5 comments about 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.

1. This was the first and only book that really got me into soaping. It took away the scariness of working with lye and brought in the preciseness to soapmaking. It gives the feeling that the author is right beside you teaching and having a friendly discussion with you about soapmaking!
   The way in which everything is written is amazing. Even for my family members some of whom do not have English as a 2nd or 1st language, it was so easy to understand. There's so much info packed into this very slim paperback - It's so light I can take it whereever I go with me. It's the book that every aspiring soapmaker should get. Once you master ALL of the author's instructions, the rest is just creativity and resourcefulness. Experienced soapmakers will find that the instructions, tips and explanations will still reinforce and bring new ideas to soapmaking. There's always something to to learn! Ganbatte!!!



2. This is an excellent beginner's soap making book, and it was extremely helpful to me when I was getting started--more so than any other book on soap making I had purchased. Simplicity and easy to read is the beauty of the book, and if I knew someone who was wanting to learn soap making, this is still by far and away the first book I would recommend to get started. It gives you information for complete understanding of the cold process technique, and accurate basic knowledge is a must for a strong foundation to build on later when making your own recipes, etc. (and you get some great recipes as a plus!)



3. I've been putting off getting into soap making as the whole lye thing scared me a bit, but after doing some research and reading this short but very informative book I'm ready to start! Some have mentioned the book being short, well for me that's just fine. The last thing I want when starting a new hobby is a large, complicated book. Keep it simple, with enough info and encouragement to get one started makes a great book! I also appreciated the websites and suppliers listed at the end. If they are good enough for Anne Watson, they are good enough for me! As a total beginner I don't think I could have picked a better book to start off with!



4. I made CP soap a long time ago, but remembered it as difficult and very time consuming. I wanted a book to walk me through the process. This book is short and to-the-point. The tips are good, and I liked that she discussed what can go wrong, why, and how much leeway you have in each step. I found it very helpful, and now have two nice batches of soap ready for Christmas giving.



5. I just finished with my first batch of Shea butter supreme. Could not have been easier and oh, what marvelous soap! I am never buying processed soap again. Forget it. You can make yourself the nicest stuff for next to nothing. Save your money and buy a nice stick blender. It's totally worth it.

5 comments about 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.

1. As I have just started getting into trying my hand at this and she makes it easy to follow and to understand. I have made it a couple times now and she takes the scary out of it and I made soap. If I can, you can.



2. I love this author. I bought her first book and read it several times, and then bought this one. It helps to have read her first book on soapmaking before reading this one, but it's not necessary. Her instructions are simple to read, easy to follow, and include a host of recipes. I would recommend her books to anyone who is interested in learning how to make soap.



3. Very simply written, and easy for beginner soap makers. I found it delightful to have the book as it demystifies the soapmaking process!



4. A great book with easy to follow instructions. Lots of different recipes for milk soap.



5. I am a brand new soap maker who is indebted to this book. It is clear, sensible and encouraging. Very easy to follow and useful. If you have never made soap or if you are new at it, buy this book!

5 comments about Basic Soap Making: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started (Basics).

1. Very satisfied with this transaction. Quick shipping. Quality product . Would certainly consider buying from seller again. Great book



2. Excellent soap making book for all ages. Easy to follow directions supported by many pictures. Ingredients and tools are summarized and listed in an easy to follow 'recipe-type' format. Would definitely recommend this book for anyone, any age, interested in entering this field -- as a hobby or as a profession.



3. I bought this book and another, the "Everything" soap book. I found that this book had all the basic info I was looking for without much chattering, and includes lots of step-by-step pictures, as well as a very lean and clear explanation of SAP values and how to calculate them in your own recipes. It even shows you how to make your own wood soap mold, and gives ideas for packaging. I cannot vouch for the recipes themselves, but there are tons of recipes on the internet if you do a search. All in all, the best clear, basic instructions for someone who wants to learn how to make their own soap. The other resource I found to be very informative, up-to-date and helpful was the "About" series with David Fisher. He has some really good videos on how to use lye properly, and great links for more resources.



