Got it! After sleeping on it, I went through the soapmaking books I keep for reference. I had forgotten about
Handcrafted Soap by Delores Boone
It is a beautiful book, published in 2002, that has gobs of gorgeous pictures of every area of soapmaking. The information is well-organized and there are a lot of charts for ready reference. It is easy to read and understand without a lot of yada yada that you can pick up later as you become more experienced. The only drawback is she doesn't discuss "CP" (Cold Process); only "HP" (Hot Process) and "M&P" (Melt & Pour) soap.
Click on the link to go to Amazon. Then click on the picture of the book where it says "See Inside" to get an idea of all the cool pictures. I actually bought this book for inspiration in the early days of my soap making journey as well as for its Charts & References.
It is also available at
Thrift Books for $8.69.
Two more books that I have that are more detailed are by
Susan Miller Cavitch.
The Natural Soap book and
Soapmakers Companion would be my 2nd and 3rd recommendations.
CAUTION:
All the soap recipes (Boone & Cavitch) are large and should be run through a
lye calculator first before soaping. Use the
Default Settings. They should also be
re-sized to fit your mold and to make small
16 oz. / 500 gram batches that are highly recommended for Beginners (less waste if things don't go as planned.
)
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Soap Making!
ETA: I just noticed that you are in Ireland. My bad. In that case,
The Soap Naturally book would be better. All the recipes are in metric.