[.ca] Making Transparent Soap: The Art of Crafting, Molding, ... (ISBN 158017244X)

Please Use Extreme Caution:
I bought this book for myself. I read it over several times and became very familiar with the process before attempting anything. The book is extremely informative and well-written. Very easy to understand. The description of ingredients and the purpose of each one was very useful. Beautiful pictures. Nice sections on coloring, fragrancing & moulding. Great info. on where ingredients can be purchased. However, even though I followed the directions for the alcohol/lye method to the letter, I still had a disastrous first experience. My mixture, simmering on lowest possible heat, boiled up and oozed out the sides, despite the tightly cinched bungee holding the sheets of plastic in place. My inner pot ended up floating on boiling soap foam. I managed to save the remainder that was left in the pot and finished the simmering proccess directly on the burner (after cleaning the outside of the pot thoroughly). I estimated the amount of sugar/water solution and glycerin to add to it. Although I can't vouch for the amounts of any of the ingredients at this point, the stuff that I did save managed to come out very well. Looks pretty, smells great and lathers beautifully. I'm just lucky my stove top didn't burst into flames considering the flamable alcohol that oozed over the sides of the pot. I believe next time I try this (soon) I will ajust the method to what I consider safe and hope that it works well. If you plan on making this soap, please be sure to have an extinguisher close by. I'm not sure why I had such a horrible time with this method, but I'd hate for it to be worse for anyone else.

very good explanations:
Ever read a soap box label? Ever wondered what all that stuff in soap does, why it's there? This book is very good at explaining what the components do, how they contribute to lather, if they dry or moisturize skin, etc. I found the information helpful even if I don't ever actually make my own soap (but I think now I want to try).

great gift idea:
I recieved this book for a Christmas present from my brother-in-law. He knows I enjoy 'crafting' as he calls it. I personally wouldn't have thought of making soaps as my next crafting project, but now that I've read this book I'm slowing compiling all the items I need(I'm on a tight budget currently), I can't wait until I can start making my very own soaps. I've thanked my brother-in-law several times for his wonderful present, even though my husband is cringing at the thought of havnig piles of soap curing in our small apt. Everything is explained so well, I'm sure if my husband wanted to he could even make soaps too. This year everyone I know will be getting soap that I made, thanks to this book.

Useful starter book:
An interesting , well presented book for the novice. It is frustrating however that the readability of this book in terms of measuring.. is only of value in the USA. A metric scale for those of us who have no idea what a pound is would be helpful

I love this book!:
I have made wonderful soap using the recipes from this book. I used the alcohol/lye method, rather than the gel method. It was easier than I expected. The soap lathers well, is gentle and smells great.