The Complete Photo Guide to Soap Making

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Pub Date 9 Jan 2018 | Archive Date 20 Feb 2018

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Description

Homemade soaps, scrubs, salves, lotions, and other bath and body products have been popping up all over, from craft fairs to Etsy--and it's no surprise why. Soap making is a fun and creative hobby that you can do right in the comfort of your own kitchen. Want to learn how? Look no further. The Complete Photo Guide to Soap Making is an A-Z primer on all things soap making.

Written by About.com soap making expert David Fisher, this easy-to-use book will guide you through everything you need to know from necessary ingredients, tools, and safety requirements to soap making methods, including: melt and pour, hand milling, cold process, and hot process. You'll be a pro in no time!

Each chapter focuses on a specific method, demonstrating the basic process as well as decorative techniques, recipes, and related products such as scrubs, bath bombs, and liquid soaps. You'll also find a section on how to formulate original recipes, plus guidance on storage and ideas for packaging to impress your friends, family, and maybe even customers! So grab your creativity and some great ingredients and let's get started.

Homemade soaps, scrubs, salves, lotions, and other bath and body products have been popping up all over, from craft fairs to Etsy--and it's no surprise why. Soap making is a fun and creative...


Marketing Plan

Complete Photo Guide to Soap making

6 months pre-publication

  • Author will reach out to customers of his Bath Rabbit Soap Company and other members of the Handcrafted Soapmaker’s Guild. He is the soapmaking expert on About.com, has many fans across the world (as a quick search on Google will reveal) and reaches many with his newletter. He will use these platforms to announce his book announcement, and encourage preorders. 
  • Marketer will pitch long lead DIY targets – both traditional and Millennial (i.e. Bust, MAKE, Glamour, Mother Earth News) with exclusive soap recipes
  • This guy is Mr Soap.
  • Should appeal to fans of the previous titles in the Complete Photo Guide Series


3 months pre-publication

  • Marketer will send ARCs to long lead women’s magazines – particularly those with DIY component – natural lifestyle, and Millennial Maker magazines (print circ. 500K+), major websites (750K+uvpm). This title should appeal to anyone interested in healthy living, self-sustaining lifestyles, and DIY
  • Author actively attends numerous soap and candle making conferences and classes. Should be booked for a demonstration/signing at Mother Earth Fairs
  • Video demonstration/teaser –in house, or author created


Publication

  • Primary pitch of finished books to national media magazines, major national daily newpapers, all DIY/Alt. Living / Healthy Lifestyle magazines
  • Secondary pitch of finished books to city newspapers, DIY/crafts blogs, women’s interest blogs, personal wellness blogs


3 months post-publication

  • Switch to author driven media outreach (tools and trick will be shared) and follow up 


Complete Photo Guide to Soap making

6 months pre-publication

  • Author will reach out to customers of his Bath Rabbit Soap Company and other members of the Handcrafted Soapmaker’s Guild. He is the...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781589239432
PRICE US$24.99 (USD)
PAGES 176

Average rating from 34 members


Featured Reviews

Wow, this book was so great! The steps are easy to follow, it is FILLED with high quality pictures, and answered every question I had about soap making and loads more.

If you're new (or fairly new) to soap making, I would highly recommend picking up this book! It will have all you need.

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Having dabbled in soap making in the past I can appreciate the work that went into making this book appeal to both novice and expert alike. The photos are super helpful and inspiring for anybody interested in making their own soaps.

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Having wanted to start making soaps for a very long time, this book felt like a God-send! I told my boyfriend that I got this book and his immediate reaction was "uuuuuuh, nice!".
It's a wonderful guide! It has pictures of the process, instructions, recipes and all sorts of guides! This is going to be my guide to make dozens of soaps! Pretty sure I won't buy soaps again!

And this a wonderful gift for someone who likes DIY or soaps. I already have a gift to give to my boyfriend: dozens of soaps!

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Wow, where to begin? I have been wanting to try soap making for awhile now, but have been intimidated. The step by step instructions, with detailed pictures, in this book give me the confidence to tackle it. I can't get over how great the pictures are. They are colorful and do not leave any room for guessing on what each step should look like. There is even a section on what to do when you make a mistake. Now I know what everyone is getting next year for Christmas! Hats off to Mr. Fisher for creating such a great guide on soap making.

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great photo guide! Lots of good information that really helped me understand and get started making soaps!

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I thought this book was great, including much more than anticipated. Every soap-making process described was accompanied by photos. There were troubleshooting tips for the beginner.

