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Let's Make Soap!
This fun, simple, natural cold process soap guide uses Pringles cans, lard (or vegetable shortening), essential oils and more.
After buying a few low cost items, you'll be whipping up batches of soap for your family and friends faster than you can whip up batches of cookies.
We start with one basic recipe here, and add to it as we progress- First, the essential oils, then natural colorants, and finally, grocery store additives: salt, sugar, tea, herbs, poppy seeds and pumpkin.
This organized, illustrated guide will quickly walk you through basics of soapmaking, with step-by-step instructions and an eye to your cost and convenience. So, let's make soap!
juliablack.net
After buying a few low cost items, you'll be whipping up batches of soap for your family and friends faster than you can whip up batches of cookies.
We start with one basic recipe here, and add to it as we progress- First, the essential oils, then natural colorants, and finally, grocery store additives: salt, sugar, tea, herbs, poppy seeds and pumpkin.
This organized, illustrated guide will quickly walk you through basics of soapmaking, with step-by-step instructions and an eye to your cost and convenience. So, let's make soap!
juliablack.net
66 pages, Paperback
Published October 23, 2017
2 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 4, 2017
I found this quite an informative book that gives the reader basic information on how to make soap at home. Julia tried to explain the process very simply and included some pictures to aid the information she was passing on
October 30, 2017
Soap, the stuff we use every day, several times a day. If you’ve ever wondered what exactly is in the soap you take so much for granted, Julia Black can put you wise, and if you fancy having a go at making your own, this is the book for you.
Ever since Anita Roddick set up her garage laboratory in the 1960s and went on to found the hugely successful ‘Body Shop’, there has been a keen interest in the use of natural products in body care. The ingredients Julia Black uses (apart from lye) are organic- olive oil, essential rather than artificial oils, clay colorants. She also ticks the green ‘recycling’ box, packing the soap into Pringle containers (empty of course - there’s the bonus of getting to munch through all the Pringles before you start out).
There are 8 chapters: Introduction, Shopping/Gathering/Preparing List/Basic Soap, Basic Soap +One Essential Oil, Basic Soap +Essential Oils + Colorants, Basic Soap +Essential Oils + Colorants + Other Additives, Troubleshooting, and Packaging. As you might expect, the chapter on basic soap is the longest and most detailed. Once you have mastered the techniques here, you can practise variations using oils and colorants. Basic soap is probably best for purists or those who suffer from allergies, but Black also addresses the ‘pleasure’ factor: scent, texture and colour, which add to the enjoyment of our body pampering rituals. Particularly tempting are her recipes, which include Sunlit Meadow, Citrus Grove, and Aloha soaps, with their wonderful oils, pink grapefruit, ginger, and clove, and Brazilian clays in pink green and purple. There are also additions like poppy seeds (an exfoliant) and sugar (extra bubbles) and even canned pumpkin for a truly luscious smell.
The author has written a number of these handy, step-by-step guides, featuring the kind of subjects found in magazines on housekeeping, beauty, arts and crafts. They are short, to the point, no waffling, easy to read, with clear instructions and touches of humour. They are also very practical, including tips about what might go wrong and how to remedy such problems, as well as clear warnings about anything particularly tricky or troublesome. In this book, for example, she talks about the precautions necessary for handling lye; the rather scary-sounding product that is present in all soap. No woman, no cry, no lye, no soap. The impression you get is ‘tried and tested’.
The festive season is on its way. If you fancy presenting your friends with a box of Pumpkin Spice Soaps instead of your usual home-made truffles, all you need is a copy of ‘Let's Make Soap’.
Ever since Anita Roddick set up her garage laboratory in the 1960s and went on to found the hugely successful ‘Body Shop’, there has been a keen interest in the use of natural products in body care. The ingredients Julia Black uses (apart from lye) are organic- olive oil, essential rather than artificial oils, clay colorants. She also ticks the green ‘recycling’ box, packing the soap into Pringle containers (empty of course - there’s the bonus of getting to munch through all the Pringles before you start out).
There are 8 chapters: Introduction, Shopping/Gathering/Preparing List/Basic Soap, Basic Soap +One Essential Oil, Basic Soap +Essential Oils + Colorants, Basic Soap +Essential Oils + Colorants + Other Additives, Troubleshooting, and Packaging. As you might expect, the chapter on basic soap is the longest and most detailed. Once you have mastered the techniques here, you can practise variations using oils and colorants. Basic soap is probably best for purists or those who suffer from allergies, but Black also addresses the ‘pleasure’ factor: scent, texture and colour, which add to the enjoyment of our body pampering rituals. Particularly tempting are her recipes, which include Sunlit Meadow, Citrus Grove, and Aloha soaps, with their wonderful oils, pink grapefruit, ginger, and clove, and Brazilian clays in pink green and purple. There are also additions like poppy seeds (an exfoliant) and sugar (extra bubbles) and even canned pumpkin for a truly luscious smell.
The author has written a number of these handy, step-by-step guides, featuring the kind of subjects found in magazines on housekeeping, beauty, arts and crafts. They are short, to the point, no waffling, easy to read, with clear instructions and touches of humour. They are also very practical, including tips about what might go wrong and how to remedy such problems, as well as clear warnings about anything particularly tricky or troublesome. In this book, for example, she talks about the precautions necessary for handling lye; the rather scary-sounding product that is present in all soap. No woman, no cry, no lye, no soap. The impression you get is ‘tried and tested’.
The festive season is on its way. If you fancy presenting your friends with a box of Pumpkin Spice Soaps instead of your usual home-made truffles, all you need is a copy of ‘Let's Make Soap’.
November 4, 2017
Let’s Make Soap by Julia Black is an informative how-to book. Its contents are as straightforward and no-nonsense as its title.
The author gives the reader both an overall picture for how to manage each step involved in the process, as well as a wealth of tips and possible pitfalls. Mistakes, like too many air bubbles in the batter, are shown as pictures, not merely described. And both beginning and more advanced recipes are included.
I highly recommend this little gem for anyone wanting to learn more about this process.
The author gives the reader both an overall picture for how to manage each step involved in the process, as well as a wealth of tips and possible pitfalls. Mistakes, like too many air bubbles in the batter, are shown as pictures, not merely described. And both beginning and more advanced recipes are included.
I highly recommend this little gem for anyone wanting to learn more about this process.
November 9, 2017
Let's Make Soap! is a clear, practical how-to book on how to make soap with natural ingredients. It explains the process with instructions, recipes and photographs, including adding fragrance, colour and interest. It also highlights potential problems and what to do about them. If you keen to make home-made soap, this is a great starting point, well worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews