New from Atlanta, GA

wintersedge · Nov 10, 2009

Hello Everyone,

I am new to the world of soap. This seems to be a pretty big world.. cold processed, melted, liquid..

From what little reading I have done, I am leaning towards cold processed. I have so many questions.. and am really looking for a good place to start besides just reading through each post.

Any opinions on how to get started? I have watched a few videos on youtube, I have also thought of ordering the DVD from brambleberry.. Is that a worthwhile investment? Any good books you have and swear by?

One thing I have noticed is that very few people use glycerin in their videos. Is there a reason not to use glycerin.. I was under the impression that is what gets the soap to really lather up well.

Next, I would like to find out what are the benefits of each oil and how do do they change when you start to mix them.

What about milk soaps; is that something completely different or fall under the cold processed soal?

Lastly.. anyone have a newbie set of equipment they have outgrown and want to sell?

Cheers,

artisan soaps · Nov 10, 2009

alwaysme07 · Nov 10, 2009

Welcome and there's so much information here that I'm still going through the older post myself.

heyjude · Nov 10, 2009

Hi!

When I first started soaping I bought "The Everything Soapmaking Book" and still find it very helpful. You may also find it at your local library.

Welcome to the Forum!

Jude

Psalm 23 · Nov 10, 2009

Ya, I got the "Everything soap making book" from the library a couple of times...it's great! The other one I just love is "Smart soap making" by Anne L. Watson. I have actually been in touch with her...(she lives here in WA) and she is very down-to-earth and her book is very, very helpful and interesting. I read through that in just a couple hours

Her other book on making soap with milk is AWESOME too if you were interested in reading about milk soap.
Hope that helps!

wintersedge · Nov 11, 2009

Thanks for all the advice. I have started reading all the webpages. Am heading to the library now to see if they have any of the books suggested.

What is interesting is that on http://www.zensoaps.com/singleoil.htm where they point out soaps that went rancid.. many recipes still use those oils, just not 100%.. time to just start mixing and learning.

Thanks everyone