Rating: 
Summary: There are WAY BETTER soapmaking books to buy...
Review: About 4 years ago I was very interested in making my own soaps & I was thrilled when I found this book at a garage sale for $0.50! Unfortunatly when I got home & popped it open I was scared away from soapmaking for about 3 years! No kidding, this book presents the simple, relaxing and enjoyable craft of soapmaking as a looming, expensive, dangerous task. Last year when I decided to try it again I carefully avoided this book and went in search for something helpful and informative. I came up with 'melt & pour soapmaking' by Marie Browning. That book is absolutly amazing! It dosen't get into making soap from scratch, but it is a wonderful way to ease yourself into this hobby. I highly recomend it to all beginners & advanced soapmakers alike. It's simple yet detailed & an easy, fun read. In contrast this book makes the whole process seem more complicated than it ever should be. Now that I know what I'm doing, and I feel completely confident in my craft I've gone back to this book and I've found that it really does have quite a bit of useful knowledge. It's too bad that it's not writen in a very user-friendly manner. Overall what I'm saying is that it contains good information, but there are way better soap making books out there for you to spend your money on. And if your new to soap making don't even consider this one!
Rating: 
Summary: Good for EXPERIENCED soapmakers!
Review: At first I wasn't too sure about this book. The author mixes standard measurements with metric (a big no-no!) which has the potential for creating disaster with people who are not experienced with their differences. Also she is not specific about temperatures so I ruined a couple of batches when I attempted to mix when the oils and sodium hydroxide were too cool. My advice: use a hand-mixer to get to trace (10 minutes!!) and mix at 120 degrees F. LOTS OF SUCCESS WITH THESE TECHNIQUES!!
Rating: 
Summary: Cavitch's book is clear, complete and easy to use.
Review: Cavitch provides the beginning soapmaker with an excellent chemical and historical explanation of soap and the soapmaking process. She includes clear, step-by-step instructions for making basic soap recipes, as well as giving the amateur soapmaker tips on customized soaps. She includes an excellent section on trouble-shooting, and other practical suggestions for successful soapmaking. Her reference section is especially helpful, offering a range of soapmaking suppliers and a soapmaking bibliography. Her recipes work, and the soap is great
Rating:
Summary: Reference--Wow; Recipes--Well?
Review: For me, Cavitch's book was the key to unlocking two other books: The Handmade Soap Book by Melinda Coss and The Complete Soapmaker by Norma Coney. (I loved them for their beautiful photos and their wonderful recipes for which I didn't have to second-mortgage the house.) Cavitch explained how to figure the amount of lye well. (Though Coss's SAP list makes more sense: why not build the conversion from KOH to NaOH into the table, Susan?) She gave great information on which fats contribute what to the recipe. She talked about superfatting. With Susan's help I could make substitutions in any recipe to accomodate available materials. Speaking of, Cavitch's recipes are all based on expensive, hard-to-find ingredients. (Who can find palm oil locally? And have you priced jojoba oil?) Each recipe is for twelve pounds! I can't afford to experiment at that level. I like Coney's approach better: use tallow or lard in combinations to make large basic batches that you can mill later to make a variety of soaps that mold well and don't subject your expensive additions to lye exposure. So while I haven't made a single recipe from her book, I've really used her tables, her wrapping ideas, and her diagnostics.
Rating:
Summary: Reference--Wow; Recipes--Well?
