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The Everything Soapmaking Book: Recipes and Techniques for Creating Colorful and Fragrant Soaps
Create beautiful, natural soaps without leaving home!
Ever wonder what's really in your store-bought soap? Once you start making your own soap, you'll never have to wonder again! The Everything Soapmaking Book, 3rd Edition is a comprehensive guide to making all kinds of soap, whether you want to decorate your home or pamper your or your family's skin. Homemade soap is not only an easy project for any level craft lover, but it's beautiful, too!
Completely revised and updated with information on natural and organic ingredients, this easy-to-use guide shows you how to:
Choose the right soapmaking equipment
Blend colors and aromatic scents
Create all kinds of soap, from bath soap to facial cleanser
Make soaps for holidays and special occasions
You'll also learn how to beautifully package your soaps and sell them at farmers' markets, local retail outlets, and online craft sites. With these simple-to-follow recipes, stunning photographs, and expert tips and advice, you'll be a soapmaking expert in no time!
Ever wonder what's really in your store-bought soap? Once you start making your own soap, you'll never have to wonder again! The Everything Soapmaking Book, 3rd Edition is a comprehensive guide to making all kinds of soap, whether you want to decorate your home or pamper your or your family's skin. Homemade soap is not only an easy project for any level craft lover, but it's beautiful, too!
Completely revised and updated with information on natural and organic ingredients, this easy-to-use guide shows you how to:
Choose the right soapmaking equipment
Blend colors and aromatic scents
Create all kinds of soap, from bath soap to facial cleanser
Make soaps for holidays and special occasions
You'll also learn how to beautifully package your soaps and sell them at farmers' markets, local retail outlets, and online craft sites. With these simple-to-follow recipes, stunning photographs, and expert tips and advice, you'll be a soapmaking expert in no time!
510 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2003
550 people are currently reading
503 people want to read
About the author
Alicia Grosso
6 books4 followersAlicia Grosso is a teacher, author and interdisciplinary artist. She has been teaching theatre at the university and secondary school levels for over twenty-five years.
Alicia began making soap in 1995, and her first book, Soapmaking: A Magical Guide was published in 2001. Soon after she wrote The Everything Soapmaking Book which is in its third edition. She has written a soapmaking column for The Essential Herbal magazine, has been a presenter at soapmaking conferences and a guest teacher at soap studios on the west coast.
The owner and creative director of the Annabella and Company Creative Collective (www.annabellaandcompany.com), she also teaches classes and workshops in soapmaking. She lives in the beautiful Puget Sound area with a kitty and a bunny.
Alicia began making soap in 1995, and her first book, Soapmaking: A Magical Guide was published in 2001. Soon after she wrote The Everything Soapmaking Book which is in its third edition. She has written a soapmaking column for The Essential Herbal magazine, has been a presenter at soapmaking conferences and a guest teacher at soap studios on the west coast.
The owner and creative director of the Annabella and Company Creative Collective (www.annabellaandcompany.com), she also teaches classes and workshops in soapmaking. She lives in the beautiful Puget Sound area with a kitty and a bunny.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
January 3, 2019
4 comprehensive stars. A great soap making book that covers all aspects of soap making, suitable for beginners to advanced. Unfortunately, being American, the recipes all list imperial measurements (perhaps an updated edition might have metric conversions).
October 2, 2023
This is reasonably comprehensive basic soap-making resource for beginners, but it could be better illustrated, uses ounces/pounds/teaspoon measurements without including metric equivalents, is a bit out of date now and has at least one egregious error. On the plus side, it does cover many different techniques, including cold process, hot process, milk soaps, transparent soaps, soap casting, hand milling, and more. There is a fairly good discussion of on the types of oil /fat/butter used in soap making, although that could be expanded these days, as well as fairly good discussions about scent options (EO vs FO) and colorants.
