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LadyMorrgian

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I am one of those odd people who will research things with and intense laser bean like focus. It amuses me.

Any how, I have been reading page after page on this forum and have learned so very much already. So thank you all for that.

I am also a person who for some reason needs hard copy, resource and reference books.

If you were to buy one, and only one soap making book, what would it be and why?

I have seen quite a few suggestions and would like y'alls opinion.
 
I am also a person who for some reason needs hard copy, resource and reference books.
Me too! When I first got interested in soaping, I went to the library and borrowed every book they had on soapmaking and got a few on essential oils as well. I would say I skimmed some and read others. Then I settled on a few for my reference library. If I had to choose just one, it wouldn't be much help to you because 2 of the 3 I first thought of are out of print. :( So that leaves two books by Susan Miller Cavitch -- Natural Soap and Soapmaker's Companion.

That being said, I'm "old school". I've been soaping since 2004 and I'm sure the books on soapmaking have improved tremendously since then. I'm interested to see what others recommend.

Good question!

ETA: I chose Cavitch because of the amount of detail about ingredients, techniques, etc. -- handy for reference.
 
Anne-Marie Faiola - Pure Soapmaking
Alicia Grosso - The Everything Soapmaking Book
Smart Soapmaking by Anne Watson
"Soap Naturally" by Garzena and Tadiello.
"The Natural Soap Book" by Susan miller Cavich,
"Smart Soap Making" by Anne L. Watson,
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Making Natural Soaps by Trew and Gould

I've seen all of these recommended on here before.

Don't get "Soap and CAndlemaking for Dummies." It's mostly about candles, with a tiny section on M&P soaps.​
 
"... If you were to buy one, and only one soap making book, what would it be and why? ..."

I need more context to make a sensible answer. Is the objective to educate a beginner or enlighten a more experienced soaper?

Arimara's suggestion of Smart Soapmaking by Anne Watson is hard to beat for a beginner. Anne doesn't cover absolutely everything there is to know about making all kinds of soap, but that's not her focus. Her aim in this book is to give the beginner a good, sensible start in soap making, and I think she accomplishes that.

Dixiedragon's suggestion of Scientific Soapmaking by Kevin Dunn is a decent choice for the more experienced soaper who wants to know more about the science and math behind soap making.

I have never found any one book that covers it all. I can think of some books that try to be the "be all, end all" of soap making manuals, but they fail because the subject matter is too broad. I can think of some books for beginning and intermediate soap making that are accurate and sensible for the most part, but contain major errors, inaccurate advice, or wishful pseudo-science. That makes it hard for me to recommend any of them.
 
I have both of Ann Marie Faiola's books. They were helpful to me as a beginner and I still refer to them from time to time. However, if you haven't used the Sticky for "How to Search on SoapMakingForum like a Pro" I'd recommend that for questions you may have regardless of any book (as Susie recommends above). I do that first before posting the question on the forum. 9 times out of 10 I can find what I'm looking for. :)
 
This is a tough question because it depends on what you want out of a book. Science? Recipes? Beginner level? Intermediate? Natural colorants? Fancy swirling techniques? Other recipes (lotions, lip balms etc)?

There are many good books out there, but there are many more bad (or at least useless ones). I wouldn't buy a soapmaking book unless it was recommended here or I thoroughly examined it (in the library or at a book store).
 
I am a book junkie so have a collection books. The only one I consistently use is the old Soapmakets Companion ny Susan Miller Cavitch. It will answer just about any question for me. Most info is right here on the forum. Thete is a very slick expensive magazine that is beautiful to look at but awful and sometimes dangerous content. Wouldn't buy it again.
 
but truly, this forum is your best resource. I thought i needed books, also. But books can't answer questions.


this!

Also, I am a visual person. So I learned with the soap queen to make soap. I know she is there mainly to sell her products, but she is an amazing teacher. I always watch her videos. Also soaping 101.
 
I have 90% of books Dixie recommended, did not even read them all, my source of info is this forum. I had read every post about soap, Actually I had read it in home, in work, any time possible, Then I wanted to join the forum, there I am ;)
 
Thank you all. Some wonderful resources to look into.

