Make Your Own Soap

by Joy James, John Morse-Brown (Photographer)

A fully updated and expanded, full-colour, step by step, photographic guide to making soap, with many more soap recipes than the first edition. The closest you'll ever get to alchemy in the kitchen. This book is designed for the beginner soap maker, showing the basic steps to making soap using the 'cold process' method. Using easily obtainable supplies and utensils that you are already likely to have or are easy to obtain, you will be able to make wonderful soap for your own personal use. The book shows you how to make more than 10 different types of cold process soap, starting with a tried and tested recipe that works very well using easy-to-obtain ingredients. Each subsequent recipe will get a tad more adventurous, but all are well within the scope of a beginner.

72 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[Hag of the Dribble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Make Your Own Soap, is a topic I've wanted to know more about for some time. I purchase handmade soaps and have always admired the craftsmanship of well made soap. Not only am I looking for quality ingredients and a soothing scent, I also want my soap to look like a bit of artistry went into it. This book will help you achieve all of these things.

This book is a wonderful resource for a beginner soap maker. It gives readers the steps to making soap using the "cold process" and walks you through it from the very beginning. Everything from equipment needed, an explanation of base oils, additives, fragrancing, and colouring to clean up, it is all covered!

The photographs are excellent illustrations of method and will assist you with the process. Supplies needed are easily identifiable and my favorite part is the "troubleshooting" section at the end. Does your batter look curdled? Have your additives sunk to the bottom? There's help with that.

Overall, a wonderful addition to any craft or hobby enthusiast's book shelf. An added bonus for those tech-savvy crafters - it is available to purchase as an ebook.

Don't forget to upload a photo of your creation to the How2Crafts website for a chance to get yourself in print when the next edition of the book is made!

[John Morse-brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really clear and comprehensive. Step-by-step guide to making soap, with excellent instructions and very clear photos of each step. A brilliant book for first-time soap makers. Also has a good troubleshooting section, which I always find reassuring - because when you're making something new for the first time, there's always going to be things that you don't quite understand or which you wish you could do a bit better. And any book which assumes you'll get it right first time is not an honest book.