The author talks about lye discount, and talks about how to calculate it. On page 236 there is an exercise to take you through an example of how to calculate lye discount BUT…. The last line of the calculation is nonsensical, seems to be full of random numbers, the numbers /calculation/math are all wrong, and the answer given for the amount of lye to use is totally incorrect. Doing the math by hand or calculating with an online lye calculator, one would use 2.49 ounces of lye the batch, but the stated answer is 1.5 ounces of lye. This would yield a soap that didn’t set up /harden. Clearly, this is due to someone not checking for errors or proofreading the book before publication of this 3rd edition (10 years ago). Because of this, I don’t think I will trust any of the recipes for recipes given in the book, and will be checking all of the calculations by hand, or with a lye calculator (might as well anyway, since I have to convert them all to metric).
Another big oversight for those who want to come up with their own recipes for soap is that the book never does state the customary or standard amount of water/liquid to include in a soap recipe, which is a pretty big oversight (it’s 30 to 38%, by the way).
There aren’t that many illustrations, and it is hard to envision a lot of these techniques based on just text. Fortunately, this is the day of the Internet, and one can do independent research to find out more.
Many of the recipes contain fairly exotic oils,, but the author doesn’t offer alternatives in the recipes for the more exotic / expensive / hard to find ones for beginners on a budget. There are always options for replacing those with other oils, even if that may change the qualities of the soap a little.
Also, the section on marketing is far out of date. Electronic on-site payment options at vendor markets were fairly primitive 10 years ago, and there are lots more options now. These days I do believe there is much more required in terms of soap labeling, providing the ingredients and weight of the final product and a contact address or phone number in case the user has a problem with the soap. Other things not mentioned include recommendations for having soapmakers insurance, and brief statementts about licensing and tax requirements that may be needed for small businesses.
I am glad that I picked up the basic basics from Internet/YouTube reading and research (and glad that I made several batches of cold-process soap) before picking up this book. Despite some drawbacks this is a fairly quick and comprehensive read for anyone thinking about jumping into soapmaking. Just take the recipes with a grain of salt, so to speak, and do do your own calculations for fat and lye percentages to avoid disappointment.
The author talks about lye discount, and talks about how to calculate it. On page 236 there is an exercise to take you through an example of how to calculate lye discount BUT…. The last line of the calculation is nonsensical, seems to be full of random numbers, the numbers /calculation/math are all wrong, and the answer given for the amount of lye to use is totally incorrect. Doing the math by hand or calculating with an online lye calculator, one would use 2.49 ounces of lye the batch, but the stated answer is 1.5 ounces of lye. This would yield a soap that didn’t set up /harden. Clearly, this is due to someone not checking for errors or proofreading the book before publication of this 3rd edition (10 years ago). Because of this, I don’t think I will trust any of the recipes for recipes given in the book, and will be checking all of the calculations by hand, or with a lye calculator (might as well anyway, since I have to convert them all to metric).
Another big oversight for those who want to come up with their own recipes for soap is that the book never does state the customary or standard amount of water/liquid to include in a soap recipe, which is a pretty big oversight (it’s 30 to 38%, by the way).
There aren’t that many illustrations, and it is hard to envision a lot of these techniques based on just text. Fortunately, this is the day of the Internet, and one can do independent research to find out more.
Many of the recipes contain fairly exotic oils,, but the author doesn’t offer alternatives in the recipes for the more exotic / expensive / hard to find ones for beginners on a budget. There are always options for replacing those with other oils, even if that may change the qualities of the soap a little.
Also, the section on marketing is far out of date. Electronic on-site payment options at vendor markets were fairly primitive 10 years ago, and there are lots more options now. These days I do believe there is much more required in terms of soap labeling, providing the ingredients and weight of the final product and a contact address or phone number in case the user has a problem with the soap. Other things not mentioned include recommendations for having soapmakers insurance, and brief statementts about licensing and tax requirements that may be needed for small businesses.
