Soap Making Books

SoapMaker's Companion

Average Reader rating: (75 customers reviews)

Soapmaker’s Companion   is a book that is written for those that are looking for much more than a    “how-to” book. Susan Miller Cavitch, author of this book, goals in writing this book is more than just passing along formulas, tips or warning. More importantly, she wish to share the academic knowledge in soap making so that her readers of this book would be in a better position to understand the various steps in soap making like the unique properties of the different types of fats and oils, the best time and way to add colors to your soap, and the many subtle changes that will occur during the soap making process.

Susan believes that soapmakers need not understand the realm of possibilities but that they would be very limited without a good grasp of the basic knowledge.

Because of this, you would often see conflicting reviews of this book “The Soapmaker’s Companion”. Those who are able to appreciate the author’s intention would say that the book is great but for those who simply wish to jump into the “how-to” immediately, then this book may not appeal to them.

Basically, the Soapmaker's Companion is written in 3 parts.

Part 1 “Soapmaking in the kitchen” is subdivided into 3 parts:

1. Recipes- which covers the soap making process in step by step instructions
2. Ingredients – explains how oils, colors and scents are innovatively used
3. Practical Know-how – helps to equip you in identifying problems even before they occur.

Part 2 offer some intensive information on the science underlying soap making. There is a tendency for readers to skip this part of the book because it can be pretty “dry and boring” as Susan proceed to cover nifty gritty stuff like saturated vs. unsaturated oil and how they can affect your final soap bar, minerals and clays on how they can be added to soaps and even the chemistry level in determining the saponification values etc. Well, just put it this way.   Without reading through all the stuff, one would still be able to proceed to making soaps straight away but it’s highly recommended that you don’t because knowing these basics can eventually help you in making better soaps.

Part 3 is something additional and is included especially for those who are looking for people to share their fun and exchange of ideas in soap making. The readers will be introduced to various forums and popular soap making sites where they can share their knowledge on soap making. There is also a part that teaches you how to convert this fun hobby into a home business

On the whole, this may not be the best book for beginners who are looking to jump start on soap making with a whole list of recipes and how-to instructions provided. But this is definitely a good complement to any other basic soap making books or for those who are keen to have a better perspective into some areas of soapmaking.

SoapMaker’s Companion is currently sold at a discounted price with free shipping in Amazon. Make sure you check out on this great offer.

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