Sharon Johnson E book worth it?

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CTAnton

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Just wondering if anyone here has purchased her book and did they feel it was worth the money. I'm recalling a time when alot of opinion was less than favorable but she was showcased by WSP recently and will be a featured speaker at this year's conference. Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks
 
From what I was told by someone who bought the book, it's just the same thing she used to have on her YouTube video (for free). There is no magic bullet. What are you after? If it's fluidity, check out the "ditch the lid" (use plastic wrap) idea or even last months "soap in a bag" challenge-that was really fluid for me! If it's reduced cure time, nope not happening. If it's reduced cook time, well I tried it and the volcanoing is a safety issue for me-I'd rather wait 30 minutes than spend 15 panicking... :)
 
it's the fluidity....
If you search High Temperature Hot Process on youtube you will find how to keep the fluidity in your HP soap. The volcano that this process can cause are only unnerving the first time it happens then you'll realize that they are actually very easy to control. The secret is to avoid filling your pot too much. I usually use only enough oils to fill my crockpot half way, so there is sufficient room for the volcano to rise until I start to whisk it down.
 
Just wondering if anyone here has purchased her book and did they feel it was worth the money. I'm recalling a time when alot of opinion was less than favorable but she was showcased by WSP recently and will be a featured speaker at this year's conference. Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks

I don't have a valid opinion on the worth of her book (I am more than dismayed that she claims to have invented this process when there is decades old published proof showing the use of yogurt in cooked soap. Maybe she considers the use of a sb to negate that fact, I don't know).

And I no longer consider WSP's choice, or HSCG's choice of speakers or demonstrators to be my guideline for factual information. They both had a local lotion maker from my area as a featured speaker. I bought her products before I knew better. Not only does she not use a preservative, she thinks that vitamin e is a preservative. She also doesn't use a real emulsifier in her lotion (not sure about her cream) - so when you buy a bottle she tells you to wait while she shakes it up first! Another problem with no proper emulsifier is that the lack of one allows the water to better growth microbial stuff since the water isn't fully emulsified.

(I recently had a heavily tainted bottle of lotion from another lotion maker, made without emulsifier, and with "natural, but not chemical" preservatives. There's black strings through the bottle!)
 
Thank you all...lenarenee I thought it was just me....there's just something about the whole presentation that was so self promotional that I found it to Be a bit of a turn off. And 69 bucks is no small amount for something, as an E book, cost nothing.
I'm on it, CClaudia..I have a half hour before the news....thanks all!
 
69 bucks?? There's enough free YT videos if you're truly interested in the process. I think it's an incredibly foolish way to make hp soap, and shouldn't be taught to newbies. Experienced soapers who really want to mess with controlling volcanos can have at it. There are better and safer ways to get fluid hp.

I wouldn't have a problem with her if she gave credit where credit is due; a simple acknowledgement of where she learned it, while explaining how to do it with modern equipment.
 
I made the unfortunate decision to purchase her ebook a long time ago because I was hoping to learn something about HP. I was quite disappointed in the ebook & in myself for being so foolish. There's nothing new in there. I was in her FB group for a very short period. Her fans treat her like she's the be all end all of everything HP & soap in general. "Praise Jesus!"
:beatinghead:
 
I'm not much into HP, although I did participate in SaltedFig's Sous Vide HP challenge and learned a lot. Not sure this high temp HP method is ever going to be on my to-do list, however. But for the sake of those who are interested in this method, I have this question for those who have tried it --

If Ms. Johnson's $69 e-book is not worth the cost, then what free or inexpensive resources would you recommend for someone who is interested in learning this technique?
 
I'm not much into HP, although I did participate in SaltedFig's Sous Vide HP challenge and learned a lot. Not sure this high temp HP method is ever going to be on my to-do list, however. But for the sake of those who are interested in this method, I have this question for those who have tried it --

If Ms. Johnson's $69 e-book is not worth the cost, then what free or inexpensive resources would you recommend for someone who is interested in learning this technique?
Youtube videos from Valerie Mosher and Tina Moenk are the best in my opinion.
 
I haven't soaped in quite a long time & even before that decided HP wasn't for me. I can't really recall what videos I watched specifically. There was one, I wish I could find it, it was a man who, I think it was either his first HP or his first time soaping ever, & he was using a stick blender/hot process method & did quite well. At least from what I can recall. He was catching all kinds of hell from people for not giving SJ credit for using her method even though he had no idea what they were talking about.
 

Counter Top Fluid Hot Process Soap Tutorial Tina Moenck


True Colors~~Fluid Hot Process Method(FHPM) Down Home Soap N Stuff


Shalebrook Handcrafted Soap - High Temperature Hot Process by Valerie Mosher



Soap Making - HP Volcano by NatureDaily



Counter Top Fluid HP! Fast and Easy Vegan Palm Free! Tina Moenck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nCAPD7WC0g
Shalebrook Handcrafted Soap - Night Rider Shaving Soap by Valerie Mosher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC0_au5RGVc
How To Make Stick blender Hot Process Soap Step By Step In nder 20 Minutes C-Light Candles & Soap

*****

DeeAnna has a good point about providing links :). Above were some of the videos I watched to get information myself. From what I've seen (and tried), it's the extra water + more soft oils in recipe + superfat after cook +yogurt (that worked well) + sodium lactate (not as well as yogurt but good) + keeping all the moisture in (hence why the plastic wrap on the lid/baggie method work well) that made the batter fluid.
 