I am glad that I picked up the basic basics from Internet/YouTube reading and research (and glad that I made several batches of cold-process soap) before picking up this book. Despite some drawbacks this is a fairly quick and comprehensive read for anyone thinking about jumping into soapmaking. Just take the recipes with a grain of salt, so to speak, and do do your own calculations for fat and lye percentages to avoid disappointment.
June 3, 2010
It covers everything you'll need to know about soapmaking, cold process and hot process soap, liquid, transparent, cream hot-process, soap casting, hand-milling, you name it, it's there. With recipes for each type of soap and information about essential oils, colors and herbs.
November 1, 2012
Great book has lots of good information I still use it from time to time as my reference book. Its great to have if your a soap maker.
July 17, 2019
This really is an "Everything" soap book! It goes through techniques for every type of soapmaking. This book is a wealth of information that would be great to have on hand to reference individual sections. A great buy for both beginning and intermediate soap makers alike!
I think it's important to note this is not really a recipe book. I would call it a Technique and Reference book. This book provides basic base recipes for all the different soaping methods to try out techniques, but doesn't focus on providing a ton of recipe ideas like some books do. This is truly a book about learning how to make soap in it's different forms and different techniques and additives within the soap.
The recipes: The majority of the base recipes are vegetable based (no lard or tallow) and/or palm free. The author mainly uses micas for coloring and fragrance oils for scent. There is a great section on essential oils near the end of the book. The section on natural colorants is very limited. I'd recommend a more specialized book (or internet research) if you're interested in exploring natural colorants.
A good book for the beginner who wants to have all the techniques in one place, easy to reference. Just know there are essentially no pictures, just pure information.
I think it's important to note this is not really a recipe book. I would call it a Technique and Reference book. This book provides basic base recipes for all the different soaping methods to try out techniques, but doesn't focus on providing a ton of recipe ideas like some books do. This is truly a book about learning how to make soap in it's different forms and different techniques and additives within the soap.
The recipes: The majority of the base recipes are vegetable based (no lard or tallow) and/or palm free. The author mainly uses micas for coloring and fragrance oils for scent. There is a great section on essential oils near the end of the book. The section on natural colorants is very limited. I'd recommend a more specialized book (or internet research) if you're interested in exploring natural colorants.
A good book for the beginner who wants to have all the techniques in one place, easy to reference. Just know there are essentially no pictures, just pure information.
May 22, 2019
Excellent and practical advice
I bought this book to learn more about c.p. making as I am a fairly new soaper. This book offered so much more! She covers everything from oils and their sap value to melt and pour soap projects in easy to understand language. If you're new to soaping and interested in learning different techniques then this is the book for you. My only peeve was that the pictures weren't at all clear in the kindle version.
I bought this book to learn more about c.p. making as I am a fairly new soaper. This book offered so much more! She covers everything from oils and their sap value to melt and pour soap projects in easy to understand language. If you're new to soaping and interested in learning different techniques then this is the book for you. My only peeve was that the pictures weren't at all clear in the kindle version.
August 4, 2020
A standard book about soapmaking that covers nearly everything a beginner needs to know. There were times I felt like the author assumed her readers were middle-aged women, which I guess makes sense, but as a dude reading this in his 20's, I could not help but feel a little alienated. What the book lacks is more pictures, more diagrams, and more advanced techniques like sculpting with different colours and 3D projects.
May 31, 2017
This is a very comprehensive book about soaping- it includes information on cold process, hot process, melt & pour, colorants, fragrance, and essential oils. Lots of good information for the beginner soap crafter. Only downside is that all the recipes were very generic- I wish there were some more creative recipes to help you think outside the box.
January 4, 2020
Perfectly Informative Minus Images
This is definitely an excellent book I will continuously use as a reference and resource for everything I need to know regarding soap making. Just needs more images incorporated with instructions, ingredients, and end products of superb recipe ideas.
This is definitely an excellent book I will continuously use as a reference and resource for everything I need to know regarding soap making. Just needs more images incorporated with instructions, ingredients, and end products of superb recipe ideas.
