The Natural Soap Book: Making Herbal and Vegetable-Based Soaps by Susan Miller Cavitch (1995, Paperback)

I think this book is excellent. Take into account that I have not made my first batch yet but it seems Susan has covered all bases for making soap. I am convinced that Susan has done her research. She even touches on attention given to detail in wrapping individual bars and has included interviews or stories of successful businesses.

This book was copywrited in 1995 and contact information of listed resources is out of date. I had hoped to arrange a visit, for example, to Copra Soaps in Portland, Oregon but their not coming up on the web, neither is Susan Miller's business, Soap Essentials Inc. These business were thriving at time of writing, have they closed their doors or maybe changed their names?

I would like to follow up with Susan to see if she would add anything new or different to her original advice in The Natural Soap Book, before I take to making my first batch of soap.

I am leaving my email address for response. hunt@wvi.com

I felt the book was very helpful in understanding the actual process that creates soap. I have read some other books, but they did not have the scientific basis of this one. One weakness, or advantage, depending on how you look at it, is that the author only uses vegetable based oils in her soap recipes. The primary oils that she uses are coconut and palm oils, which may be difficult to find easily if you are in a remote area. Of course they are always available online but that means that if you are inspired to make soap after reading the book, you may lose some of your enthusiasm before you can actually make it.

If you only can purchase one soap making book, I would recommend the authors other book The Soap Makers Companion as being that one book. It gives you the information that you need to be able to substite different oils, and how to make the proper adjustments based on those oils. If you can afford both, they do work well together. I just received them yesterday, and have already made my first batch of soap. Time will tell how it turns out, and no, I didn't use a drop of coconut or palm oil, although I did stay strictly vegetable in the recipe. Using the two books together made it possible to come up with a variation of the basic soap recipe given. Here's hoping it worked!!!

Of all of the Do-it-yourself Herbal/all-natural books I have read this is by far the best. Susan Miller Cavitch has a gift for explaining things to beginners. Too many books are written without considering that the reader may know zero about the subject. I recommend this book to any beginner who wants to make their own soap.

I know many soapers absolutely love this book, but I am not quite as impressed. I've found websites that contain MUCH better info than this. First of all the title is misleading. Not ALL of the recipes in here are all vegetable, there are a few that contain tallow, goats milk, ect. The recipes are also way too large for any beginner, 12 pound batches are just not practical for the first timer, or anyone really. Unless you have a HUGE demand for your soap. I mean a 12 pound batch is 48 4oz sized bars! Do you really want 48 bars of soap with the exact same scent???

Another issue is with the suggested equipment. I have found that an 8 qt stock pot is way too large for my 4 lb batches and air bubbles form in my soap when I use it. When making 2 pound batches I have used a simple 2 qt thick glass pitcher for mixing the oil and lye together in, it works perfect for mixing and pouring into molds without spills. Wax paper should NOT be used to line molds, only FREEZER paper. Wax paper will dissolve into the soap! A paring knife is useless and dangerous to trim soap with unless you have a perfectly steady hand, use a vegetable peeler instead. Also forget hand-stirring, use a stick blender, I got mine for $8.00 at the local Wal-Mart, it's worth every penny! Also not mentioned is that you need LOTS of little plastic containers such as old cool-whip bowls or butter bowls for measuring out the ingredients in. Old glass jars work good too. Also after ruining one wooden spoon and one rubber spatula mixing the lye with them, I have learned that you need a STAINLESS STEEL spoon to mix it. It's the only material that will hold up to the lye.

I must say that this book is a great reference for someone who is looking for a brief description of the possible ingredients in soap.

I love this book and go back to it over and over again to re-read. It covers all aspects of vegetable based soap making (even the technical stuff) in a really easy to understand format. Everything is up to date and she offers good advice on how to get started, but stills encourages the reader to have fun and change the recipes around as they wish.