The Complete Idiot's Guide to Making Natural Soaps by Trew and Gould
I checked out this book on Amazon (because there you can preview them). They write "natural soaps" on the cover, which am just what I'm looking for. But you should dig deep to find any natural in that book. No, that's a definate no-buy for me. I don't see fragrance oils as natural.
I have had a look at almost every soapmaking book out there, as they are presented on Amazon and other places.
I bought
Scientific Soapmaking by Kevin Dunn (as recommended from DeeAnna).
I also bought Anne Watsons
Castile Soapmaking and
Milk Soapmaking.
(I've just ordered them, have not got them yet).
I wanted something more, since I was already in the shopping mood. A heavy bible about every aspect of soapmaking, preferably natural soapmaking, and more than 250 pages of it. But what a cluster of clones there is out there! I guess it depends on what you are lookign for. But I definately not want any beginner's book of soaping. I am a total beginner myself, so I should buy just that, but how can I learn anything by reading about lye safety and what soap is, what cold process is and such things over and over again? If I had not been for hours and hours on Youtube watching a ton of soapmaking videos, I'm sure I would appreciate a beginner book.
So, I am looking for more advanced books. I found some that claim they are at an advanced level. Yes, right! Lye safety again, and other more obvious things. Full of non-advanced info. I'm sure American writers have to make an own chapter about lye safety in every book, otherwise some would pour lye over themself on purpose and claim millions from the author and publisher. But apart from that, I found lots of the same stuff, like "how to do cold process" etc, I don't call that advanced knowledge.
And then we have all those books on 30-40 pages. I understand that it is just driven by easy money. Often written by ghostwriters (I suspect). Amazon makes it easy for people to try to get rich by publishing books. I tried myself actually and wrote the worst book ever (in 4 hours), but not on soaping, luckily. I did not get rich, of course. So Amazon is full of those 40+ page books. But leaflets are also at book stores. A tiny book is great if it is covering a narrow subject. Ann Watson's Castile Soapmaking is short, but that is fine, I think (have not read it yet). It's not possible to write 300 pages about that.
But I found more promising books written in german language. Not many, but at least some. I can understand german, sort of, but it would definately been easier to find an english book. But I have given up. So I will buy one of the German books on natural soapmaking (have not desided which yet).
I'm not saying every book out there is bad. It is just not what I'm looking for. And the selection is very small, since almost every book covers the same, more or less. Disappointing for those who don't look for general soapmaking. But for those who want beginner level books, there are thousands of them out there. Some of them looks great! I just wish it was a broader selection, a little bit for everyone, which it isn't
But I'm looking forward to read the books that I have ordered. They might be fenomenal
I hope you find a book that you like. I definately understand the need for a book instead of searching a forum or watching videos every time you wonder about something. In general, some very good books can be out of print, but possible to find in the secondhand market. That was the case for the said-to-be-best book about weaving. A heavy Bible with everything, and it was out of print, but available as used. So it can be worth looking for out-of-print books as well.