Extras like fizzy bath bombs, bath salts, a resource guide and online communities were a real plus. The author was good to stress the safety tips regarding working with lye, and making sure the additives used are good for skin.

I've made my own soap twice (once a success and once a failure). I'm encouraged by this book to try again!

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Having planned to take up a few new crafts in 2018, when I saw The Complete Photo Guide to Soap Making on NetGalley, I thought it would be an interesting read. What I loved about this book was the perfect blend of instructions and imagery. It offered step-by-step guides as well as general information on different aspects of soap making, including safety when using the various chemicals involved. This is the perfect read for anyone thinking of beginning soap making, and probably has some useful tips for those already creating. Not sure yet if soap making will be the hobby for me, but if I do go ahead with it, I will definitely purchase a copy of this book to keep beside me.

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Wow! David Fisher has nailed it with this Photo Guide to Soap Making, it really is complete! His knowledge of soap making is second to none and his ability to teach using pictures and text is phenomenal! This book is, indeed, a comprehensive guide to making your own soap. It explains the process of making hand-milled, melt-and-pour, cold process and hot process soap in a thorough and accessible manner. Fisher not only provides tips and tricks as well as fail proof recipes but he explains the actual chemical reactions involved in soap making in easy to understand, nontechnical terms. This is the only book you will ever need to make your own soap, and related products such as bath salts, bath bombs and liquid hand soap. It starts with the history of soap and ends with a index (Yes!). It is obvious that Fisher knows his soaps and has put a great deal of planning into this book. This reviewer is only left wondering why the word “Bible” is not in the title. This is the only book I have ever read on my ereader that I want to buy in hard copy! Great job, David Fisher!

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I really liked this book, it starts by giving you a brief history about soap and then continues with how to make your own. I loved the images and the informative instructions alongside the ingredients to make your own soap. Once made these would make lovely gifts. If you want to learn how to make your own soap then this is the book for you.

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Beautiful Book!

Tons of color photos and step-by-step directions. Plus lots of ideas for beautiful projects. With the knowledge in this book, you won't be intimidated by any soap making project. And the best bonus was the Fizzy Bath Bomb recipe!

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5 Stars! I absolutely loved this book!! It has everything & anything about soap making in it! It also has tons of helpful photos to go along with all the information! If you are looking into making soap, this is the book to get! It seriously covers EVERYTHING about making all different kinds of soap. What tools you’ll need? Covered! What ingredients you’ll need? It’s in there! How to put it in a mold? Got it, with pictures! I HIGHLY recommend this book to any level of soap making DIY’er!
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own!*

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It’s a good book for beginners and with different recipes to different kinds of soap. So far I’ve tried Melt and pour and the grated soap, so I’m willing to try another kind.

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Very useful resource book. Good pictures, detail and techniques. I am a regular soap maker and will refer to this often. Thank you

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Interesting guide to soap making, for the beginner and advanced soap maker.

Quite extensive guide, since it covers the four different methods to make soap. There is an introduction to each of the different types of soap making followed by some tried and tested recipes.

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It would be difficult to find fault with this very thorough and cleanly presented resource for everything soapmaking. The author presents the craft in a very non-fussy way, with simple photographs and layout to make sure that the information is what is most important. The soaps themselves are quite lovely with beautiful presentations and a lot of creativity. The addition of trouble shooting sections means you are covered if what you produce isn't working as described.

The book has a brief introduction of soap making history, the essentials of soap making, and then breaks the majority of the book into three types of soap making: hand milled, melt and pour, and cold/hot process soaps. Each of these sections have copious amounts of photographs but they are illustrative and the focus is on the directions/words.

Everything looks to be covered here - from essential oils, exfoliates, colorants, scents, molds, and even both bombs and other bath accessories. Since there are step by step images for every section, it's very easy to follow each of the various recipes. Since the photographs feature really lovely designed soaps, there is a lot of inspiration in here as well.

In all, one of the most comprehensive and easy-to-follow soap making books I have come across. This is meant as a one-stop resource guide and it succeeds admirably. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

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I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
When I first open up this beautifully photographed guide I was amazed as the photographs of some of the soaps looked good enough to eat. I have tried to make soap in the past without much success. But with this guide it gave me the courage to try again. From the introduction and through the history of soap making I was hooked and knew if I followed the instructions I would succeed in the future. The amount of different recipes and the different ways of making soaps kept me reading all the way through. I always thought that there were only a couple of ways to make the most essential soaps but this guide has introduced me to many other ways to soap-making. I would give this book a big 5+stars as a must use guide to the newcomer soap-maker and for new ideas to the expert soap-maker.

