Recommending soap making book

[MsCleanCat]

Hello! Can anyone recommend a good book for cold process soap making? There are so many out there, but not sure which ones are worth buying. I am so brand new to this and need to learn a lot more. Thank you!

 

[Jezzy]

My favorite book is in German... I have a couple in English. If you want to make more than just cp soap then Soap and Other Obsessions by Zonella and Trew was good. They really explained soap calc good! I want to get some more english books so I can't wait what other suggestions you get

There is also a TON of information right here!

Welcome to the forum

one word of warning that you don't find in any books is.....

Soaping is extremely addicting! :wink:

 

[ChrisShepp]

Susan Miller Cavitch's The Soapmaker's Companion is a great place to start. I have also read Alicia Grosso's The Everything Soapmaking Book. The website Miller's Soap also has a ton of information. It can be a bit overwhleming to navigate, but it is worth it.

Outside of reading, the best way you can learn is just to soap, soap, soap. I had several dozen batches (of which a good number were pretty crappy ) before I really felt like I was beginning to understand soaping.

Good luck and don't be afraid to experiement. As I once was taught by a great motivational speaker, you learn from the drops, not the catches...

Edited to add: You don't have to take everything you read in a book or online as the gospel truth. I soaped my first batch at 130 degrees F per the instructions in one book. The batch overheated massively and left me with a huge, caustic mess when it volcanoed out of the molds all over my kitchen counter!

 

[ilove2soap]

I agree with ChrisShepp that you probably learn the most about soapmaking from your own mistakes, but books are certainly helpful when starting out. I too liked Alicia Grosso's book "Everything Soapmaking" as well as Anne Watson's "Smart Soapmaking" and her other book "Milk Soapmaking." Instead of purchasing the books, maybe you could check them out of the library. That way you could try the book before you bought it. Another valuable resource for me was to view YouTube videos about coldprocess soapmaking. Good luck! Let us know how it goes for you!

 

[ChrisShepp]

Instead of purchasing the books, maybe you could check them out of the library.

Another alternative if you can't find them at the library (problem I had a lot) is to purchase them in Kindle (electronic) format from Amazon. They are only $9.99 usually and you can download the free Kindle reader program for Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, etc etc.

 

[xyxoxy]

Many books are fine but be warned that you cannot always trust their recipes. Some of the Cavitch books are known to have typos or just be geared to a very high superfat.

Take some time to find an online soap calculator you like and learn how it works. That way you can run any book recipe through it to check it and tweak it to your own needs. You will also learn that you don't need someone else's recipe... you can build your own.

 

[Jezzy]

Can I travel with EO's

Hi, I am going home (Michigan) on friday. My mom wants me to make 2 batches of soap with her. I don't want to waste any time getting supplies together so I want to bring everything with me. Co, po, castor, and 6 brown bottles of eo. Patchouili, bergmotte, frankincence, lavender, lime and spearmint.

Can I pack them in my checked in luggage? I know its not likely but I am worried about the flash point. Or should I divide the bottles among our bags that we will be taking on the plane?

Mods... I hope its ok to put here.. [/url]

 

[PrairieCraft]

The only one I am sure about is the bergamot, it isn't supposed to fly. I only know this from shipping EOs though, so I'm not sure how it applies to being carried in a passenger plane.

 

[nebetmiw]

Who needs a book when you have the internet. I learned how to soap reading Millers Homemade Soaping website and this and other soaping forums. Never bought a book on soaping. This site and Millers will cover everything updated and you can ask questions if you do not understand. But first please do a search since most questions have been answered many times. Why waste money on a book. You need hard copy that is what printers on computers are for use them. Save yourself the money buying a book you most likly will only read once.

 

[Jezzy]

I am soooo sorry!!!! I did NOT mean to put that last post here...