Books on soap making

[MsCleanCat]

I am still a new soap maker and would like to further my education on the issue. Does anyone know a good (cold process) soap-making book for newbies with plenty of recipes. Thank you in advance.

 

[jcandleattic]

The Everything Soapmaking Book
The Soapmaker's Companion
Milk Based Soaps (if you are interested in making milk soaps)
The Natural Soap Book

These are just a few that helped me when I was first starting out. I still indulge in reading some of them from time to time as well.
I have a full library of soap/candle making books at home, but these are a few that I could think of off the top of my head.

 

[dieSpinne]

This is a good book that has several recipes and is the one that got me over my fear of concentrated lye and hot oil.

The Soap Maker's Workshop <--Link to Amazon.com

 

[trishwosere]

Smart soapmaking ~ Anne L.Watson ...no piccies but an excellent starter book available from ebay and Amazon. (I loved this book)

The handmade soapbook ~ melinda coss lovely book loads of lovely piccies also available from ebay and amazon

 

[IrishLass]

Out of all the soapmaking books I've read, I really like these 2: "The Everything Soapmaking Book" by Alicia Grosso (great for beginners with lots of recipes and ideas), and "Scientific Soapmaking" by Dr. Kevin Dunn (for those who want something deeper. It approaches soaping from the more technical, scientific side).

IrishLass

 

[Jezzy]

My favorite book is in German.
Even if you get a recipe from a book make sure you run it though soapcalc first. Not every recipe in the book is a good one. If you are not sure post it here first and let someone take a look at it!

 

[nebetmiw]

Why buy as book when you have this forum... I never bought a book just learned from here and reading sites on the net. Much cheaper and more correct sometimes.

 

[IrishLass]

Why buy as book when you have this forum... I never bought a book just learned from here and reading sites on the net. Much cheaper and more correct sometimes.

Very true! I couldn't agree more. Even though I liked reading the two I mentioned above, I haven't found a single, stand-alone book yet that can beat the soaping wisdom and info one can find on the forums. Although Dr. Dunn's book comes pretty close for me, it still can't replace the forums.

IrishLass

 

[jcandleattic]

Why buy as book when you have this forum... I never bought a book just learned from here and reading sites on the net. Much cheaper and more correct sometimes.

Very true! I couldn't agree more. Even though I liked reading the two I mentioned above, I haven't found a single, stand-alone book yet that can beat the soaping wisdom and info one can find on the forums. Although Dr. Dunn's book comes pretty close for me, it still can't replace the forums.

IrishLass

When I first started I knew nothing of forums so that's the main reason for me, for the books.
Now I use a combination of forums, blogs, newsletters, books - really just about any form of information I can get my hands on.
most of the time I can tell when something I read just isn't right, but if in question I always ask on the forums now.

And sometimes (well, most times acutally) I head straight to the forums for any questions - research it, if I can't find it or I dont' like the answers - LOL - I'll ask...

 

[Soapy Gurl]

I started making soap over 10 years ago (took a long break between now and then). I bought every book I could find. The only one I have ever pulled out again was The Soap Maker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch. It has quite a few recipes. There are some that want to use a lot of different oils and additives than can get expensive. But every recipe I tried turned out very well. I think that is why I never had a bad batch when I started out! I did run all my recipes through an on-line calc first and used it to make the size batch I wanted. There are more books on the market now. I would take the info from books and combine it with what you learn here!