November 22, 2018
Comprehensive
Provides detailed information about the various soap making techniques, including useful tips for production, organizing, troubleshooting and selling. A great read for every soap maker.
Provides detailed information about the various soap making techniques, including useful tips for production, organizing, troubleshooting and selling. A great read for every soap maker.
January 5, 2019
The book title is very accurate in it's description.
Loved this book because it is very detailed and great for old and new soap makers. It is loaded with with tips from safety to business or just a hobby
Loved this book because it is very detailed and great for old and new soap makers. It is loaded with with tips from safety to business or just a hobby
November 24, 2021
So much great information! It's a bit intimidating but I'm hoping to giving it a try soon.
April 16, 2022
Great book. It does not have as many colours as the other guide which I read but there were many useful tips and recipes as well.
December 1, 2022
Very good. A great book for beginners
December 21, 2022
Good Information on making soap and very well explained. I would recommend for anyone who is wanting to learn from the beginning.
June 5, 2019
Really informative good for starters
Wish I had read this four years ago. It would have saved me money and time. I loved the detail for every type of popular process from cold, hot, and liquid. Was even happy to see a section on M&P.
Wish I had read this four years ago. It would have saved me money and time. I loved the detail for every type of popular process from cold, hot, and liquid. Was even happy to see a section on M&P.
March 1, 2017
El mejor libro que he leído
Después de leer varios libros respecto al tema, fue el primero en explicar otras
Técnicas como jabón líquido, cristal y cremoso.
Después de leer varios libros respecto al tema, fue el primero en explicar otras
Técnicas como jabón líquido, cristal y cremoso.
January 31, 2018
I purchased two books when I decided I wanted to learn how to make natural soap, and this was one of them. It took me some time between getting my books and actually making soap - but I am addicted to it now!
This book is the one I reference most. Yes, it lacks nice images. However, the other book I purchased is loaded with professional images and lacks a lot of content that I need. This book is more comprehensive on topics such as cure time for varying processes, tools, and clean up procedures to considerations like how to package, putting together gift baskets, and why/when to consider selling product. It even goes into using the knowledge you learn from the book to create your own recipes!
I by no means read this in order from chapter to chapter, though I did skim through in order upon first getting it. It is overwhelming that way! I skip around to where the information I want is - there is a complete Table of Contents so you can easily find the information you want when you need it.
I started out making cold process soap from a kit I purchased through Bramble Berry (which is the first supplier listed in the appendix for resources). Then I moved on to Shower Steamers and Melt & Pour Soap. I am getting ready to make more CP. However, I am so happy for the Hot Process and Liquid Soap sections in this book since I really want to create liquid hand soaps and body washes. This book really does have everything you need in it to get started and stay going in the soaping hobby/business.
I'd say this is a must have for anyone interested in learning how to get started the right way. The author even says to start small on your budget so that if it turns out you never want to make a second soap, you didn't end up investing a lot of money on something you won't do again.
This book is the one I reference most. Yes, it lacks nice images. However, the other book I purchased is loaded with professional images and lacks a lot of content that I need. This book is more comprehensive on topics such as cure time for varying processes, tools, and clean up procedures to considerations like how to package, putting together gift baskets, and why/when to consider selling product. It even goes into using the knowledge you learn from the book to create your own recipes!
I by no means read this in order from chapter to chapter, though I did skim through in order upon first getting it. It is overwhelming that way! I skip around to where the information I want is - there is a complete Table of Contents so you can easily find the information you want when you need it.
I started out making cold process soap from a kit I purchased through Bramble Berry (which is the first supplier listed in the appendix for resources). Then I moved on to Shower Steamers and Melt & Pour Soap. I am getting ready to make more CP. However, I am so happy for the Hot Process and Liquid Soap sections in this book since I really want to create liquid hand soaps and body washes. This book really does have everything you need in it to get started and stay going in the soaping hobby/business.