4. Basic Soap Making: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started, Letcavage and Buck, ISBN 978-0-8117-3573-5, is the cold process soap book for which all soap makers have waited! This book is the most complete, comprehensive, accurate instruction manual on beginning soap making and is in brilliant pictogram format. The book contains literally hundreds of photographs and includes images of all steps and phases of cold process soap making, such as cutting, trimming, rebatching scraps, and packaging. Hands down, this is the most complete and most easily understandable beginning soap making book ever published. Even experienced professional soap makers should keep this amazing book within easy access to dazzle inquiring customers with photos of the art of handmade cold process soap making.



5. I had an opportunity to take a look at this book in one of the bookstores. For several months I had seen this book, I was tired of Soap Making books with the same repetitive information. Unlike, other soap making books, this is bar far one of the best soap making books. I have quite a few in my library. I love to collect soap making books, since I am an avid soapmaker and fan. This book gives step-by-step details on equipment, recipes, procedures, how to make a mold and wooden cutter all with pictures and clear and concise instructions for anyone to follow. I am definitely going to order this book in the next couple of weeks. I urge all soap makers beginners and exprienced to get this wonderful book as an additon to your soap making library.

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

1. With all the rave reviews I was really excited about getting this book. I'm brand new to soapmaking and was really looking forward to using this book. Thank God it wasn't the first book I purchased on the subject. If it had been I would never have tried it at all. Other reviews claim this is a great book for beginners, and I have to disagree. Perhaps the book is a bit dated as stated by another reviewer, but I found it to be too much info and what's with the GSE? That being said, there is some good info in this book, and I do like the Q&A Chapter, but I would not recommend this for a beginner. I found Anne L. Watson's "Smart Soapmaking" is a much better choice.



2. This book was a fabulous beginning to Soap Making. Well written. Easy to follow. Great recipes. Great tips. I will be interested in getting this authors other book "The Natural Soap Book". Enjoy!!



3. I began making my own soap about 15 years ago. I learned the basics from another soapmaker in her shop in Colorado. This was before all the many books and resources on soapmaking became readily available.
   I bought this book as soon as it came out. It, along with several others, were great resources for expanding my knowledge and technique with soapmaking.
   I see so many reviews that make these types of books "all or nothing" propositions. These books were never intended to present "the ONLY way" to do anything!
   Build yourself a nice library about ANY topic you are passionate about. Read a variety of authors, enjoy the contradictions! Then GO...GO and create your own way, your own dream, your own method. Experiment. Learn from success and failure!
   Stand on the shoulders of giants and the wee little people who gave you even a hint of help in achieving your goals and dreams. Write your own book and share what YOU'VE learned!



4. I am very please that the book arrived promply, I would purchace from the seller again. Thank you very much and keep up the good work.



5. This book has exactly what a new soapmaker needs: well written explanations of the chemistry of soapmaking, easy to understand, so anyone can successfully experiment to develop their own recipes. In addition, it also contains a large number of the authors' own recipes. These all have explanations of what the soap is designed to do. I am very happy with it, even though I haven't had time to try any recipes yet. I took the book on vacation with me and read it through.

5 comments about Making Natural Liquid Soaps: Herbal Shower Gels / Conditioning Shampoos / Moisturizing Hand Soaps.

1. I had this in my wish list and my husband bought it for me as a gift. I was thrilled...and then I started reading. And it didn't make sense. So I read it again. Then a 3rd time. Then I made my husband read it. I was beginning to think I was a bigger idiot than I ever imagined! My husband is almost a genius (don't tell him I say so!), and even HE didn't know what I was supposed to be doing.
   
