Pure Soapmaking: How to Create Nourishing, Natural Skin Care Soaps Spiral-bound – Illustrated, January 26, 2016

I didn't want to like this book--I really thought it would be just a gimmick for selling soap-making tools and equipment through the author's web business. But I ended up enjoying it in spite of myself! The recipes mostly stick to wholesome ingredients, and the author suggests and demonstrates some VERY creative ideas and techniques that I can't wait to try! Although the projects would definitely be easier with the specific Brambleberry equipment, colorants, etc. called for with the recipes, I think most of them could be adjusted to be done without all the special stuff--at least for an experienced soap maker. And that's what I'm planning to do! She offers insights into which recipes should be insulated and pushed through the gel stage, and which should not--that was something new and interesting to me. She's tried several ingredients that I was hesitant to try, for fear of having to throw out an entire batch of failed soap ($$$$). So, I now feel comfortable using bananas, for example, or cucumber pulp and peel, lemons, etc. I'm really eager to dig in and try some new things, thanks to Anne-Marie's creative ideas and demonstrations. The pictures in this book are what make it so appealing--they are not only beautiful, but very helpful as well. I also really enjoy the spiral, lay-flat binding--super helpful for using at the soap table. Just a note...she isn't overly concerned about temperatures with most of the recipes, so if you're a by-the-rule kind of soap maker (like I am), that might take a bit of getting used to. This is a good book for the experienced cold-process soaper, but for someone just starting out, I'd start with a more basic one. (She does go over the basic cold-process procedure at the beginning of the book, and then reviews it with each recipe.)

I decided to buy this book after watching Anne-Marie the author ‘ s YouTube videos on soap making which were awesome very detailed, informative, organized, great quality for a beginner soap maker like me. She actually explains her recipes the do’s and don’t ‘s and the why of each ingredients … AMAZING!!!After reading some reviews here on Amazon , I kind of lowered my expectations of the book but I wanted to see for myself what they were talking about.Obviously, some reviewers are just haters to say the least.This book is beautiful, loaded with high quality colored pictures, detailed steps and informations on products she uses and why.I do not regret at all my purchase. This book is exactly a picture of the author’s great personality and work ethics.Some get offended or judge her because she uses palm oil.There is a section in the book where she talks about “Sustainable Palm Oil”Definitely helpful for a beginner soap maker like me😊I can’t speak for everyone out there

Covid brought out my crafty side, but what else is there to do nowadays except make things and spend money on amazon.....but this was actually pretty cool. It seemed very challenging at first, myth first recipe was Aloe Vera Swirl. More difficult than I thought during the process. But after doing a recipe once, you get to see how you could have done things better in the first place, maybe line things up, have things ready to go. I really wished I had looked for cheaper things to use during the process instead of going out to buy new items. The book says you can use things around the house and I should have not started until I found cheaper used kitchen items. I was so impatient and ready to jump in. A great read, I enjoyed the learning process, the recipes look so cool and fun. My advice, do the simple ones first. I got so excited by what I made with my own two hands that Im seriously considering doing this from home as a little side gig. Best of luck to you and enjoy the process.

The photographs in this book are absolutely gorgeous! I've been making soap for some time now and purchased this book for some inspiration. I love the fact that each soap recipe has it's own photo tutorial, as some of the designs are very complex, but wonderful! I like her soap recipes and combinations, but have done some slight substituting. The reason I took one star away is because I absolutely hate the fact that she ruins many of these beautiful, natural soaps with artificial coloring and dyes! I have taken it upon myself to find natural color options for all the artifical ones, in recipes I've made.. I have made 7 of these soaps so far, and each one I was able to find a natural option for the dyes and colors! I wish she would have at least given natural alternatives to some of the dyes and colorants. I had to do some trial and error, and research, I purchased this book so I wouldn't have to, and would have an easy reference. I make soap specifically to avoid artificial and synthetic ingredients. I do love the soap recipes and as I said the photos are amazing. Over all this book gets 4 stars and a definite recommendation to any soap maker looking for recipes and inspiration! UPDATE: I wanted to update my review after I reread it, just to clarify on what I said about her use of artificial colorants and dyes. She does have a few pages in the beginning of the book that lists natural dyes. She also took the liberty to photograph the soap after coloring with each natural dye and then another photo 5 months later (some of the soaps with natural dyes change to a deeper color). So this is a nice part of the book. However, I wish she had incorporated these natural dyes into the actual recipes. Even so, the recipes are awesome and all the choices of unique designs are great. I also enjoy that she uses recycled mateial for many of the molds, although you would have to purchase molds for some of her soaps (conveniently from her website).