Title: The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Making Natural Soaps
Authors: Sally W. Trew with Zonella B. Gould
Suggest Retail: $14.95
Paperback 208 pages and also available for Kindle
ISBN: 978-1-61564-022-5
ALPHABOOKS, June 1, 2010
About the Book:
Leave no soapstone unturned!
Soapmaking has always been a popular craft with a dedicated group of followers, but with the explosion of urban homesteading and people looking to go green, noncrafters are now joining in on the fun. Whether it’s making natural soap to live greener, give as gifts, save money, or make money, The Complete Idiot’s Guide(r) to Making Natural Soaps has everything the new soap maker will need to create organic, natural soaps of all kinds.
•Includes recipes to make a wide array of molded, poured, and liquid soaps
•Contains soap recipes for body as well as household and even pets
About the Authors:
Sally W. Trew teaches classes on soap making and bath and body products. Sally is the owner of the soap maker’s supply business Apples, Woods and Berries (awbsupplies.com).
Zonella B. Gould has Bosque Bath and Body (bosquebathandbody.com) that began in 2002.
Ms. Trew and Ms. Gould are also authors of the book Soaps and Other Obsessions: Living Green and Naturally and The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Making Natural Beauty Products.
Review:
I have had an interest in making my own soap for the last few years. After learning what some of the ingredients were in products I use almost every day, what they truly are, and not to mention learning of potential health hazards, I cringed.
I took a natural soap making class offered through our community education department this last spring, but have not had a chance to experiment since then. With the class, we made bars of soap with lye and a basic glycerin soap.
If I get a day with the house to myself, I hope to visit this subject again and make some creations. Natural soap making does need a well ventilated area and I don’t want to chance my children accidentally grabbing or touching something caustic.
I have a basic knowledge of soap making, but The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Making Natural Soaps has given me a lot of new information. This book starts off with the basics. I did not know vinegar could be used to neutralize lye. We were all careful with our class, but this would have been good to know and for the instructor to have on hand if one of us had an accident! I like how it goes in detail in teaching the differences of different soap and oils, and also the properties to fragrance and essential oils that can be used with soap making.
The book does mention palm oil and we used this in our class because it is a great oil to use for soap making, but someone attending my soap making class brought up the point that this leads to deforestation and affects orangutan habitat in some parts of the world so other oils may be more environmentally friendly for this reason. SoapCalc (soapcalc.net) is mentioned in this book. It looks like a nice and easy reference to tailor recipes easily.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Making Natural Soaps goes over ways to make both cold and hot process soaps. There is also a chapter on goat milk soap for a change from water soaps. It includes some nice black and white photos for reference. It even shares recipes to make your own shower gel and shampoo! This book shares tips and ways to color and jazz up a basic bar of soap. It also references some suppliers for ingredients.
I think this book does a great job helping the beginner or intermediate soap maker. It has great tips, like now I know how to bring back the fragrance to the bars from class that I made last spring. I hope to get a day to myself, try out some of the recipes, and make soap to share with friends and family as Christmas gifts.
To learn more about this book and others in the Complete Idiot’s Guide series, go to www.idiotsguides.com
Disclosure- I received a sample of the above product for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and of my own