   I think part of the problem is the "oh you can do whatever you want, that's the great part about it". No, you CAN'T do whatever you want. It's a VERY specific process...and it's almost like it was so vague and generic that she could have been talking about making ANYTHING. I am not a whimsical person, I like a plan, I need a list of instructions to get through something. And this book was awful for that. It didn't tell me how to do a darn thing!



2. This book did inspire me to make homemade liquid soap for the first time ever. For the most part, I found the instructions to be clear and easy to follow, much like a recipe. However, my first batch did not turn out well due to my 10 Quart soap pot was too small and the heat was turned up too high. This caused the mixture to foam up and leak out from underneath the plastic cover and spill out onto the floor. This was very discouraging and a total loss of expensive ingredients. It wasn't very clear to me what size pot to use or how much the recipe would yield (9.5 Quarts). I was attempting to make "Sudsy Fun Shampoo", page 65 using the "Alcohol/Lye Method", p. 33. I would suggest using a much larger pot or cutting the recipe in half when making for the first time and decreasing the heat to the lowest setting as soon as the mixture comes to a boil. Be sure to read the entire book cover to cover or you might miss a a couple of critical points such as making a buffer solution out of Borax, p. 30, and how much Pure Grain Alcohol will be required, p. 61. (20 ounces of PGA is almost an entire fifth!). I also found it confusing about how much water to use when diluting the paste down to the final product. Mine turned out a little too thin using the suggested amount. I also had trouble obtaining some of the ingredients. There is no "Grocery Store" substitute for Potassium Hydroxide. I got mine from Snowdrift Farm soapmaking supplier. I was very pleased with Snowdrift. The 2 pound cannister is enough for 3 batches. Larger amounts require a HAZMAT Shipping Fee. They do not carry Sulfonated Castor Oil and I have been unable to obtain this mysterious ingredient. I was able to find Vegetable Glycerine at the local health foods store. With some hard lessons learned, my second attempt went very well and the final product is wonderfull! It has a pretty amber color and turned out crystal clear, no cloudiness whatsoever. This shampoo is rich and luxurious and has a fresh clean scent like nothing I have ever used before. It gets my hair and scalp squeeky clean and softens my coarse hair. This book is packed with helpfull information and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to make liquid soap or shampoo.



3. This is a good book for learning how to make liquid soap but it is not for a new soapmaker. An intermediate soapmaker will have some trouble following the directions in this book as some of the information is somewhat scattered. It is a good book for getting some basic liquid soapmaking background but there are no clear step by step instructions. You will have to read the book and develop your own routine procedure.



4. Beautiful color photographs and clear, concise instructions. This book would be appropriate for a novice or experienced soapmaker as well as someone who is simply interested in how things are made. There are plenty of recipes for those soapmakers who want to dive into hot processing.



5. This explains very nicely how to make your own liquid soap etc. It take the mystery out of products that you can make in a healthy way for your own use.

5 comments about The Natural Soap Book: Making Herbal and Vegetable-Based Soaps.

1. This is one of the best book for anyone who really wants to know how to make soap. The book offers averything one should know about soapmaking



2. I began making my own soap about 15 years ago. I learned the basics from another soapmaker in her shop in Colorado. This was before all the many books and resources on soapmaking became readily available.
   I bought this book as soon as it came out. It, along with several others, were great resources for expanding my knowledge and technique with soapmaking.
   I see so many reviews that make these types of books "all or nothing" propositions. These books were never intended to present "the ONLY way" to do anything!
   NOTE: I don't superfat my soaps and I don't use GSE. I don't do much of anything EXACTLY the way anyone else does. I do keep a huge database of information (the science of soapmaking, essential and base oil information, additive information, etc.) that I've compiled from many, many sources. THAT database is my soapmaking "Bible."
   That's the beauty of getting a good knowledge base from many, many sources along with actually experimenting on your own! Completely uneducated, very poor people throughout the ages have been able to make perfectly servicable, even magnificent soap without reading a single book on the subject, much less having the wealth of knowledge we can get on the internet. While the science of soapmaking is fascinating to me, and you can certainly make soapmaking into rocket science if you want...it really isn't rocket science!
   Go make some soap! Keep notes on what went great and what didn't. Grate your failures and use them for laundry or household soap. Blaze new trails! One of your experiments may turn out to be infinitely better than any soap you could have copied from anyone else!
   Build yourself a nice library about ANY topic you are passionate about. Read a variety of authors, enjoy the contradictions! Then GO...GO and create your own way, your own dream, your own method. Experiment. Learn from success and failure!
   If you don't have the money to buy more than one book before you start a new craft or hobby, go to the library and borrow them!
   Stand on the shoulders of giants and the wee little people who gave you even a hint of help in achieving your goals and dreams. Write your own book and share what YOU'VE learned!



