Natural Soapmaking by Marie Browning (1999, Paperback)

I wanted to learn how to make soap from the ground up and took a chance on this book . I was very pleasantly surprised. It contains the information on making tallow to remilling already made soap. I refer to it now every time I make a batch of soap from scratch. The recipes are wonderful & I love the Castile Soap recipe.

This book is great! It has a lot of color pictures and has so many great ideas in it! Basic soapmaking recipes, rebatching / handmilling recipes. Lots of good information, as well. One of the best that I've bought, so far.

This book primarily will help give an amateur crafter ideas on how to REmake soaps using a french hand mill method of soap making using natural soaps right from your supermarket shelves. Whether one starts with a prepared soap base, or grating a few hand bar soaps to add scent, color, more properties such as oatmeal/botanicals..this is an easy to understand, suggestive idea type book.If a person is looking for a recipe on how to actually manufacture soap from scratch using lye, this is not the book for that type of soap making. This book is for simple gift giving ideas or for one's own personal usage. The ingredients listed are for very small scale batch production like making a few bars of soap. Most people interested in this method of soap making on a larger scale for a home business..will still need to look further into fool proof recipes designed for larger scale operations. This book will just give a 'general' idea to use for the principle for those interested in french hand milled soaps method. One would still need further research materials when using bases, additives, colorants, etc. making larger batches. Personally I wish they had addressed the book more from that aspect, rather than pure hobbiest angle, as more people are getting into soap making. Those people are looking for recipes on larger scales..bulk supplies, needing much more research, knowledge and guidelines than what this book can offer. If it offered more information to the home based business of soap making..then it would be excellent, and a more practical book to have had published. Otherwise as a hobby..it is average with all the other books out there too for crafters.

Has tons of ideas on making and packaging your soaps. Helpful hints and safety issues in the book. I think I will enjoy it very much.

this book has everything. Good photographs and descriptions of every step in the soapmaking process. Great looking finished products including the recipe and product wrapping and display for gift giving.