Smart Soapmaking Around the Year: An Almanac of Projects, Experiments, and Investigations for Advanced Soap Making

by Anne L. Watson

Overview

SPECIAL NOTE! -- ANNE WILL PERSONALLY ANSWER ANY QUESTION OF YOURS AFTER READING THIS BOOK. ASK ON HER WEB SITE, AND YOU'LL NORMALLY HEAR BACK WITHIN HOURS!

In between writing several of today's most popular and innovative beginner books on soapmaking -- including the modern classics "Smart Soapmaking" and "Milk Soapmaking" -- Anne L. Watson engaged in a number of projects, experiments, and investigations into areas of advanced soapmaking. A lot of it never got into those books!

Now Anne shares with you her explorations into such topics as herbal soaps, chocolate soaps, silk soaps, sea soaps, "wood" soaps, citrus soaps, cucumber soaps, oatmeal soaps, egg soaps, beer and wine soaps, castile soap, and even laundry soap. Along the way, she shares hard-earned tips about soap equipment and ingredients, choosing soapmaking suppliers, designing and resizing recipes, troubleshooting, trace accelerants, soda ash, essential oils and fragrances, natural colorants, gift soaps, and soapmaking as a business. And as a special bonus, she provides a fun and instructive look at the history of soap ads, using antique trade cards from her personal collection.

Looking for new challenges as a soapmaker? Anne's soapmaking almanac will keep you busy, engaged, and entertained throughout the year.

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Anne L. Watson is the author of "Smart Soapmaking," "Milk Soapmaking," three more books on making soap and lotion, other popular books on home crafts and lifestyle, and many novels and children's books. In a previous career, she was a historic preservation architecture consultant. Anne lives in Bellingham, Washington.

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SAMPLE

Almost any kind of soap will get you clean. But beyond that, what do we look for? There are so many things to consider -- lather, fragrance, color, and effects on the skin, to name just a few.

Then there's the whole process of making that soap. Is it easy or tricky? How long does the soap need to age before it's safe and pleasant to use?

What additives are beneficial? Which affect the chemistry of the process? How can we get around difficulties?

How do you turn soapmaking into a business, if that's what you want?

This almanac started life as a monthly "magazine" posted on my web site, where I shared projects, experiments, and investigations I took up between writing my first three books on soap and lotion making. There was a lot that never got into the books!

Along with practical questions, I gave some attention to the social and cultural side of soap -- to attitudes and prejudices and myths. I'm fascinated by soap advertising and its claims, and by the history of the daily process of cleaning ourselves, our homes, and our clothing. All of that says a lot about where we've been, and maybe something about where we're going.

I'm glad now to offer all this in the more enduring form of an almanac -- something to keep in your collection of soapmaking references.

Before we start, though, here are just a few practical notes:

Most important, this is not a beginning soapmaker's "how-to" book. It contains many recipes, but they're mostly just ingredients lists, because I assume you already know how to make soap. If you do need basic directions, please see one or more of my other books -- especially "Smart Soapmaking" and "Milk Soapmaking" -- or any other reputable resource.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620355985
Publisher:	Next River Books
Publication date:	05/01/2023
Series:	Smart Soap Making , #6
Pages:	182
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.49(d)

Table of Contents

Before We Begin

JANUARY—SEA SOAPS
Sea Products in Soapmaking—Why?
Salt Soap
Seaweed Soaps
100% Coconut Oil Soap
Sand Soap
Classic Soap Ads—Sapolio
What Would I Do?
Soap Equipment—Tips and Tricks
Soap Ingredients FAQ
Soaps from the Past—Aleppo Soap

FEBRUARY—CHOCOLATE SOAPS
Chocolate in Soapmaking—Why?
Kinds of Chocolate for Soapmaking
Cocoa Butter as a Soapmaking Fat
Using Chocolate Products in Soapmaking
Do Chocolate Scent and Color Survive?
Dark Chocolate Soap
Cocoa Butter Soap
Chocolate Coconut Soap
Chocolate-ish Soap
Chocolate Scents
Vanilla and Discoloring
What Would I Do?
Resizing a Soap Recipe
Soaps from the Past—Marseille Soap