3. exactly what I was looking for, recipes for all natural soaps with all natural ingredients.



4. Great book and easily understood for anyone making soap, especially for the first time. My sister-in-law suggested this book as a reading to gain understanding in the soap making process. Thanks for this resource.



5. This book was definitely a huge source of information in a compact package. Great tips, well written instructions.

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

1. This book is my soapmaking bible! I originally borrowed it from our local library, but couldn't live without it so I bought my own. This edition is updated and has excellent detail! I've made most of the recipes and they are wonderful--not one failure. Very helpful in answering questions for the unexperienced soaper.



2. My daughter asked me if we could make soap sometime soon, and I've been doing a lot of research and have read a lot of book when I could have just gotten this one and made it all easier for myself.
   Great book for beginners with tons of information and suggestions for if you decide you really like it and want to get more in depth in soap making. It has a long intro about how to set up and make soap safely that makes it a lot less scary to think about dealing with lye.
   Then it goes into small batch cold process recipes, which is what we wanted to start with.
   That alone is worth the cost of the book for me because it does explain the process exhaustively and well. But after that chapter it goes into a lot more things like how to make hot process soap and going from hot process to liquid and transparent (not glycerin) soaps. It also has a section on melt and pour soaps and advise on how to use molds.
   Then it got into the chapters that really made me think my daughter's question could lead to an obsession for me. Making micro-batches of soaps with single oils to see how the oils behave, how to calculate lye for creating your bars of soap with blends of oils that give the benefits you are looking for. It can be a little intimidating to look at all the science and math, but the author explains it well enough to keep it from being scary and it looks like so much fun.
   I got this book in Kindle format and I think I need a paper copy as well. Great book.



3. THIS IS A GOOD BOOK FOR ANYONE WHO LIKES TO MAKE CANDLES, SOAPS, AND SCENTS. I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE WHO IS INTO THIS CRAFT AND ANY BEGINNER. THIS BOOK IS GREAT IT IS VERY DETAILED AND INFORMATIVE.



4. This book was exactly what I was looking for, when I began my search for a general everything soapmaking book. I saw a veteran soapmaker on You Tube keep referring to this book for guidance. I searched till I found the book she was using and I am more than pleased. Debbie White



5. Very informative, easy to read. A great reference book to the soapmaker, beginning or experienced.

5 comments about Making Candles & Soaps For Dummies.

1. There were conflicting pieces of information in this book. I am sorry I bought it.



2. This book gave helpful hints, was explained in plain English and was well it's price in prevention of mistakes. I definitely recommend for anyone who is starting to make soap or candles to read and follow this book until you get your own process down.



3. The Weakest of Books, Better Available
   
   Being a professional candle maker (3rd generation) and an avid reader, I have a huge collection of candle and soap making books. After looking over "Making Candles & Soaps for Dummies" for perhaps the 3rd time, I can honestly say that there are many better books covering both subjects. This book covers only the very basic information and will leave you with more questions than answers.
   
   For the candle side, I highly recommend Beginner's Guide to Candlemaking or the instructional video Introduction To Candle Making
   
   On the soap side, try Smart Soapmaking: The Simple Guide to Making Traditional Handmade Soap Quickl Safely, and Reliably, or How to Make Luxurious Handcrafted Soaps for Family, Friends, and Yourself.
   