I do believe I have complied a pretty nice list to jumpstart hard copy selection.

Thank you again.

I appreciate it. :)
 
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Making Natural Soaps by Trew and Gould

I checked out this book on Amazon (because there you can preview them). They write "natural soaps" on the cover, which am just what I'm looking for. But you should dig deep to find any natural in that book. No, that's a definate no-buy for me. I don't see fragrance oils as natural.

I have had a look at almost every soapmaking book out there, as they are presented on Amazon and other places.

I bought Scientific Soapmaking by Kevin Dunn (as recommended from DeeAnna).
I also bought Anne Watsons Castile Soapmaking and Milk Soapmaking.

(I've just ordered them, have not got them yet).

I wanted something more, since I was already in the shopping mood. A heavy bible about every aspect of soapmaking, preferably natural soapmaking, and more than 250 pages of it. But what a cluster of clones there is out there! I guess it depends on what you are lookign for. But I definately not want any beginner's book of soaping. I am a total beginner myself, so I should buy just that, but how can I learn anything by reading about lye safety and what soap is, what cold process is and such things over and over again? If I had not been for hours and hours on Youtube watching a ton of soapmaking videos, I'm sure I would appreciate a beginner book.

So, I am looking for more advanced books. I found some that claim they are at an advanced level. Yes, right! Lye safety again, and other more obvious things. Full of non-advanced info. I'm sure American writers have to make an own chapter about lye safety in every book, otherwise some would pour lye over themself on purpose and claim millions from the author and publisher. But apart from that, I found lots of the same stuff, like "how to do cold process" etc, I don't call that advanced knowledge.

And then we have all those books on 30-40 pages. I understand that it is just driven by easy money. Often written by ghostwriters (I suspect). Amazon makes it easy for people to try to get rich by publishing books. I tried myself actually and wrote the worst book ever (in 4 hours), but not on soaping, luckily. I did not get rich, of course. So Amazon is full of those 40+ page books. But leaflets are also at book stores. A tiny book is great if it is covering a narrow subject. Ann Watson's Castile Soapmaking is short, but that is fine, I think (have not read it yet). It's not possible to write 300 pages about that.

But I found more promising books written in german language. Not many, but at least some. I can understand german, sort of, but it would definately been easier to find an english book. But I have given up. So I will buy one of the German books on natural soapmaking (have not desided which yet).

I'm not saying every book out there is bad. It is just not what I'm looking for. And the selection is very small, since almost every book covers the same, more or less. Disappointing for those who don't look for general soapmaking. But for those who want beginner level books, there are thousands of them out there. Some of them looks great! I just wish it was a broader selection, a little bit for everyone, which it isn't :(

But I'm looking forward to read the books that I have ordered. They might be fenomenal :)

I hope you find a book that you like. I definately understand the need for a book instead of searching a forum or watching videos every time you wonder about something. In general, some very good books can be out of print, but possible to find in the secondhand market. That was the case for the said-to-be-best book about weaving. A heavy Bible with everything, and it was out of print, but available as used. So it can be worth looking for out-of-print books as well.
 
I don't recall the OP asking about "natural" soap making references -- just good references for soap making in general.

People start debates about the meaning of "natural" quite often on this Forum. Problem is -- "natural" means exactly what it means to the soap maker using the word; it doesn't have a generally accepted definition to all. The result is that "natural" has become a buzzword to build sales, not a word with useful meaning.

If someone doesn't want to use fragrance oils, then don't. And if one doesn't want to use "not natural" colorants, then don't. A decent soap recipe is a decent recipe regardless of one's quibbles about the details.
 
I checked out this book on Amazon (because there you can preview them). They write "natural soaps" on the cover, which am just what I'm looking for. But you should dig deep to find any natural in that book. No, that's a definate no-buy for me. I don't see fragrance oils as natural.

That list was just a the list I've made of all books I've seen recommended here. I think the "natural" is that it is soap vs detergent.
 
"...the "natural" is that it is soap vs detergent..."

I was wondering if that might be the case, Dixie, but not having read the book, I didn't know for sure. Thanks for sharing!
 
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