After watching a few of these this morning while killing time I realize that this is a waste of time.
I almost fell asleep at some of these as they took SOOO long time sit through. Blah Blah Blah, some people need to learn to fast forward and not talk so much, also ditch the Music... just my issues, sorry.

One other thing I notice is that they had 1/2 the liquid AFTER the cook. Well no wonder it is so fluid. One person in their comments say they use it a week after. Talk about NOT HELPING people understand the cure process :confused:

I started with HP. And while fun at first, Cp is so much easier to do colors, swirls and just plain faster with out having to sit and watch it all day. { Edit to say that you don't ACTUALLY watch it ALL-DAY, just while it is cooking where time depends on a lot of things. If you ARE watching it all day then you have over cooked your soap }
 
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I understand your point -- some videos are tedious beyond belief. But having made a few videos, I realize shooting and starring in a video is far harder than it seems, and video editing is difficult and incredibly time consuming. So I do my best to be patient and understanding when I view less-than-perfect videos that otherwise contain good content. I use the VLC media player and often run videos at 1.5 or 2.0 speed.

I watched the first Moenck and Mosher videos listed, and I did not perceive that they added "...1/2 the liquid AFTER the cook..." I agree that some of the fluid HP makers do add a lot of liquid, however, so perhaps what you watched different videos than I did. Dunno.

The Moenck video showed only yogurt and colorant being added at the end. She said she uses "full water" but she also warns about not adding lots of liquid. (edit: She does add sodium lactate and sugar to her lye water, however.) Mosher added other liquids at the end in addition to yogurt (sodium lactate and sugar syrup, if I remember right), but the amounts of these fluids seemed relatively small.

I came away from both videos with these key concepts:

Start with all ingredients that are all very warm but not scorching hot
Use a stick blender in moderation (pretty much like you would with any other soap making method)
Keep the soap as warm as possible throughout the process (but lots of extra heat is not required)
Minimize water evaporation
Add yogurt after the cook for added fluidity​

Adding other liquids such as sugar syrup and sodium lactate seem to be more the preference of the soaper than strictly necessary. In the batches I did for the April Sous Vide HP challenge, I thought adding 1 tablespoon of yogurt ppo was truly helpful, compared with not adding it, but I didn't see any particular benefit to adding sodium lactate.

I also realized these "fluid HP" techniques cannot possibly be the intellectual property of one person. With the exception of adding yogurt, the "fluid HP" method is very similar to the method I've come up with on my own to make no-cook liquid soap paste, especially when I don't add extra glycerin. Adding milk products has been around for awhile too -- for example, Ponte Vedra Soap has had a nice rebatch method on their website for years that adds powdered milk for added fluidity. (Which makes me wonder if it's less about the yogurt in particular and more about dairy in general.)
 
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You would be amazed at what tips you gather as a newbie just by listening to the soapers talk while they do their thing. I know that some of those tips were invaluable to me when I started.

These days, I am busy, and running around like a chicken without a head. I tend to fast forward through most them. It helps a bit.

DeeAnna, I think that was one of the major issues with her claiming that she came up with the technique. A few soapers took to You Tube to show the technique when she started claiming that she came up with it. It was quite the drama.
 
Lin, I'm not sure how you do HP, but I definitely do not "sit and watch it all day" LOL. My entire time from printing out a recipe to plopping the crockpot in the sink for washing is TOPS 2 hours. That includes getting my oils out (stored in different parts of the house), measuring, waiting for oils to melt/lye to clear, blending, cook (half hour usually, sometimes 45 min, depends on me and the recipe), mold, toss garbage, gather dirty dishes, put dirty dishes in sink. My cook time is when I'll pick out scents/colors (if I didn't already mentally) and line everything up. I've done enough batches to know once I blend everything I have 15 minutes to do whatever before I need to keep an eye on it. And lately with using plastic wrap for a lid I've almost eliminated having to stir at that point!

Notice the ONLY difference in this whole thing between what I'd have to do CP and HP is the cook time! Everything else, I still have to do. And if you figure out extra cleanup time for oily dishes in CP, it balances out in my experience. (you can wait 24 hours and it's soap for cleanup, but I still find there seems to be more oily residue). I've found certain recipes "cook" faster so I could shorten the cook time if I wanted to.

Color and swirl....yes you can do those different in CP. If that's the focus of that batch, then the pain of cleanup for CP is worth it.

I say this because I don't want people scared off HP by things like "secret special (nope)" methods that cause dangerous volcanoes and require constant monitoring....or people thinking it takes all day to do HP when it doesn't. :). I like not having caustic batter hanging around to splash on me when I'm not looking (I'm looking at you Mr. Measuring cup) personally :).

The "baggie" method is holding much promise as far as doing fancier swirls and such in HP...I have to play with that more....
 

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