Natural cleansers
Handmade soap... once you start, you’ll never go back
Why bother making soap when there are already plenty on the market? An obvious question Sarah Harper attempts to answer in her introduction for The Natural & Handmade Soap Book: “Once I started making my own [soap], I knew there was no going back.”
Handmade soap can be a great alternative for those allergic to products sold at market. The writer points out that quite often commercially-made soaps do not use glycerine in their products and, despite it being a natural by-product of the soap-making process, sell it separately for other purposes. Glycerine is important as it enables soap to soothe and clean without irritation. In making one’s own soap, it is essential therefore to keep that marvellous ingredient included.
The Natural & Handmade Soap Book introduces you to the basic techniques, like cold process, and how to melt and pour soap base, to the more advanced techniques needed to make a good bar of soap.
The book is divided into three sections. The first, Luxurious Lathers, contains various soap recipes, all of which use botanical ingredients with fruity fragrances to make the soaps more irresistible.
The next section of the book is Messy Play, designed especially for children. By following these easy recipes, kids can experience making soaps safely for home-use or as a gift. It can also be a great and fun activity.
The last section, Natural Living, discusses other cleansing products like shampoos, washing powders, cleaning sprays and dishwasher tablets. As most are made from detergent and contain chemicals that are generally unfriendly to both users and the environment, Harper recommends replacing detergent with handmade soap.
Once your handmade soaps are finished, this book also gives you some ideas on how to package and wrap them.
The Natural & Handmade Soap Book is presented with beautiful pictures. This book shows that making soap is not just about the science, but can be another kind of art as it allows makers to bring out their creativity in the process.