   These are both great hobbies that can become good sideline business and there are good resources available on the subject... this book is not one of them.



4. I usually love the "Dummies" books and was hoping this one could teach me about soapmaking. It really didn't have much in the way of helpful information and I ended it returning it.



5. I did not read the sections on candle making, so this review is strictly based on the soap sections. I found this book to be one of the most helpful ones I've read (I checked out a lot from the library). True, it does not cover the cold process, but as the more simple, melt and pour method is all that I'm interested in, this book is right on target for my needs.
   
   In addition to the color and fragrance info, it discusses stenciled soap, soap on a rope, variegated soap, embedded soap, three-dimensional soap, imprinted soap, soap balls, customized shampoo, massage oil, bath salts liquid soap and more.
   
   I also enjoyed Chapter 19 which is devoted entirely to aromatherapy. It lets you know what a particular scent is noted for (i.e. boosting memory, fighting infections, relieving congestion, calming effect, etc.), as well as whether it is photosensitizing (increases your chance for a sunburn), a possible irritant to sensitive skin, possesses antibacterial qualities, etc.

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

1. Be very weary if you buy this book. You will not get what you pay for. This book could have been a wonderful book if it had had the colored pictures of the various soaps which are referenced in several places throughout the book, in center of the book, as indicated by the author. They are NOT there!! I returned the first copy I received, after discovering these pictures were missing, in exchange for another copy with the center pictures. It cost me $8.89 to return the first copy, for which I will not be reimbursed, only to discover that the replacement copy did not have the pictures, either. At this rate the book I bought for $19.99, actually cost me $28.88 if you include the $8.89 return postage of the first copy. I cannot afford to return another incomplete copy since it will cost me another $8.89! So, I have been ripped off and am stuck with a defective book. THIS BOOK IS NOT WORTH $28.88 BY ANY MEANS, NOT EVEN WITH THE PICTURES IN THE CENTER. Either the author needs to edit the book one more time and remove the references to the pictures or the publisher needs to make sure the pictures are where they are supposed to be!!
   
   Otherwise, I have nothing bad to say about Amazon.com. I have ordered many things through Amazon and will continue to do so. They are prompt sending things out and when there is an issue they are quick to fix whatever the problem might be, unless, of course, the author/publisher is trying to scam people.



2. Very informative. Great detail on how to get started in the money making side of soaps.
   
   It's actually a good guide for any arts and crafts business start up.
   
   Great resource.



3. I bought this book because I read the positive reviews. I should have read the negative ones also. The business information is good. My favorite part of this book is the part about essential oils and the saponification chart. This book is probably for those who don't have any knowledge about soap making. For me, there's nothing new. Much of the information is either very basic stuff or common sense. I've already read about all this on various soap making websites. I was expecting more information about different ingredients/additives. It would be nice if the author talked about the shelf life of different type of soap especially the ones that are made with fresh fruits and vegetables. Page 70 says, "See full-color of these finished soaps in the center of the book." Where are the photos?!? There's no photo! I was really looking forward to this book, and I'm very disappointed. I would say that this book gives you enough information to start out your own business, but not enough to create your own unique recipes. If you want to start out with some basic and simple soap projects, this book might be good for you. If you are looking for a good reference book for creating your own soap, don't buy it!



4. As a someone getting into soap making for the first time I guess I was looking for something more professional than this. Here is the book in pros and cons.
   
   Pros:
   
   Nice bit on re-batching cold process soaps, which can be essential when using delicate ingredients.
   
   Some nice recipes to stimulate the first timer in soap making.
   
   Good coverage on suggestions of where to sell and how to price your soap.
   
   Good basic coverage on other ingredients such as essential and fragrance oils.
   
