space at all - just paragraph after paragraph.
The fact that steps are numbered (but not in bold or double space)doesn't help, because the steps blend in with the other text.

Nice up to date resource section in the back.

Would I recommend this book to a new soap maker? Yes, as long as they also purchased (as the author recommends) The Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch and Essentially Soap by Dr. Robert McDaniel.

Editorial Review:

Maybe you've made melt-and-pour soap and want to move on to something more challenging and rewarding. Maybe traditional soapmaking appeals to you, but you figure it's too difficult or dangerous. Or maybe you're already doing it, but outmoded ideas and methods are complicating the process and slowing you down. No matter which of these fits you, you'll find Smart Soapmaking practical, helpful, and refreshing. Written by a former professional soapmaker, this book explodes the myths about soapmaking and shows you how to make luxurious soap with the least fuss and bother.

Soapmaker's Companion: A Comprehensive Guide with Recipes, Techniques & Know-How (Natural Body Series - The Natural Way to Enhance Your Life)

Susan Miller Cavitch

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Storey Publishing, LLC Amazon Marketplace: 78 new & used starting at $6.99

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Soap Making

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great Soapmaking Book for Beginners and Experienced Soapmakers 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Soapmakers Companion has been in print for more than ten years now. My copy of this book is worn and stained from many soapmaking sessions. Despite the drift of time and my accumulated knowledge, this is one book that I return to frequently for review of all that pertains to Soapmaking. One of the strong points of this book is that it gets you up and running making soap. The recipes work their way from the relatively simple Soap Essentials Bar comprised of a basic coconut/olive/palm oil mixture to more elaborate recipes such as transparent soap and soap in the round. While Susan Miller Cavitch notes that this book is not that much of a basic book, yet I believe that even if one has never made soap before, this is an excellent book to start with.

Good teacher 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I've been making soap for some time and have enjoyed this book immensely. It has lots of good suggestions and tons of excellent recipes.

Editorial Review:

Basic soapmaking instruction and specialty techniques like marbling, layering, and making transparent and liquid soaps.

Making Natural Liquid Soaps: Herbal Shower Gels / Conditioning Shampoos / Moisturizing Hand Soaps

Catherine Failor

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Storey Publishing, LLC Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $8.25

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

so so 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

While Failor's book has some very detailed instructions, she makes the process of hand crafted liquid soap more difficult than it needs to be.

Good resource book, but not complete enough for new soap makers 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I am pleased I purchased this book of Catherine Failor's. It does an decent job of explaining the liquid soap making process. There is a lot of valuable information. However, for someone making liquid soap for the first time, it is my opinion there is a lot of incomplete and/or unclear information. If you want to make liquid soap, this is a must for your technical library, but it is not the only book you will need.

Gives Great Directions 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book offers great directions for making soap. It also offers some excellent starting recipes to formulate some of your own.

CONFUSING!! 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I was sooo excited when I got this book. But quickly discovered, it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I found it very confusing. It might be easier to understand if you have a degree in chemistry. I think there are much better books out there that are much much easier to understand

Editorial Review:

Using a simple double-boiler technique, readers will make elegant and

soothing liquid soaps. Dozens of recipes using oils, herbs, and other natural ingredients to create hand soaps, shower gels, bubble baths, conditioning shampoos ó even baby and pet shampoos.

The Natural Soap Book: Making Herbal and Vegetable-Based Soaps

Susan Miller Cavitch

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Storey Publishing, LLC Amazon Marketplace: 73 new & used starting at $4.28

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Alternative Medicine -> Herbal Remedies
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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

"Natural' isn't always better... 2 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I just finished reading Susan Miller Cavitch's The Natural Soap Book and found it lacking in several respects.

