Recently, I had the honor of previewing the soon to be released
"Soapmaking Made Easy-A Comprehensive Guide to Making Cold Process
Soap" an eBook written by my friend Erin (of Inner Earth Soaps fame.) I
can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I was to check it out. Erin has long been one of my muses in the soapmaking
world, and is quite known for her beautiful color combinations, gorgeous
textured tops and her clean technique. I can remember when I first started
making soap going to her blog almost daily just to marvel at her work. I guess
I thought I might learn by osmosis or something, but now she is sharing many of
her tried and true techniques with us as well as information on safety, formulas,
oil properties, colorants, additives, suppliers and more.
I found Erin's book to be very thorough and to have great information for both the new soapmaker as well as the more experienced soapmaker. New soapmakers will find important information they should know about before they even pick up a stick blender; such as the three different categories of soap (though the main focus is Cold Process), safety precautions (how to handle lye), oil properties, trusted formulas, how to create your own formulas based on the properties you want in your soap, how to tell when your soap is at trace, what "gel" is, how to rebatch and much more...
Erin even takes new soapmakers on a virtual soapmaking session where you will learn step by step what "trace" actually looks like, when to add scent and additives, what gel looks like and even how to cut soap you made only hours before.
Throughout the book, Erin gives tips and reminders that only a seasoned soapmaker would know, but a new soapmaker should take notice to. Her tips and reminders are invaluable morsels of experience. This example is very basic, but among one of the most important.
"Reminder-Only do one thing at a time. Cooking and making soap together do Not make a good combination."
While it seems like a pretty tongue in cheek sort of reminder-it is very important that you have a calm quiet area to work in. Multitasking is not recommended while attempting to use lye.
For the more advanced soapmakers Erin graciously unlocks the secrets behind several of her techniques (this is the moment I've been waiting for-somebody pinch me.) Erin gives step by step tutorials for techniques such as even layering, messy layering, hanger swirls, in the pot swirls, decorative textured tops and more. Woot with me now!
To sum it all up, I would highly recommend Erin's eBook for beginners, as well as more experienced soapmakers who want to expand their repertoire of techniques and learn something new from someone with a vast knowledge of soapmaking technique. Look for Erin’s eBook "Soapmaking Made Easy-A Comprehensive Guide to Making Cold Process Soap" to go live Thursday September 12, 2013-for free tutorials and to get your hands on her eBook be sure to sign up for her mailing list.
Pick up your "Soapmaking Made Easy" ebook here.
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