I bought The Natural Soapmaking handbook by Simi Khabra. It is a nice read. Simi owns the Muddy Mint. She is down to earth and simple, that is what I like about her. I bought her book on Amazon for about 25$ and got it the same day! Simi discusses the cure time controversy. Cure time is unique to every bar of soap. Just after you cut your soap, weigh a bar, and write it down. The second week, weigh the bar and write it down, the third week, weigh the bar and write it down. The fourth week, weigh the bar every day, writing down the weight. When the weight no longer declines this means the water has mostly evaporated. However, it will still continue to cure. The lye water ratio you use and where you live also impacts your cure time. She uses a 50/50 lye water ratio. ***That is the soapy-thing-I-did-yesterday*** So next time I make soap, I am going to do the weight measuring and note taking. (This could be a great science fair project for a high school kid.)