Castile Soapmaking: The Smart Guide to Making Castile Soap, or How to Make Bar Soaps From Olive Oil With Less Trouble and Better Results (Smart Soap Making Book 4) Kindle Edition

I purchased the kindle version because the price on it was excellent and I didn't want to wait 2 days to make some castile soap. Her research is amazing and I took the plunge today. I made her herb castile soap. I subbed the water with aloe vera juice. I have never been able to unmold my soap without at least 24 hours. I was worried about that with castile soap as so many people talk about waiting 2 weeks just to unmold. Well, it is my fastest unmolding ever. It took all of 4 hours, maybe even less to harden up. I used hot process method with my crockpot. In love with how it turned out! Infused olive oil with herbs from my garden in addition to chamomile, rose, calendula, and spriula powder. I think I can smell the chamomile still!

This is my 4th book by Anne Watson. I have her soap making, lotion making and milk soap books. I have enjoyed making the recipes in Anne’s books. I learned soap making and lotion making from Anne. I made Castile soap once a few years ago. It was slimy at first but after curing about a year in my dry desert climate, turned out pretty nice. When I saw this book, I was immediately interested in the technique Anne has figured out for making it easier and better. She does not disappoint! Everything you need and want to know is presented clearly and concisely, as Anne always does. Looking forward to using Anne’s Castile technique and recipes ...and the Bastille recipes, too!

Like all the books written by this author, I love it. It's easy to read and has a lot of information on making soap. I am new to soap making and so far have not actually made soap. I am reading everything I can and also have almost all the equipment and ingredients I need. I have read several books on soapmaking and some are not easy to follow or read so I am very pleased with this book.

Well written book that breaks down the basics of castile soap making.

I really liked reading about the differences in making castile soap compared to the soap I usually make with butters & solid oils. The recipes are easy to follow & the soap is very nice.

A really nice book. I have just started to venture into the homemade cosmetics.This gives you detailed information about the process and how to go about it. Covers the topics where thing may go wrong. It seems like a personal lesson. Really good work Anne I actually love all your books on homemade cosmetics. Keep up the good work.

Got this book when it was free to download, now it makes me want to buy the rest of her books. have been making soap and was going to try making a castle soap. After reading this book, i knew i really need to to read it before trying my hands on making castle soap.it's informational with lots of tips 'you must know'

Does not include information on liquid Castile Soap as I had hoped. It didn't claim to, I just thought it would. I had also hoped for more information on working with KOH, which I found, oddly, on a website for making Biodiesel. The good tips I found on the biodiesel website are as follows:1. According to the website KOH does not interact with polypropylene. You can look at your container and if it has a recycle number 5 with a little pp under it, it's polypropylene and is safe. I'm using a rubbermaid pitcher and a yogurt container. You should not mix KOH in glass. The reaction generates heat, so you don't want it to melt your plastic or blow up glass - see step three.2. Use a container that is much larger than what you need when mixing the KOH into the water.3. Put some cold water or ice in a sink and place your mixing container into the cold water (make sure it doesn't want to float and tip over). This will allow the heat generated during the reaction of the water and KOH to dissipate into the surrounding cold.4. add the KOH slowly and stir.5. don't breath or get fumes on you - do in a well ventilated area with no wind. obviously wear protective clothing, gloves, mask etc.Other - MSDS says to rinse any you get on you for quite a while with water. Some people use Vinegar, but I've read that causes a reaction you don't want happening on your skin. I keep the vinegar handy to neutralize my tools/equipment as I'm washing things, and so I don't get anything down my drain that will react in the drain. This issue could use some more research - vinegar or no vinegar. I would also like to know how long, while making liquid soap, is the steam from the soap making terribly caustic? It seems after the initial reaction of adding the KOH to the water and then mixing it into the oil, people dispense with the mask and gloves - but I'm not sure that's a good idea. Please do some research yourself before making soap. It can actually be dangerous. Verify what I've found. I'm not an expert.

if you want to learn about castile soap - look no further: this book is all you need

The author knows her stuff. She is a REAL soapmaker and knows what she is doing and this book will actually teach you about soapmaking. If you want nice mild soaps made with mainly olive oil then this is the book for you. As a soapmaker myself this is one author I can recommend.

I was expecting more but the 'book' was very brief. I am disappointed that I had to pay for information that can be obtained for free elsewhere on soap making websites.

Great book, lots of helpful details. Ms. Watson is an experienced author.

Helpful book