I'd say this is a must have for anyone interested in learning how to get started the right way. The author even says to start small on your budget so that if it turns out you never want to make a second soap, you didn't end up investing a lot of money on something you won't do again.
June 23, 2014
A Must Have for Every Beginning Soaper
I have been making soap for about three years now, but this book was where I got my start. I have both the kindle version and a very dog-eared hard copy.
The descriptions and instructions are very clear and well written. They are easy to follow for a beginner or an intermediate soap-maker.
Now, I have sort of "outgrown" this book and have branched on to making my own recipes, but I will never forget where I learned how to make my first batches.
The reason why I gave this book 4 stars rather than 5 is because the book has no pictures or illustrations. Everything must be conveyed through the written word. For some people, pictures could be very helpful with instructions.
Another is the 100% olive oil soap recipe in the book seems to be flawed. I made two one pound batches from this recipe on two different occasions. Both batches were failures. After running the recipe through a lye calculator, I tried a different amount of lye. It cured fine after that. A typo perhaps?
I have been making soap for about three years now, but this book was where I got my start. I have both the kindle version and a very dog-eared hard copy.
The descriptions and instructions are very clear and well written. They are easy to follow for a beginner or an intermediate soap-maker.
Now, I have sort of "outgrown" this book and have branched on to making my own recipes, but I will never forget where I learned how to make my first batches.
The reason why I gave this book 4 stars rather than 5 is because the book has no pictures or illustrations. Everything must be conveyed through the written word. For some people, pictures could be very helpful with instructions.
Another is the 100% olive oil soap recipe in the book seems to be flawed. I made two one pound batches from this recipe on two different occasions. Both batches were failures. After running the recipe through a lye calculator, I tried a different amount of lye. It cured fine after that. A typo perhaps?
November 25, 2017
It really is Everything but mostly Lye based.
I have been wanting to try my hand at soap making ever since I got into essential oils last year. I didn't know much about it and this book was a great place to start. It tells you everything and I mean everything about soap and making soap. It's probably more information than I'll ever need. I will tell you that mostly everything was about techniques using lye which I'm not into. I prefer quick and easy and was looking for more information about melt and pour techniques. There really wasn't much but a short chapter. Also I really enjoy pictures with these sort of instructional books and there were barely a handful. I read kindle edition so I don't know if the actual book will be different. All in all, this is a very informational book but will serve best those interested in all the techniques using lye. Or those interested in soap making as more than just an occasional hobby.
I have been wanting to try my hand at soap making ever since I got into essential oils last year. I didn't know much about it and this book was a great place to start. It tells you everything and I mean everything about soap and making soap. It's probably more information than I'll ever need. I will tell you that mostly everything was about techniques using lye which I'm not into. I prefer quick and easy and was looking for more information about melt and pour techniques. There really wasn't much but a short chapter. Also I really enjoy pictures with these sort of instructional books and there were barely a handful. I read kindle edition so I don't know if the actual book will be different. All in all, this is a very informational book but will serve best those interested in all the techniques using lye. Or those interested in soap making as more than just an occasional hobby.
April 7, 2012
I found this book easy to read and quite informative. It even discusses option on how to package your soaps for gift baskets. However I did feel quite overwhelmed with all of the equipment that it said I needed to start with. And the basic recipes had some ingredients that I wasn't able to find in my local stores. Since I was using it as a guideline and had other resources to draw from I wasna't inhibited by this books limitations.
I have had no prior experience with soap making, other than a few tries with Melt and Pour. So for a beginner I can honestly say this book was a great reference, but it is definetly wiser to have a few other books to round out what this one lacks. Good Luck!
I have had no prior experience with soap making, other than a few tries with Melt and Pour. So for a beginner I can honestly say this book was a great reference, but it is definetly wiser to have a few other books to round out what this one lacks. Good Luck!
