The Natural & Handmade Soap Book: 20 Delightful and Delicate Soap Recipes for Bath, Kids and Home

By Sarah Harper

“The natural products you can make from this book are not only kinder to your skin; they are also better for the planet” (Soap Making Magazine, “Top 6 Books for Soap Making”).
 
From nourishing oat soap bars to impressive rosebud soap cakes and fun soaps for kids, this book will inspire you to make beautiful handmade soap without all the chemicals found in commercial products.
 
Sarah shows you how to master the two key techniques of handmade soapmaking—the traditional cold-process method and the fast and fun melt-and-pour method—and then demonstrates how to use these techniques to make fabulous soaps, shampoo bars, homemade washing powder, and even dishwasher soap bombs.
 
Step-by-step photography and the author’s insightful advice from years of experience teaching soapmaking makes every project achievable, guiding you effortlessly from start to finish. Packed with handy tips and an easy, approachable style, this is a beautiful book filled with practical projects so that anyone, including children, can make a variety of soaps they will be proud to use, display, and give away!
 
“This book shows that making soap is not just about the science, but can be another kind of art as it allows makers to bring out their creativity in the process.” —Bangkok Post
 
“A fabulous book for anyone interested in all things soap.” —Sustainable(ish)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jul 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781446364093

Book preview

Introduction

For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated with making my own natural products. My early forays into perfumery consisted of a collection of rose petals from my grandfather’s rose bed squirrelled away, and mixed with water in an old jam jar on a sunny day. These were not successful, but enabled me to while away a few hours in the sunshine as a child!

My early inspiration was a marvellous book of my mother’s entitled The Natural Beauty Book by Clare Maxwell-Hudson. Within it I found recipes for skin creams, lip balms and face masks; all made using ingredients found in the kitchen or garden. I still have that book and I like to think that it started me on the path to my career and a way of life that I love to share with others.

Although I made creams and lotions for years, it was only nine years ago that I discoveredsoap making through another book given to me by a friend. Traditional cold process soap is a far cry from the factory-made soaps that I remember as a child, and once I started making my own I knew there was no going back.

The History of Soap

Soap has a long and fascinating history, and certainly in Europe the Celts were known to use a substance made from animal fats and plant ashes for bathing and washing. The Romans originally used soap made from goat tallow and wood ashes and there is evidence of an entire soap factory under the ruins of Pompeii, complete with finished bars. Soap has been made in Europe since the 13th century, and the countries with access to olive oil were able to produce superior soap for personal bathing. Northern France and England only had access to animal tallow and this produced an inferior bar, mainly used for laundry and textile cleaning.

Soap was originally used for personal bathing, laundry and all other washing until 1916, when the First World War led to a shortage of fats that inspired the production of the first detergents. Detergents have now replaced soap in all laundry and cleaning products, and many body care products are made from detergents rather than soap. Nowadays there are shelves and shelves of shower gels, body washes and hand cleansers, and very little in the way of soap sold in supermarkets.

What is Soap?

Soap is made by combining oils with sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) – if you know your school biology: acids and bases – to make a hard product that cleanses with a pH of about 8.5. The reaction that takes place when oils and sodium hydroxide are combined in water at a particular temperature is called saponification, and this is what produces the end product. A harsh alkali combined with oils makes a mild and creamy lathering product that is gentle on the skin and has none of the caustic catalyst left.

In terms of how soap works, when water is added to it and agitated it makes a lather, which suspends dirt in it and allows it to be washed away. There are many people who feel that hand soap is unhygienic because of this, and there has recently been a huge shift towards hand pump detergent soaps with antibacterial products added. Sadly these are contributing to the problem of antibiotic-resistant bugs and are not any more hygienic. Dirty hands still have to touch the pump in the same way that they do the soap, except all the dirt is left on the pump rather than washed away with the soap.

In its most basic form, soap is a combination of simple ingredients: once you have mastered the basics there is a vast potential to change the texture, colour, shape and fragrance to make your own personalized products that are suitable for a variety of uses.

Why Make Soap?

I started soap making because I was becoming increasingly sensitive to detergents and commercial cleaning and body care products. Even commercially-made soap lacks glycerine, which is a natural by-product of the process and enables soap to soothe and clean without irritation.

Glycerine is extracted in commercial soap making and sold separately for use in cough medicines and home remedies. Traditional cold process soap making retains this marvellous ingredient, and this is one of the many reasons why I love it.

About This Book

This book aims to give you a thorough grounding in the basic and essential techniques that are needed to make a really good bar of soap. Each project builds on previous techniques and allows you to learn at a pace that consolidates your knowledge. In addition to old-fashioned soap-making techniques, you will also learn about melt and pour soap, which is a quick and safe method of soap making without the use of caustic chemicals, and is brilliant for children to learn.

The book is divided into three sections. Luxurious Lathers will introduce you to a wide variety of irresistible

Reviews for The Natural & Handmade Soap Book

[ddm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Nice work, take a look and you will not regret!