Review: For me, Cavitch's book was the key to unlocking two other books: The Handmade Soap Book by Melinda Coss and The Complete Soapmaker by Norma Coney. (I loved them for their beautiful photos and their wonderful recipes for which I didn't have to second-mortgage the house.) Cavitch explained how to figure the amount of lye well. (Though Coss's SAP list makes more sense: why not build the conversion from KOH to NaOH into the table, Susan?) She gave great information on which fats contribute what to the recipe. She talked about superfatting. With Susan's help I could make substitutions in any recipe to accomodate available materials. Speaking of, Cavitch's recipes are all based on expensive, hard-to-find ingredients. (Who can find palm oil locally? And have you priced jojoba oil?) Each recipe is for twelve pounds! I can't afford to experiment at that level. I like Coney's approach better: use tallow or lard in combinations to make large basic batches that you can mill later to make a variety of soaps that mold well and don't subject your expensive additions to lye exposure. So while I haven't made a single recipe from her book, I've really used her tables, her wrapping ideas, and her diagnostics.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of basic info
Review: I have been making soap for about 3 years and I have had a lot of botched batches of soap along the way. Most of my mistakes were by following the advice of "experts" who have written books about how to make soap. At the beginning I bought Susuan Miller Cavitch's book on how to make Natural Soap and Herbal Soaps and I tried to follow her advice. I couldn't figure out how to calculate the lye. You have to be a "rocket scientist" to figure it out if you try to do it her way. I followed her advice on putting wax paper in the bottom of my box and the wax paper turned to mush and I couldn't get the soap out without mashing it all up. I started out by making huge batches of soap like she said and I found that when a batch of soap doesn't turn out you have wasted huge amounts of time, effort and money. And what do you do with all that soap unless you are in the business of selling soap? And what beginner is? I think l-2 pound batches are much better. You can experiment and learn your craft and not have huge amounts of money lost if it fails. She has no recipes for small batches. Also I think 80 degrees is way too low for the fat temperature. I have found that ll0 degrees works out for me every time. Soap making is really easy, not nearly as scarey as she makes it look. I did like the sources at the end of the book and have found some really good suppliers from it. All in all, I think her book is interesting to read, but just don't take it too seriously if you are a beginner. If you have been making soap for a while, then pick it up and read it.
Rating:
Summary: Preachy Book With Pricey Recipes
Review: I love to make soap for my family and to sell. I find "The Natural Soap Book" to be a great disappointment. The recipes produce huge batches, so you'd better be an expert because after buying the expensive ingredients needed, if you are just learning or mess up you've got a very pricey addition to add to your trash. I didn't appreciate the preachy tone of this book either. I know it is important to broaden the horizons of the reader but Cavitches style was off-putting rather than transforming. The useful parts of the book are the explanations of ingredients sans the opinions and 1 or 2 recipes. Best to check this out of the library unless you enjoy burning your money.
Rating:
Summary: Good foundation!
Review: I've been making cold process soap and selling the results to consumers for six years. I find The Natural Soap Book: Making Herbal and Vegetable-Based Soaps - by Susan Miller Cavitch to be an excellent foundation. * I'd like to point out the recipes are very large and reducing the values of lye/fat/water tend to be a little complex.
Rating:
Summary: Top-notch information for new and experienced soapmakers!
Review: I've been making soap for fun and profit for 3 years and have found this book to be the most informative and comprehensive of any I've read--and I've read a lot! Great recipes, easy-to-follow instructions, and wonderful ideas. This is truly my soapmaker' bible--I use it constantly! This is the perfect start-up book for beginners, as well as a great resource for more experienced soapers.
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction to the Cold-Process Method
Review: If you are looking for an solid foundation of information for the cold-process method of soapmaking, get this book and its companion, "The Soapmaker's Companion" by the same author. This book provides a great deal of information to making cold-process (mostly vegetable-based) soaps. Some of the material is a little heavy (the parts on the chemistry of soapmaking) but is very important information if you want to learn to be creative and create your own recipes. The recipes are quite large, as some other reviewers commented, and the great thing about the companion book is the smaller recipes. You will not be able to find most of these ingredients at your local supermarket (e.g. pomace olive oil and palm oil). The recipes call for the real ingredients used in the industry that you will have to find - but with the popularity of the Internet, finding these ingredients is much easier than it used to be. This book may not be a one-stop-shop for information, but this book and the Companion come VERY close!
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