November 7, 2010
Lots of information, but two drawbacks -- hardly any pictures, and a very inflexible method. I'm glad this isn't the only book I read. This author makes soapmaking seem l something you really have to invest a bunch of money in, which isn't true, and makes it sound like you must start at the beginning and go though things the way she suggests, which also isn't true. But there is some really great information and recipes in here. If I were going to buy only two soapmaking books, this would be one of them.
November 16, 2012
The most complete book on soapmaking I've encountered yet.
Most books talk about melt-and-pour soap, this one discusses the finer points of actually making that soap, from scratch. It covers basic cold process soap, fragrancing, additives, colour, content, basic recpies, oils and fats. There is even a chart for calculating your own lye discount, based on the chemical composition of the oil you're using.
PLUS, there is extensive information on making hot process soap, transparent soap, and even cream soap!
Wow. "Complete" is no understatement.
Most books talk about melt-and-pour soap, this one discusses the finer points of actually making that soap, from scratch. It covers basic cold process soap, fragrancing, additives, colour, content, basic recpies, oils and fats. There is even a chart for calculating your own lye discount, based on the chemical composition of the oil you're using.
PLUS, there is extensive information on making hot process soap, transparent soap, and even cream soap!
Wow. "Complete" is no understatement.
June 6, 2013
This book has been incredibly helpful as I have been learning how to make soap. It includes everything you need: safety instructions, essential materials, recipes, oil guides; even a section on how to market your business, such as pricing information and how to choose a market.
This has been a great addition to my collection; I highly recommend for anyone who is wanting to learn how to make soap!
This has been a great addition to my collection; I highly recommend for anyone who is wanting to learn how to make soap!
April 28, 2016
This book is a fantastic resource for Cold Process Soapmakers. It gives good, straightforward info and is perfect for learning how to make basic and luxury recipes, how to formulate your own recipes, how to save your batches and also goes over important lye safety. There's tons of useful information and she pretty much answers any questions a newbie might have. I'd recommend it to anyone who's serious about soapmaking.
January 26, 2017
Even for an experienced soapmaker!
Thank you for a clear, well written and easy to read book. I've known of Alicia from years ago on a popular online forum, but never realized she wrote a book. With so many newbies jumping into this hobby/business books like this are sorely needed. I belong to several FB soaping groups, and the level of ignorance and misinformation can be frightening. So I'll be getting the word out about this book!
Thank you for a clear, well written and easy to read book. I've known of Alicia from years ago on a popular online forum, but never realized she wrote a book. With so many newbies jumping into this hobby/business books like this are sorely needed. I belong to several FB soaping groups, and the level of ignorance and misinformation can be frightening. So I'll be getting the word out about this book!
June 27, 2008
Totally awesome book. The title says it all... the book really has EVERYTHING you'd need or want to know about soapmaking.
My partner and I have researched and read this book over and over. We've purchased all needed items to make soap, and now all we need to do is to actually make the soap (Which we plan to do next week!).
This is the soapmaker's bible!
My partner and I have researched and read this book over and over. We've purchased all needed items to make soap, and now all we need to do is to actually make the soap (Which we plan to do next week!).
This is the soapmaker's bible!
June 14, 2009
This book had excellent tips on how to start soap making. This will definitely be a book that I'll check out again/ buy when I start making soap.
The book explains the different ways of making soap. It also gives advice for starting to sell your soap as well as additional resources (books and websites) for further advice and online suppliers.
The book explains the different ways of making soap. It also gives advice for starting to sell your soap as well as additional resources (books and websites) for further advice and online suppliers.
January 9, 2017
This is a very clear and thorough guide for getting started with soapmaking. I've been interested in trying to make my own soaps, and this really helped me figure out how to start with the process and also gave some good suggestions for how to package and sell soaps if I want to do that down the line.
June 3, 2010
This is the best comprehensive soap-making book I have come across yet. It is ideal for both beginners & those who are looking to expand their knowledge base. I am an experienced soap-maker, and while I have read many books on the subject, this is the book that I go back to time and time again.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews