The Soap Book: Simple Herbal Recipes

Good book for the beginner, lots of pictures and useful info. The use of massive amounts of expensive essential oils, and coconut oil, makes most of her soaps not economically feasable however. I use this book as a reference and have combined the ideas with other type soap bases for some interesting results!

A waste of time. (15/17 people found this helpful)

This book may have been interesting when published in 1995, but it's woefully inadequate for today's home soapmakers. Not good for beginners due to the weak and incomplete instructions given. Vital safety and troubleshooting issues were totally ignored. One of the recipes is downright insane. "Mechanics' Body Repair Soap" calls for 2oz. of highly flammable kerosene, a degreasing agent and "scent that only a mechanic would love". No hazardous materials warning. She regards it as an ordinary fragrance oil. I wouldn't want to overturn a potful of scalding hot, caustic lye doing that one. The author owns a well-staffed soap manufacturing plant and is totally out of touch with what she calls "common, everyday folk". She offers only one boring recipe using 38 ounces of Crisco, 48 ounces of inexpensive carrier oils, 12oz. of lye and 32oz. of water, including unsoftened bilge from the tap. A small fortune in strong herbal essential oils is added to that. Result: Loads of waxy-looking soap blocks in harsh, dull colors. OK for outdoorsy men, but no aesthetic appeal for the average woman. Nothing on moisturizing additives, attractive coloration, light fragrances or anything else women tend to look for in toiletries. She relegates ever-popular Lavender scents to "elderly women" and writes in a generally condescending tone. The proofreaders had a few spelling problems as well. There are much better instruction books available. Among them, "The Hand Made Soap Book" by Melinda Coss. Published in September 1998. A beautiful book with lots of great ideas.

Easy as Pie (1/1 people found this helpful)

I loved this book I have been agonizing for month's about making soap myself. I have spent a small fortune in specialty shops for these kinds of soaps. After spending hours on the internet and purchasing 3 seperate books I decided to use Sandy Maine's recipe for a first try. I think it's going to be a success!!! Once I gathered up enough courage to use LYE!!(it's not as scary as it sounds) The next hardest part was gathering all the equipment. Most items can bee found at the local Walmart, Pic n Save, even the Thrift store!! That's where I found my postal scale. I like that every basic recipe is the same just the additive's are the only change. I would also recomend "The Complete Soapmaker" by Norma Coony. Excellent picture's!!! Deals mostly with hand milling which semms to require much less essential oil. The oils are not eaten away by the lye solution. Susan Miller Cavitch's book "The Natural Soap Book" is a good reference and full of all kinds of "advanced" information. Not really a beginner book. I would love any input or advise from any one reading this review.

One of my favorite soapmaking books. (0/0 people found this helpful)

This book is very good, especially for beginners. It isn't complicated -- the same basic recipe is used each time, with different additives and scent blends. This way, the beginning soapmaker can get a feel for what different additives do in cold process soap. It's not an authoritative treatise on soapmaking, but it has plenty of information for getting started. It is well-written and very enjoyable, definitely worth the price.

Good book for beginners (0/0 people found this helpful)

When I decided to try soapmaking, this was the first book that I tried. Beginners will appreciate the fact that the ingredients used are readily available, as opposed to the ingredients called for in more advanced books, which may require special or mail order (for us small-town folk, at least!). The recipes are small enough to be manageable without special preparation, and are written in simple, clear language. Although fun and easy to follow, this is not a book designed for advanced soapmakers--more experienced soapers will have already moved beyond the basic formula provided.

The Soap Book: Simple Herbal Recipes

Sandy Maine

Reader Reviews:

Good info for the beginner (1/1 people found this helpful)

A waste of time. (15/17 people found this helpful)

Easy as Pie (1/1 people found this helpful)

One of my favorite soapmaking books. (0/0 people found this helpful)

Good book for beginners (0/0 people found this helpful)

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