Essentially Soap: The Elegant Art of Handmade Soap Making, Scenting, Coloring & Shaping

Even though this book was published in 2000, it did not feel outdated to me at all! I think this book would best serve someone who already has a bit of Soap making experience under their belt. I do consider this one of my top 5 favorite soap making books! I feel even an experienced soapmaker would get some good nuggets of information and inspiration for their soap making.Pros1.Written by a chemist!2.Tons of great basic soap recipies for you to start creating your own from - about 25 of them3.Loaded with relevant information on areas related to soapmaking ( Essential oil benefits ( and the chemistry behind your citrus oil fades!), starting a biz, oil infusions to name a few)4. Purchase used at a steal!Cons1. This is a personal preference, but I don't feel soapmaking books should put the lye calculation in for the reader. I think every single recipie you find online or in a book should always be recalculated by the soap maker as a double check. But then again I am a very OCD RN.2. Because this is a 17 year old book, the supplier list is not so good. Much better vendors out there now for the soap maker.As a side note, I noticed a reviewer complained that all the soaps were ugly. They were very rustic looking soaps. Personally I thought some were very nice looking. But after making soap for 3 years now, I am not interested in pictures as much as good solid information that will improve my soap making skills!

I read the book cover to cover and got a lot of information.

I am a soap maker with a definite affection for the chemistry behind the art of making the perfect bar of soap. I have many books on soap making, but this book is the one I grab when I want to formulate a new recipe. Say what you want about this book, the author's assertion that he has the winning "INS" number formula has been proven over and over again by my batches. I've never had a bad batch using these calculations. Now, I can't vouch for *his* recipes, his lye calculations, the beauty of his soaps, etc.It's just responsible to run any recipe through a lye calculator as well as calculating the correct water amount. Read this book if you enjoy chemistry and understanding the "whys" of a craft in order to create your OWN recipes that will work. As a soap maker, I don't want to simply copy anyone's recipe; I want to make it my own and take pride in it.

I wouldn't make this my primary, or sole book in soap making collection, but this is a decent book. It has a good deal of pictures, more than the one or two soap making recipes that most books have. I like the fact that the book will teach you how to make your own recipes as well. I like the scientific based approach the book takes with the various oils you can use in soap making. This shouldn't be a beginner soap making book as it does leave out some basic info, but it is well worth the read.

A good primer for soap making. It was my first book (and the only one I use now) and is my go-to reference on the subject. About 6 years and 35 batches of cold-processed soap (up to 26 pounds at a time -- the last of which was yesterday) later, I still use it for the information it contains. It contains enough information that I have experimented with my own recipes since batch one, but there are plenty in the book for those more inclined to just follow directions.

This book is the best go-to for beginners. Dr. McDaniel not explains the how, he gives you the why. The recipes are filled with ingredients that you can buy at a local grocery store (except the lye). He walks you through the process and explains what you may have done wrong. I reference this all the time.

So glad I found this book and a lot of information.

I found some useful information in this book. I have been making soap for years and still found some interesting tidbits.

this book did not impress me. the recipes mostly contain oils other than olive oil. I understand this, but in Greece, where I liveI can find olive oil at much cheaper prices than the US. The writer recommends oils that are massively produced in the USA. He has to support the national economy. I would not recommend the book. Apart from the recipes, the other info contained is available on the internet.

I am disappointed that I bought that book, there is not anything new in it. It is Soap Maker's Workshop book with deferent book cover.

写真の美しさは期待できませんが、自分で石けんを作る方にはぜひ持ってもらいたい１冊です。レシピの分量はちょっと多すぎるけど著者が化学に詳しいということもあり、石けんを作る上で一番大切な理論の裏付けがしっかりしております。