Transparent Soapmaking: A Complete Guide to Making Natural See-Through Soap

This is a fascinating book in many ways, the main one being that it opened my eyes to new possibilities for both recipes and techniques. It's not a beginner's book, but it is wonderful for those who have some cold-process experience and want to expand their horizons. I loved the pictures, and the recipes I tried turned out extremely well. They were a lot more work-intensive than a basic cold-process soap, but the results were worth it. My hat goes off to Ms. Failor.However, as Ms. Failor points out, caution should be exercised with her method, especially when using alcohol as a solvent. Some readers are concerned with how 'natural' that is. Well, alcohols commonly occur in Nature as the decomposition products of many organic processes. They are as 'natural' as vinegar. However, 'natural' doesn't necessarily mean 'safe'. Think of lye.Alcohol and open flames(as in a gas stove) are a dangerous combination. Also, most people aren't aware that the motors of standard home blenders and power drills generate electrical sparks, which theoretically can cause an explosion if the alcohol fumes get too concentrated in the air. This shouldn't be a problem for small batches in well-ventilated kitchens, but anyone thinking of adapting these recipes for large-batch commercial use had better get an explosion-proof industrial mixer. This is a potential OSHA issue.I also had safety concerns with her coffee-can mounted power drill mixer - it was just too unstable and kept falling over. However, the description in the book got me to think out a more stable alternative. Likewise, I was able to use many of the clever tips and tricks in the book after minor modifications.In short, this is one of my favorite books, and brings a whole new twist to soapmaking. It was also a springboard for some creative thinking, because the time-consuming nature of the hot-process /alcohol methods has led me to mechanically streamline them. It now takes me a lot less hand stirring and not much more time to make one of her gorgeous recipes than it did for a batch of cold-process soap. And best of all, I can use the soap right away instead of waiting for several weeks.

Excellent book in all aspects! First I read the book then I tried the recipes and then I read the comments from other customers. I was pleased to see that most of them agreed that this book is really a treasure that every one interested in soapmaking (transparent or CP)should have. Her next book "Liquid Soap" is even better and also mentions the subject of alcohol and how to create an alcohol free soap paste.

I have never made soap but wanted to try. I read several books and this was definitely the clearest and easiest to follow. I am thrilled with the results of the very first batch and I am inspired to keep doing more. Thank you so much, Catherine, for sharing all this information.

As an experienced soapmaker who's read just about every soap book, I found this book excellent- straightforward, easy to understand, and well-written. The text itself is also well-designed, with great illustrations by the author. Includes diagrams and instructions for building a simple soap mixer and soap cutter. Good troubleshooting section and references.