Handmade Soap: Recipes For Crafting Soap At Home ( Country Living) [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Mike Hulbert (Author), Keith Scott Morton (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 2001

Practical as soap is, it can also be a real luxury; this book shows how to create an astounding array of soaps.

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Basic Recipe One

A mild, off-white Castille-type soap, this soap curves into nice hard bars that produce lots of exploding lather. It is an excellent all-purpose soap and a good choice for hand-milling recipes because it is so versatile: you can remold this recipe into both body bars (see Chapter Two) and soaps for domestic use (see Chapter Three).

14 ounces tepid water

6 ounces lye

12 ounces coconut oil

8 ounces of palm oil

20 ounces olive oil

1. Prepare the mold

2. Blend the water and lye. Set aside and cool to 100 degrees F.

3. Melt the coconut and palm oils. Blend in the olive oil and wither heat or cool to 100 degrees F.

4. Once the temperatures match, blend the lye solution into the oils.

5. Stir the mixture until the soap traces. At trace, pour into the prepared mold.

6. Leave the soap to set for 4 to 8 hours, or until the soap is solid and firm to the touch. Release the soap from the mold and allow to cure for 6 to 8 weeks.

Copyright 1998 by Hearst Books

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Hearst Books; 1St Edition edition (December 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688155626
• ISBN-13: 978-0688155629
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #519,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book, and easy to read, September 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Handmade Soap: Recipes For Crafting Soap At Home ( Country Living) (Hardcover)

My first batch of soap was from the basic #4 recipe in this book. It came out great. It made nice hard bars with a good lather and excellent cleaning properties. Though this is not the "end all, be all" of soap books, it is very good. The only caveat is that the recipes with frangrances or essential oils are a bit heavy on the nose. I recommend halving the essential oil requirements to achive a soap that isn't overpowering. This is a book for the beginner and is not technichal in nature. Professional soapmakers should look elswhere for comprhensive lists of what can go wrong and how to fix it. Most recipes here make a two to three pound batch, which hardly qualifies as huge quantities. I recommend this book to any beginners out there who just want to get started without becoming master soapmakers on the first go.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful photos/Safety Concerns, March 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Handmade Soap: Recipes For Crafting Soap At Home ( Country Living) (Hardcover)

I have been operating a soap making business for 2 years and never tire of the process. Visually, I thought the book was beautiful; however, it's not one I'd recommend to beginners who really need to understand the process as well as a more thorough run-down of pitfalls and dangers. I am also very concerned with safety for the soap maker and the end-user. I thought that in reviewing the recipes, some of them seemed lye excessive. Also, excessive in the amounts of pure essential oils he recommends per each batch. They may smell wonderful but many of us know the potential dangers of irritation and sensitization. Experienced soap makers could play with his recipes and make proper adjustments for safety and quality; however, a beginner won't know any better. I recommend choosing another book such as the Natural Soap Book and of Soap Makers Companion by Miller-Cavitch for starters.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dangerous typo, September 12, 2000

By 

Ann Edwards (Columbia, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handmade Soap: Recipes For Crafting Soap At Home ( Country Living) (Hardcover)

This book has a potentially dangerous typo! The recipe on page 101 calls for 15.9 ounces of lye when it should be 5.9. This much lye will overheat, probably boil over, and could possibly explode. It's something an experienced soap maker would never do, but a beginner could get hurt.

Other than that I really like the book. It has good basic cold-process recipes and interesting rebatching ideas. I have it from the library, and plan to buy it.