MARCH—LAUNDRY SOAP
Homemade Laundry Soap—Why?
Ingredients for Homemade Laundry Soap
Basic Laundry Soap #1
Basic Laundry Soap #2
Grating Soap
Soaps from the Past—Laundry the Old Way
Castile Soap—Why?
Castile Soap Experiments
Easy Castile Soap with Variations
Increasing Lather
Dog Soap
What Would I Do?
Soaps from the Past—Historical Castile Soap

APRIL—EGG SOAPS
Eggs in Soapmaking—Why?
Egg Yolk Soap
Swedish Egg White Soap
Cool Whole Egg Soap
Does Egg Soap Spoil Quickly?
Designing Soaps for Different Uses
Analyzing and Fixing Problems
Soaps from the Past—Additives in Soap

MAY—SILK SOAPS
Silk in Soapmaking—Why?
Using Silk in Soapmaking
Using Floral Scents
Flowers-and-Silk Soap
Floral Soap with Coconut Milk
Using Fruit Fragrances
Soaps from the Past—Wild, Weird, and Wonderful Soap Ads

JUNE—CUCUMBER SOAPS
Cucumbers in Soapmaking—Why?
Avoiding Burned Cucumber Odor
Basic Cucumber Soap and Variations
Cucumber and Apricot Soap
Cucumber and Avocado Soap
Color—Natural and Artificial
Hardness
Does Cucumber Accelerate Trace?
What Would I Do?
Low Temperature Soapmaking

JULY—CITRUS SOAPS
Citrus in Soapmaking—Why?
Fading and Citrus Essential Oils
Basic Citrus Soap and Variations
Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit Soap
Lemongrass, Coconut, and Almond Soap
Creamy Orange Soap
What Would I Do?
Soapmaking as a Business

AUGUST—HERBAL SOAPS
Herbs in Soapmaking—Why?
Botanicals in Soap
Infusing Oils with Herbs
Herb Teas
Herb Essential Oils and Fragrances
Botanicals and Lye
Basic Herbal Soap and Variations
Coconut Almond Soap with Herb Tea
Triple Calendula Soap
Tomato Basil Soap
Lavender, Shea, and Almond Soap
Working with Accelerants
What Would I Do?

SEPTEMBER—OATMEAL SOAPS
Oatmeal in Soapmaking—Why?
Rolled Oats and Oat Flour
Honey and Beeswax
Liquids—Milk, Cream, and Oat Milk
Cinnamon and Other Spices
Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey Fragrance Oils
Basic Oatmeal Soap and Variations
Oatmeal, Wheat Germ, and Buttermilk Soap
What Would I Do?
Selecting Vendors

OCTOBER—BEER AND WINE SOAPS
Beer and Wine in Soapmaking—Why?
Experimenting—Why?
Using Alcoholic Beverages in Soapmaking
Basic Beer Soap and Variations
All-Veg Beer Soap
Trying Wine in Soapmaking
Wine Soap Experiments and Recipes
What Would I Do?
Developing Your Own Recipes
An Approach to Experimenting

NOVEMBER—NATURAL COLORANTS
Natural Colorants in Soapmaking—Why?
Using Natural Colorants in Soapmaking
Colors, Oils, and Soap
Plant-Based Colorants
Other Natural Colorants
Basic Colored Soap #1
Basic Colored Soap #2
Alkanet Root Soap Experiment
Madder Root Soap Experiment
Pumpkin Pie Soap
What Would I Do?
Taming the Soda Ash Monster

DECEMBER—WOOD SOAPS
Wood Scents in Soapmaking—Why?
Basic Wood Soap and Variations
Evergreen and Other Tree Essential Oils
Sandalwood EO vs. FO—Is the Difference Worth the Cost?
Soaps from the Past—Pine Tar Soap
Easy Pine Tar Soap
What Would I Do?
Fragrances and Essential Oils for Gift Soaps
Holiday Fragrance Oils
Gift Soap in a Hurry
Packaging Soaps for Gifts
Giving a Soapmaking Lesson
Shaving Soap
Home Fragrancing