   Cons:
   
   A big chunk of the business section is purely American based so guidance on starting your own business in this craft is limited for non-Americans.
   A lot of repetition of processes when making the recipes, which made me feel like the author was padding the book out, I would have preferred the instructions once and reference to the relevant parts in the recipes.
   
   Inconsistency in the recipes and guidance, such as the curing time for cold process soaps. The author, at the start of the cold process section, states that CP soaps should cure for at least 3 weeks before re-batching and then goes on to say in the recipes to re-batch 1-2 weeks into the curing time so as to mix in the scent and other ingredients. Likewise, in many of the CP recipes the curing times under the Time heading don't equate to the curing times in the Instructions.
   
   There are quite a few mistakes in formulas given in the book, such as in sale price calculations and calculation of the amount of water needed to dissolve the sodium hydroxide (an important point, it is only with an example calculation are the instructions clear and the error resolved).
   
   A lot of general writing errors which, for me, interrupt my reading and general pleasure of the book and don't impart a feeling of professionalism.
   
   Overall, if you are a newbie to soap making then I wouldn't recommend this book. I also bought Anne Watson's "Smart Soapmaking" which lays out the method of making cold process soap nice a clear and is a great introduction to this craft. I think the author needs to find a new proofreader, if the book was proofread at all, before she brings out the next edition.
   
   I bought this book for two reasons, 1) to get some ideas for recipes beyond the basics, 2) to get some background in soap making as a business. In all honesty I can say, mistakes aside, it did accomplish the first point and sort of gave me something to think about on the second, but I did walk away from the book once it got into the "Mini-Course in Crafts-Business Basics" as it was not relative to the country I reside in or am from and I don't like leaving a book unfinished.



5. I really find this book an excellent resource for soapmaking and small business. I have not tried any of the soap recipes in the book, but they seem straightforward. There seems to be more melt and pour and hand milled than cold process recipes, and there were no hot process recipes. All recipes that use butters describe using a double boiler to melt it but I have read in other sources that a microwave can be just as fine for this purpose, so I found that the recipes could be made even simpler by mentioning this.
   
   This book covers all aspects of soapmaking beyond just the actual ingredients and putting them together. Packaging, labeling, and more are in here.
   
   The business aspect of the book is what I find the most useful. It is concise and easy to understand for those who do not have a background in business. The book reviews taxes, record keeping, selling venues, wholesale, consumer safety law, and a great list of other resources for those who want to continue learning about small business for crafters.
   
   This book is now 10 years old, so I would imagine some of the consumer safety regulation and law in the US has been changed so I would recommend that readers make sure you do go to other resources for this as well.

5 comments about Candlemaking for Fun & Profit.

1. My husband and I started making our own soy candles. This book is great for beginners.



2. This book is very complete if you plan to have your own business. I started a micro business and this book offers a lot of informations, how to create your own projects, how to sell, ideas like how can you prepare your workshop. She present histories of sucess entrepreneurs, how to control prices, how to creat a market to sell your candles. Also table measurements, charts, how to test your recipes, etc. So the books is divided in two parts, the first one is "for fun", she teaches you how diversify your product with hundreds of information. The second part is "for profit" how to create projects for profit. The book shows some couple pictures but one of them drop my mouth. It is colored picture showing a candle of a Moai, the stone of Easter Island, it is fantastic work. This book is a very usefull for my business and for this reason I gave him a 5 stars because I consider as investment for my business. Thanks Michelle.



3. The book was not only informative but gave clear instructions, history on wax, and even what were used for ritual purposes.
   It also helped me to figure out how to build my own business.
   I highly recommend for your book shelf.



4. If your going to start a candle business then this is the book for you! Very insightful, lots and lots of amazing information, a key buy.



5. I picked this up a few years ago at a discount bookshop and have kept it around though I'm not certain why. There are lovely full-color photos, but most of the book is common sense candlemaking advice which you might find online for free. To anyone that's made candles before, the book offers little help.