# Looking for a great book?



## karenricha (Jul 21, 2015)

Hello Everyone...

Just wondering if any of you all can suggest a soap resourse book.  Maybe one that talks about the benefits of all the different oils and butters?  Kind of like a soap encyclopedia?  I was reading one of the threads earlier...and this girls wanted help on a recipe and she originally put avacado oil at 50% and people wrote and said at what percentage she should keep it below.   I didn't know if there was a book that explained the benefits of an essential oil...butter..or soap oil..and then maybe said important facts regarding the properties?

I looked on amazon...and when I type in different phrases - its basically coming up with "how to make your own butters"..or "how to make your own essential oils"  Or actaully giving me recipes - which is nice...but I want to be able to really know why is avacado oil good for my soap...what are the properties...

thanks so much
Karen


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## dixiedragon (Jul 21, 2015)

You can google "properties of avocado oil in soap" and you'll get some hits. IMO, there are very few good soap books out there. They are full of pretty pictures and recipes, but don't really give much comprehensive information.


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## shunt2011 (Jul 21, 2015)

I agree with dixiedragon.  I learned so much more by reading this form than any of the two books I bought first.


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## KristaY (Jul 21, 2015)

I've found this (from Soap Queen) to be very helpful:

http://images.soapqueen.com.s3.amazonaws.com/Shelf Life of Oils/ShelfLifeofOils_V1-00 (1).pdf

Lots of good info at a glance in a spreadsheet format.


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## DeeAnna (Jul 21, 2015)

You're wanting a single in-depth reference that covers several large fields of study -- soap making, properties of lipids/fats/carrier oils, properties of essential oils/aromatherapy, etc. I don't know of any book that does that, especially one that gets into the science as much or more than the how-to. Some suggestions to look into --

http://www.amazon.com/dp/174114051X/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1870228316/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
www.amazon.com/Art-Aromatherapy-Robert-Tisserand/dp/085207140X/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1874353026/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0954329503/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1935652095/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## not_ally (Jul 21, 2015)

I am a fanatical researcher, so have most of the recommended books.  As people have said, they are pretty basic w/r/t the actual process of making soap, which is a pretty simple process, really, ie; just figuring out a mix/amount of oils and the right amount of lye.  I know I am oversimplifying it, but you definitely can get that information here, and it is easier to ask/get clarification if you have questions.

Regarding the individual oils, there are lots of general resources about what they bring, here's one for example:  http://www.trusoaps.com/#!base-oils/c19as

Once you get past the basics, I find it is more interesting and useful to learn about and look at the fatty acid profiles of the oils, which you can do by going to  http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp, clicking on individual oils on the drop down list of "oils, fats and waxes", and then looking to the left, where it tells you what the fatty acids in those oils contain/add to soap (thanks to KVik for pointing this out to me.)


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## cmzaha (Jul 21, 2015)

Here is one place to look for the property break down of several oils. Plus they have a soap calculation, but most find soapcalc.net to be the easier calculator.  http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/properties-soapmaking-oils


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## SunWolf (Jul 21, 2015)

Here's another link to a good page about the properties of oils.  It also offers info on what oils to combine to create a soap custom made to your specific needs.

http://www.soap-making-essentials.com/soap-making-oils.html


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## LittleCrazyWolf (Jul 21, 2015)

I also thought this page was really helpful when I moved on from trying recipes I found online and in books. It gave me some good basic info on starting to formulate my own recipe. 

Best resource I have found is this forum though. Most of what I know (beyond the basics) was learned from lurking here.


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## karenricha (Jul 21, 2015)

Thanks everyone for your input. I will be looking up all of your links for sure. I do love this forum...I just thought having a hardcover or spiral bound book may be helpful as well.

off I go to check all of these out 

Karen


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## Seawolfe (Jul 21, 2015)

One of the problems that I've found with almost all books about soapmaking is that I always find outdated information in them. In a (relatively new) hobby like soap making where the science of it is constantly being updated, the internet can actually be a more correct resource if you are picky about who you trust.


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## IrishLass (Jul 21, 2015)

Ditto what Seawolfe said. Took the words right out of my mouth! 

The best 'book' I have is the big 3-ring notebook that contains all my notes collected from all the reading I've done (and continue to do) on all the different soaping forums! lol


IrishLass


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## ngian (Jul 22, 2015)

LittleCrazyWolf said:


> Best resource I have found is this forum though. Most of what I know (beyond the basics) was learned from lurking here.



I will agree with the above, but if I had to choose at least one book so as to offer to a friend that would like to start soap-making for the first time I would suggest him to read "*Smart Soapmaking - By Anne L. Watson*". If you have an android device then you can fully download it with only €0,01. It is one of the most easy to read books because it describes in a very helpful way the soapmaking process.

This forum is also full of advices and info upon everything around soap. 

I advice you though to start seeing the fatty acids that are behind each oil/butter so as to have better control of what type of soap you will make.

Some threads/messages that I have bookmarked and may interest you upon fatty acids are these:

How important are the numbers? 

Cleansing properties of Coconut vs Palm Kernel vs Babassu

oleic acid

Nikos


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## karenricha (Jul 26, 2015)

I see that all of you are right - I think my 3 ring binder is becoming my new best friend.  Between videos...and all the articles I read plus recipes its filling up quickly...but yes...very helpful.  Thanks Nikos...I will check out that info on Fatty acids! 

Karen


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