Soapmaking for Fun & Profit

In this book there are tips for making hand-milled soap, melt and pour soap and cold-pressed soap. It contains 19 soap recipes, some of which are illustrated in the middle of the book and look just like desserts - and no wonder with names like Chocolate and Coffee Lover's Temptation, Fresh As A Cucumber, Nancy Bee's Honey, Ron's Refreshing Raspberry, etc. I was personally more interested in the first part of the book, but for those who'd like to make soap for profit, the second part of the book deals with business aspects, as in how and where to sell your soap, what to charge for it, how to go about promoting it and it covers possible legalities that is good to be aware of.

I became interested in soapmaking not too long ago and have been avidly reading anything I can on the process of soapmaking and on opening a business to sell my creations. This is, by far, the best book I've read that covers both subjects. The recipes are great for a beginner, such as myself, and the author provides other tips for creating your own recipes and designs. The best section of the book, however, discusses developing a soapmaking business. The chapters are well placed and flow easily. The instructions are easy to understand. In fact, the entire section can actually be applied to ANY crafting industry. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

I ordered several books and am new to making soap. I found this one so much easier to understand. The information is very clear with lots of easy tips, in terms a new person to soap making can understand. Soap making ratios, tables, etc can be so confusing, she makes it more enjoyable reading. Not really any photos here, but I am less concerned about pictures of soap then I am learning how to make them. I highly recomend this book for everyone, especially those new to soap making.

I have many books on soap making and they are pretty much all the same.... all someone else's recipes. I have been searching for one that would give me the "base" formula and I found that in this book. You get a short history in how soap began, and thorough explanations on the different oils, fats, butters, and scents.... how each is used and what they do for your soap. It even explains the different aromatherapy characteristics of the fragrance and essential oils. There is a wonderful explanation on how to calculate the saponification values that even an 8 year old could understand. Yes there are a few recipes to get you started in each type of soap making (melt & pour, hand milled, rebatched, and cold processed), but mostly you are encouraged to create you own recipes. The business part is also one of the most thorough I have found. It covers licenses and permits, copy right laws rights and wrongs, FDA labeling rules, taxes laws, and so much more. This book is a must have for beginners and experienced soap crafters alike!

I loved the book. It's full of fun personal stories about soapmaking. Plus it's full of all the information needed to make a soap. I don't need a book on fragrance oils and a book on herbs..it's all covered in one book. I made several recipes and got great results. The information on selling my own soap was very useful!