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I've always wondered how those fancy and pretty loaf style soaps were made as I wandered past and was drawn in by the smell radiating from Lush on a Saturday afternoon, and this book certainly gives you all the information and know-how to give it a go yourself.

There are four types of soaps that can be made: hand milled or rebatched soap, melt & pour soap, cold process soap and hot process soap.

Each chapter of soap making comes with excellent instructions and pictures to accompany each method, along with recipes for different types of soap you can make.

The instructions tell you how to calculate the quantities and also points you to an online calculator for further confirmation. The amounts are in both imperial and metric which is very handy.

Also included in this book is how to make bath bombs, a history of soap and tools you'll need to get going.

There is a list of suppliers to use (though not for my country), though I'm sure it would be easy enough to find they relevant suppliers in England.

I received #TheCompletePhotoGuideToSoapMaking from #netgalley in return for an honest review.

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I love making cold process soap and have wanted more style challenges so I was thrilled to be able to read The Complete Photo Guide to Soap Making through NetGalley. In it, David Fisher covers the well trampled ground of supplies, exfoliates and colorants. When he gets to discussing fragrances there is a nice chart to distinguish the spicy from the fruity. Where this book really shines is the discussion of soaping types and creations. With brilliant pictures, the possibilities made my mind spin with new plans. From embeds to swirl patterns, troubleshooting and additional bath and beauty products it is in The Complete Photo Guide to Soap Making. Grab up your copy or gift it to your soapy friend! Disclosure: I was allowed to read a copy of this book for free as a member of NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I was not influenced to give a positive review.

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This is an extremely thorough no-nonsense guide to everything you ever wanted to know about soap making. The photos are clearly presented and the topics range from the very basic (equipment) to the very advanced (scents, moisturizing, hand-milled).

Reading this book makes me want to run out tomorrow and buy soap molds and lye! And the first thing I will do is re-read this book to make sure I buy the right ingredients and equipment. If you are considering taking on this fun craft, this is the perfect go-to guide!

Many thanks to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

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I received a ARC of this book via Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review. I so can't wait to try all of these with my friends and family too. We will have a ball with all of this info in learning how to make our own soap. It is something me and my son have enjoyed trying together as we have gone through this book.

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Very informative book. I have always wanted to learn how to make handmade soap. And I have actually tried it a few times. The times I have tried it was done with a simple recipe and a candy mold. It did work well but I wanted to be able to make soap in several ways and using different ingredients. Bath soaps and hand soaps need different recipes. This book is great. It gives you those different recipes, as well as different ways to make and mold the soaps. I will be making saps for my bathroom, kitchen, and as gifts. I am actually excited by this book. This book also walks you through the steps of making soaps with nice pictures.

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A lovely book that covers all aspects of soap making. As a newbie to this craft I especially appreciate the many photographs which accompany the written instructions. Once you have mastered all the various methods of soap making, the book also gives instructions on how to make other products. These include liquid soap and bath bombs. If you enjoy the projects in this book, I feel that with the range of products included, you could easily set up a small business selling great quality bath products!

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After reading this book (with zero prior knowledge of soap-making), I think that I am well-prepared to make many types of soap. Everything is clearly explained, in text and helpful pictures. I think that this would be a great craft to do with children, too, since they will love using the finished soaps or giving them as gifts.

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I have made several batches of cold processed soap over the past few months, so I was really interested in reading David Fisher's "The Complete Photo Guide to Soap Making" to see what new tips I might learn from him. The book is really well laid out and incredibly easy to follow along with making it perfect for beginners. There are so many different and wonderful recipes to try, and many different methods, so there is bound to be something to interest everyone. I can't wait to make a batch with dried orange peel as an exfoliant, I even have a jar I have dried myself since first reading about it in this book. If you have ever wondered if soap making might be for you, then I highly recommend reading this book!

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This is a definitive guide to soap making. The author has crafted a easy to follow set of instructions with gorgeous photos of each type of soap. I enjoyed the different recipes and the advice on what to do in case of error. This is a great book to add to your collection for creating the craft of soap making. I enjoyed the variety the author choose for recipes and how easy the ingredients are to find.

Thank you for the ARC which does not influence my review

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I thought this book was great, I seemed to have an excess of coconut milk and was looking for something to do with it, then I found this book . Every soap-making process described was accompanied by photos. There were even troubleshooting tips for the beginner. Along with extras like fizzy bath bombs, bath salts, etc.

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Wonderful book for anyone who wants to learn about making soap. Definitely a keeper plenty of details about the different processes of making all types of soap.

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