Review: Kind of a Mixed Bag
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 26, 2014
I have mixed feelings about this book. It does seem to include a lot of good recipes, which are great for inspiration and ideas. However, in no way, shape or form would I use any of them without first running them through a lye calculator! There are glaring errors in this book in many other places, which makes me very wary of how well tested the recipes are, and it is very poorly written as well. Here are a few examples quoted from the book-"In order to be called soap, it must contain lye. Hence, why you see many companies calling their bars something other than soap like body butter, this is because it is missing the lye."Totally true that body body does not have lye. But, where on earth would anybody get the idea that the two products were similar/interchangeable/mistakable? The only thing I can think is that the author has seen body butter sticks or bars? Either way, this was a weird statement. They are two entirely different things."You can work without them, but it is much safer to use scales when measuring out the lye. It keeps you from having to put your face near the chemical."Where do I even start? First off, there is little safety information in this book, nor much explanation of the break down of the soap making process. If you're experienced, you'll be able to pick out the bits and pieces. If you're not, don't rely on this book. In the above example, it's absolutely true that using a scale is safer, though I wouldn't go so far as to say you can work without them. Not really, if you want a safe and usable end product in your soap. Scales are essential, but not to avoid lye fumes. (?? This statement seriously baffles me. I mean, there can be fumes, but mostly while adding to the water.) Scales are essential because making soap requires accuracy, and measuring with measuring cups and other volume based containers leaves too much room for error, which could result in a lye-heavy and unusable soap. Boo.Finally, after making the above statements about scales, measuring, etc, the author includes a recipe or two using cups as the measure. NO. NEVER make soap using cup measurements. Ever. Just don't.It almost seems like the author had some sort of soaping group that recipes were gathered from and then compiled. They are in different formats, use different measures, and the instructions vary quite a bit. They don't seem to be edited much from those submissions. That said, most seem usable and pretty decent. This is the ONLY reason that this book earned 3 stars. My suggestion as a reader and a soapmaker is to get a better book with general instructions (try Smart Soapmaking), procedures and safety practices, and to use this book for ideas and inspiration ONLY after double checking everything with a reliable lye calculator. (Both SoapCalc and Brambleberry are excellent.)