There is a pervasive preachy tone to this book that annoyed me horribly. Ms. Cavitch uses the book as a soap box (pardon the unintended pun) to promote several personal points of view, two central ones being her diatribes against the use of animal products and anything synthetic. My grandfather made soap the old-fashioned way, using the hot process method. He made his soap by boiling lye with animal fat he had rendered himself, much of it supplied by his children (including my mother). My mother always kept a coffee can in the refrigerator, and whenever she cooked any fatty meat, the grease when in the can. When it was full, it when to her father to be turned into soap. This grease probably wasn't much good for anything else, and was certainly full of unhealthy saturated fats; had it not gone into soap, it would have gone into the garbage. The vegetable oils Ms. Cavitch advocates using are mostly edible, and in many poor countries, vegetable oils are a significant source of calories. Increasingly, non-food uses of vegetable oils, most significantly an ever increasing demand for bio-diesel, have driven the price of these oils up to the point that many poorer populations around the world are being pushed dangerously close to starvation. The increased demand for these oils has also led to whole-sale destruction of virgin tropical forest, as huge plantations of oil palms are planted. So, our luxury all-vegetable soaps are made from oils that in many nations would be considered too valuable as food to be used for such a frivolous purpose as bathing, and further, the production of these soaps, although insignificant compared to the production of bio-fuels, can still not be completely divorced from the destruction of natural forest and the concurrent loss of bio-diversity inherent in the increased production of vegetable oil. So, which is better? To plow under rain forest to plant oil palms for soap, when the workers who labor on these plantations can't even afford the oil they produce for food, or to use animal fats that would otherwise go to waste? Personally, I prefer vegetable oil soaps, but I am also aware of the consequences of this preference and do not pretend that this puts me on a higher moral ground than people who bathe with tallow products. And although I also prefer `natural' products, many of these products are luxury items that are beyond the budget of most of the world's population. People who can't afford food are unlikely to spend $6.00 on a four ounce bar of pure castile soap. Synthetics, although by no means perfect and by no means lacking in potential harmful side effects, have made improved hygiene affordable to huge segments of the human population that would otherwise face much higher mortality rates due to a lack of basic cleanliness. These products have brought inestimable benefit to mankind, and although not without their faults, I would have liked to see a far more balanced discussion of them.

My final comments on Ms. Cavitch's book are technical. She doesn't discuss the use of the stick blender in home-made soap production. Many of the problems addressed in her chapter on trouble shooting can be avoided by the use of these wonderful gadgets; in fact, the 16 hour trace times she mentions for some soaps can be reduced to less than half an hour using one. Her section on trouble shooting also advises the soap maker to discard most failed batches; there is no discussion of rebatching, a technique that can be used to salvage all but the worst soap-making failures. The rescued soap might not be salable, but isn't it better to give away seconds than to throw your time and materials away?

I would advise a novice soap-maker to skip this book and buy Anne L. Watson's Smart Soapmaking instead. It is short, concise, practical, and a pleasure to read. It avoids many of the shortcomings that mar Ms. Cavitch's book.

Editorial Review:

An inspiring exploration of the goodness of chemical- and additive-free soap. 102,000 copies in print.

The Everything Soapmaking Book: Recipes and Techniques for Creating Colorful and Fragrant Soaps (Everything: Sports and Hobbies)

Alicia Grosso

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Adams Media Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $8.99

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Home soapmaking is not only more economical than buying premade soaps--it's also a lot more fun! With The Everything Soapmaking Book, 2nd Edition, you will be making homemade soaps for yourself and your friends in no time!

Completely revised and updated, The Everything Soapmaking Book, 2nd Edition is a complete guide to making all kinds of soap from simple bath soaps to beautiful, aromatic gifts, right in the comfort of your own home. Easy-to-follow steps lead you through the process of making soap, from buying the right kind of equipment to developing unique soap recipes. The Everything Soapmaking Book, 2nd Edition shows you how to:

• Find the right ingredients and equipment
• Experiment with different types of soap--from basic kitchen soap to the perfect facial soap
• Make and package soaps for holidays and special occasions
• Add special scents and colors to please the senses
• Master artistic techniques for unique shapes and sizes

How to Make Monstrous, Huge, Unbelievably Big Bubbles (Klutz)

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Klutz - Model: 2589 Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $3.42

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great Bubble Wand 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Brings back many fond memories of when I was a child. I had this same book and kit. I spent many many many hours blowing bubbles and entertaining the younger children in the neighborhood. Same great quality and easy to read book that teaches techniques and facts. The best bubble making formula has changed though, so don't go buy the ingredients until you read the new formula.

Sooo much fun! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

My husband, I and our 7 year-old love this bubble book and wand. There is a recipe in the book for the bubble liquid and it works great. The wand is easy to use, and is easy enough that my daughter can make HUGE bubbles. This is my new "birthday gift" for kids. A great outdoor activity for the whole family! (Hint: Buy an extra wand...it's worth it!) The Amazon.com price for the book was the best I had found in April '08 when I bought it.

Editorial Review:

We’ve taken a best-selling Klutz classic and reinvented it for a whole new generation. You’ll still find bubble tricks, bubble history and directions for creating a homemade bubble-making but the text has been updated, and the photos are now in full color, so the bubbles can be appreciated in all their rainbow-hued glory. At last, the book really big bubbles deserve!

Making Natural Milk Soap: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-199 (Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin, a-199)

Casey Makela

Amazon Price: $3.95 List Price: $3.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Storey Publishing, LLC Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $1.09

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Subjects -> Professional & Technical -> Engineering -> Chemical -> General
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Not Great 1 out of 5 stars.
14 of 16 people found this review helpful.

There is very little information in this 32 page pamphlet that you cannot find free on the net. The soapmaking technique (blending) is a little scarry, to me. With the added cost of shipping & handling, you could buy a much more informative hard cover REAL book for the same price at your local book store.

