Handcrafted Soap

I checked this book and a few others out of the library when I was interested in making my own soap. This is the one I used, the method is simple, and the book explains the qualities of different oils and essential oils. I'm sure I would not have started making my own soap if it weren't for this book, it really provides all you need to know.

Great book. Lots of good information on soap making, lots of pictures. I would recommend it for use in conjunction with another book, Milk-based soap, by Casey Makela, as I make goat milk soap, and it doesn't have anything specific to that product. But it will be very helpful otherwise.

If you want to make hot process soap in the easiest and most reliable manner you can find this is the book for it. This book, and author, are truly amazing. Finally a soap book with easy instructions and color photos for visual learners! Photos througout for slow cooker, double boiler and oven cooking methods, as well as, the finished soaps. This book does away with much of the repetative rhetoric that is in every other soap book (warnings about essential oils, naming what some of their properties, etc., as this is can be found online. She gets down to the business of How To Do It along with extras usually NOT seen in other books, such as: including an Oil Property chart so you need not get online to recall what an oil does, EO blending so that you know the formula of how to blend top,mid and bottom notes, and she even explains briefly what each major fatty acid in oil might do for a bar of soap in the (edited) soap designing section of the book. On a personal note I joined Ms. Boone yahoo group. She is the only author I am aware of that invites her readers to a group, to email her or ring her with questions. She truly cares for the soap making success of her readers and group members.

I loved your book. It made hot processing soap so easy. After several months of trial and error making hot processed soap on my own, I literally stumbled onto your book while searching the web. I ordered it from my local bookstore and have been blessed with wonderful soaping experiences ever since. Your explaination of the various methods, the use of the different additives along with the characteristics of each oil, and your beautiful illustrations led me to try all sorts of new combinations. Along with making my own basic soap recipe, I tried several of your recipes, each one becoming my new favorite! I kept tweeking my own recipe using some of your suggestions and I must say that now, thanks to all your good advice, I make a very nice bar of soap that is beautifully scented. Whether you are aware of it or not, you and I have enjoyed many pleasurable, and successful, hours of soapmaking together. Thank you.

Put out by North Light Books it's purpose to show BEGINNING hot process soap makers how easy it really is to make wonderful soaps from scratch that are safe to use when cooled. Included in this book, besides full color pictures on every page, are wonderful charts, tips and vendor listings naming reputable sellers of soap supplies, digital scales, packaging supplies and hard to find items. I am on the author's list and even though I had already made my first HP soap while waiting for the books release I had to get the book because it is the first of it's kind.If you are an experienced soap maker then you may not want to invest in a this how to book. But for a beginner it is perfect, explaining to the timid newbie how to make lye soap using heat without worries of soap boil overs. There is a reason for doing it the author's way as opposed to what might be found on the Internet: safety. Whether you are a list member of her group or someone she has never met but purchased her book your safety is her first concern and it shows.The only down side of the book is what the editors cut out of it! What was turned into them was so much more but there was no room in the predesigned format for everything and the editor chose what to add and what to cut. They chose make a great book into a beginner book. Insulting the author is misdirected by those who criticize. Publishers invest money and make most of the decisions on book content. It is a pity they failed to listen to the author who wanted to put it all in because it truly would have been a soap makers bible if they had.