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Essentially Soap: The Elegant Art of Handmade Soap Making, Scenting, Coloring & Shaping | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert S. Mcdaniel
Publisher: Krause Publications
Category: Book
Buy New: $19.99
New (4) Used (12) from $12.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 122199
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 125
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.3
ISBN: 0873418328
Dewey Decimal Number: 668.12
UPC: 083222008320
EAN: 9780873418324
ASIN: 0873418328
Publication Date: April 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Book is brand new, and has never been opened. Thousands of satisfied customers!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Book Description
Consumers are no longer satisfied with the industrial types of soap available at the grocery store. They want specialty soaps with just the right scent, emollients, and eye-appeal. They want to pamper themselves and their loved ones with personal soaps made to suit their own tastes and preferences. Now they can get that perfect custom-made soap by making it themselves. Drawing on years of experimentation and fine-tuning, author and chemist Dr. Robert McDaniel has developed simple instructions and recipes for making a wide variety of cold process soaps as well as melt and pour and rebatched soaps for the beginner. McDaniel instructs on how to work with fragrances, skin treatments, colors, and shapes, and discusses the aromatherapy benefits associated with many essential oils. -25 recipes for cold process soapmaking.
-Easy to follow step-by-step instructions.
-Time-saving melt and pour and rebatch techniques.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 33 more reviews...
 Simple and very informative for a beginning soaper January 29, 2008
I'm new to soapmaking and have taken 1 class on it. I'm obsessed with this new art and have poured thru 6 books in 4 days I love it so much! I can tell you this book was one that I got from the library (but will own soon!) and it's a MUST HAVE! It's informational more than a book of recipes but it's very clear and one I will refer to always. Don't get me wrong, the recipes are great but they are for 4 lb batches which seem a bit big for me right now (2 solo soap adventures so far)....very new. The other must have book with 2lb recipes is "Smart Soapmaking" by Anne L. Watson! YOU have to have this book in your soap library!
Expert advice with good mix of recipes August 8, 2006
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Dr. McDaniel's book is a great reference for those who are seasoned soapers as well as beginners looking for an introduction. One of the reasons this book is superior to others is the fact that the photos are instructional as opposed to decorative. For example, on page 57, he has wonderful photos demonstrating what trace looks like and how it behaves. I LOVED that because trace was the most elusive thing for me. People described it till they were blue in the face and I still didn't get it. It wasn't till I saw the photo that the "Aha!" moment came.
The recipes that he features are a mixed bag. There are the simple ones for beginners, cheap ones for us misers, luxurious ones for the fancy folks, facial soaps, shampoos, milk soaps, and even pet shampoos! Also included is a SAP table complete with KOH values and INS values, directions on how to use it, how to calculate water for your own recipes. It also includes directions on how to rebatch soap and of course, the obligatory melt-and-pours. What I found fascinating was the directions on how to make your own potash and how to make your own essential oils. This guy really goes over how to make everything. For those of us interested in learning about the soapmaking process from scratch, this book is indispensible!
On top of all the good information, you really feel like the author has a deep understanding of the subject. The only thing I would change, if I could, is I would ask Dr. McDaniel to also include information on hot process soap making. He covered everything else, I wondered why he didn't at least provide a cursory explaination of the process.
All in all, if you can only get ONE book on soapmaking, this is it.(Though how could you possibly just get one? Who has that much will power?)
A Good Book to Start With November 8, 2005
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Overall, as a beginner, I enjoyed this book and appreciated a lot of his explanations and directions. I found his explanation of the math/calculation portion a little confusing, however. His step by step soap making was nice. I wish he would have explained different methods of coloring soap a little more. I am interested in making herbal soaps as natural as possible, and this book has helped me to get a basic idea. He goes over melt and pour in a brief overview, and I was glad he didn't spend too much time on it. He teaches the cold process method. I plan to find books that teach hot process next. This book is recommended for beginners.
A very interesting book July 2, 2004
6 out of 16 found this review helpful
I am a veteran soapmaker and really enjoyed this book.
INS values mesh science and soap. May 14, 2004
26 out of 27 found this review helpful
I had to have a friend who is very good with math teach me how to figure INS values. (Math major I am not.) If you like math and are very scientific about soap you'll like them. I am sure INS values would gaurd you from making a bad batch, but it boggled me a bit.
I am a hot process soaper and this book was not helpful for perfecting hot process. The recipes are well balanced and you won't go wrong there, but I am going to buy the soapmaker's companion next. (I have Milk-Based soaps also.)I just don't think any one book will give you it all. Soap making methods are very personal and I suggest you buy several books and take what you like from them and leave the rest.
Soap making is after all very personal and Dr. Bob has given a good take on his personal niche with soap. With some exploration each soaper can find theirs.
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