Book/Website Recommendations

[ad213812]

Hey everyone,
I am completely new to soap making and was wondering if anybody has any suggestions as to good books and websites suitable for a newbie.

There are some really impressive looking soaps made by the members of this community and I want to make some too

 

[Cuckoo Bananas]

Check out what your local library has, that's where I started, also read through the tutorials here

 

[IrishLass]

Here are a couple of websites that really helped me out when I got started:

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/coldp ... recipe.htm (Look up anything by David Fisher on there.)

and

http://www.millersoap.com/


IrishLass

 

[Jezzy]

Welcome There IS a wealth of information here. My favorite that I have come across is in German. I haven't really found a favorite in english yet. :?

Millers is an excellent place to start too.

 

[ad213812]

Thanks for the recommendations.

Cuckoo Bananas I would try the library but I live quite a distance away and like most people, my spare time is limited so I tend to buy books online.

IrishLass Thanks for the links and names to look out for . There seems to be enough on the sites to keep me out of trouble for a while

Jezzy, it would take me years to get through all the wonderful info the community has rather generously shared on this fourm. Though I'm still young so I might manage to get through it all by the time I'm 80 :shock:

I soooooo can't wait to get started. While I'm here does anyone have any info about decent equipment they'd be willing to share? I always find that the best info comes from those who are directly involved and from what I've seen so far, they don't come much more involved than the members of this forum

 

[KimHartley24]

Hit up the Dollar Tree! I got a WEALTH of glass bowls, measuring cups, wooden/plastic/stainless spoons/knives and disposable tupperware containers there! Especially since we shouldn't use anything that we'd use to make food, it's nice if it's cheap to buy! <3 And I find the Dollar Tree stores have higher quality cheap stuff rather than just being cheap all around. <3


And I've heard people rave about the Soapmaker's Companion as a book to read. I put it on hold to be sent to my local library yesterday to read, so I'm sure your library will have it too! <3

 

[ad213812]

Thanks for the tip, however the Dollar Tree sounds so much nicer the the Pound Shop (I'm a Brit) or the 99p shop! Crap sounding names aside, I will definitely be having a trip there in the next few days.

 

[IrishLass]

While I'm here does anyone have any info about decent equipment they'd be willing to share?

My main soaping gear consists of these:

-a large plastic covered pitcher for mixing large quantities of lye solution and smaller plastic measuring cups (all made of Polypropylene #5) for mixing or weighing out smaller amounts of lye solution, as well as for weighing out fats/oils, etc..., and a large, covered plastic laundry detergent bottle made of HDPE to store my lye solution in long-term (i.e. weeks or months). (NOTE: avoid using glass for mixing your lye solution, even if it's tempered glass. Repeated use of glass or even tempered glass over time to mix lye solution etches the glass little by little and weakens it bit by bit until one day- "KABLOOIE!", the glass shatters. It's happened to many an unsuspecting soaper. Also avoid aluminum and tin)

-a large, heavy duty 6 quart stainless steel bowl that doubles for heating my oils on top of the stove and for mixing my soap batter.

- a stickblender (I use a cheapie Hamilton Beach brand)

-a good digital scale ( I use a Pelouze postal scale from my local office supply store)

- temperature resistant rubber spatulas in various sizes (very handy). I use a large one for mixing my soap batter and for scraping out every last drop of batter into my mold.

- molds and mold liners

- a long handled stainless steel slotted spoon for mixing my lye solution.

- a mask (for when I initially mix up my lye solution), goggles, rubber gloves and apron.

- measuring spoons for measuring out colorants and additives

- a glass cup for weighing out my scents

- a chopstick for swirling colors into my soap

That's all I can think of right now off the top of my head, but that's agood start. Hopefully others will chime in.

IrishLass

 

[jennikate]

There are some good how to videos on youtube some not so good also stay far away from Nancy today. my opinon . I spent couple months lurking here waching videos. Take lots of notes when you start making batches.