A great addition to your soaping library! 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Learn the time-honored secrets of making moisturizing, skin-nourishing soaps with milk!
Create this sought-after soap at home using the specialized yet simple techniques Casey Makela has developed in more than 15 years of soapmaking. Covers how to make moisturizing milk-based soaps like Oatmeal, Peaches and Cream, and specialty soaps.
Contents include, but are not limited to, making molds, working with lye, preparing the milk, basic equipment, scents, ingredients, specialty recipes, preserving and packaging. This book contains excerpts from another book written by Makela - "Milk Based Soaps."

Editorial Review:

Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

Soapmaking for Fun & Profit: Make Money Doing What You Love! (For Fun & Profit)

Maria Nerius

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Three Rivers Press Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $8.98

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Soapmaking for Fun & Profit: Make Money Doing What You Love! (For Fun & Profit) 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Great read! Full of useful information and fun recipes. Great to use as a resource for any soapmaking project.

Extremely informative book on soap 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I have no knowledge of soapmaking but decided I wanted to start making it and even, maybe, selling it just as a hobby.....this book has given me so much information....more than I expected

Editorial Review:

Discover How to Profit from Your Craft
Have you ever dreamed of learning how to make fragrant soaps? You can! Soapmaking For Fun & Profit was written with two purposes in mind: to teach you the basics of this fun craft and to show you how to turn these new skills into cash! Whether you've been crafting for years or are just getting started, you'll learn:
·The benefits and enjoyment of soapmaking
·The right materials, tools, and equipment to use
·How to create a special "crafting place" in your home
·Ways to sell your creations at craft shows, shops, and other outlets
·Craft business basics, including pricing and record keeping
·And much more!

Milk Soapmaking: The Smart and Simple Guide to Making Lovely Milk Soap From Cow Milk, Goat Milk, Buttermilk, Cream, Coconut Milk, or Any Other Animal or Plant Milk

Anne L Watson

Amazon Price: $11.25 List Price: $12.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Shepard Publications Amazon Marketplace: 8 new & used starting at $11.25

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Soap Making
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Goat Milk Soap 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I've always used gentle milk soaps and now I know how to make them. This book is simple to follow, it has some fantastic recipes and overall a delight to own. I highly recommend this book to anybody interested in making wonderful milk soaps.

Easy Milk Soapmaking 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Milk soaps used to be difficult to make until this book came out. It gives two methods for making the soaps and explains the why behind each. There is a large variety of recipes given in the book, using all the way from sour cream to chocolate milk! Once you have read the book and understand the principles, you can play around with adding milks to other favorite recipes with great success. It's definitely not a "for dummies" book, but anyone with a basic understanding of soapmaking can follow this guide easily. Well done!

Editorial Review:

Do you love the feel of milk soaps but shy away from the cost? Are you looking for a special kind of gift you can make yourself? Or do you already make soap and want to try something new?

Anne L. Watson's "Smart Soapmaking" was the first book based on modern techniques that eliminate the drudgery and guesswork from home soapmaking. Now, by popular demand, she continues her soapmaking revolution with the first practical, comprehensive book on making milk soap.

Experience the rich, soothing, luxurious feel of milk soap you've made yourself. Your skin will thank you for it.

Milk-Based Soaps: Making Natural, Skin-Nourishing Soap

Casey Makela

Amazon Price: $10.36 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Storey Publishing, LLC Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $5.55

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The recipes were good but....... 4 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I liked Caseys recipes but..it was almost tiring just reading her instructions,like...start with this pan,then put the mixture in that pan...then stir both pans at the same time.I make and mix my soap in one pan,it's really not that difficult.I agree with another reviewer who said it does'nt have to be a team effort.The best soapmaking book I have ever bought is "The Everything Soapmaking Book" by Alicia Grosso. This book has all the information you will ever need to make really beautiful handmade soap.

Worth having if you want to make whoke like soaps. 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I was initailly intimidated by this book and I owned it for a while before I attempted her methods. But if you want to make soap with real milk (not powdered as an additive) this is a great resource. Making whole milk soap is not easy. This methods works. I admit I use a stick blender and keep it in one pot but my milk has never curdled due to her cold bath method. Her recipes produce gentle, silky soaps and are made with readily available ingredients. My main complaint with some of the other books is that you cannot get many of the ingredients unless you go online and pay shipping. I agree with another reviewer that she does not explain the why behind some of her methods. I think the glycerine and the sugar are for more lather but I'm not positive. I know the amount of honey is limited due to the risk of the soap overheating in the mold. My only other concern about her recipes is that they do not produce much lather and I like bubbles. However, now that I know the method and have had a lot of success I can experiment with the recipes to customize the soap.

Editorial Review:

Learn how to make moisturizing milk-based soaps like Oatmeal, Peaches and Cream, and specialty soaps, as well as how to turn this hobby into a moneymaker!