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Rating: 
Summary: Anyone can make milk soap with this easy explained book
Review: I hold this book close to my heart... It is easy explained and has all the information you need to make milk soap...If you want to make soap start with this book first... All the ingredients you need you will find in your grocery store, unlike other soap books I have read... I wished I would have purchases this book first when I started making soap...This book is a winner...You will not regret buying it... I didn't ;)
Rating: 
Summary: Overall a good book, but with a few oddities
Review: If you are an inexperienced soapmaker and you read this book, I think it is probably going to scare you to death. You'll drop the book and run away screaming and never give another instant of thought to making milk soaps. MILK-BASED SOAPS was an informative book and I feel that it taught me some useful things (I have my own soapmaking business), but I was making goats' milk soaps long before I read this book and it just isn't as hard as she makes it sound, I promise.
I was really, really puzzled by Makela's instruction to cool the milk/lye mixture down to 80 degrees F while having the fats/oils at 120 degrees F and THEN mixing the two together. She says in the book that the milk/lye mixture will want to keep separating and falling to the bottom of the pot while you stir -- there's a reason for that, you know. It's because there is not enough 'synergy' between these two substances that are being combined at such wildly disparate temperatures. You know what? I bring my milk/lye mixture and my fats/oils mixture both to 110 degrees F for a 6 pound batch of soap and I have NEVER had any trouble. And I do NOT use all the multiple pots and blenders to scoop the raw soap back and forth, etc. I use one heavy stainless steel pot, one sturdy plastic Rubbermaid pitcher for the lye/milk and one stick blender. This does not have to be a group effort. Makela tends to make this sound as if you need a tag team of willing friends dressed in Haz-Mat suits standing at the ready to assist you in your time of need.
Truly. I make this soap all by myself. I do it all the time. It only has to be a big hairy deal if you intentionally make it that way.
One part where Makela is dead-on right is when she says to put the milk (in its pitcher) into a cold bath -- I stop up one side of my sink and add cool water and ice cubes -- and then pour the lye flakes slo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-owly into the milk. She is correct when she says that this should be AT LEAST a fifteen minute process, which is one of the reasons why I charge more for my goats' milk soaps. I owe Makela a thanks for the cool water bath idea -- it's a great one and I have never had trouble with the goats' milk overheating since I've done that. I appreciate that advice immensely. When you stir rhythmically, add the lye slowly and keep the milk nice and cool, you'll always have a sunny yellow milk/lye mixture that will easily combine with the fats and oils to make a really beautiful, creamy, buttery beige-colored soap.
There were some nice recipes in this book and some worthy advice for marketing your handcrafted creations. All in all, it was a good book. Buy it -- and don't let yourself be intimidated by what is not really a difficult process at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Your B.S. May Come Handy
Review: If you have a degree in chemistry and feel comfortable working in a laborary environment this is a good book for you. I have found making milk-based soaps easy and fun but not as a result of Makela's book, which makes it seem intimidating, time staking and well, down right confusing. If you crave simplicity pass on this soapmaking book.
Rating:
Summary: using milk is easy, why is this a separate book?
Review: Making soap with milk as the liquid in the recipe, or as a portion of the liquid, is pretty easy if you've ventured forth and attempted to make soap. If you already own one of the basic books as from Bramson or Cavitch, you're 3/4 of the way there and this book is superfluous.Milk soaping is one of the biggest topics one finds addressed on the internet in the soap boards, it should also be noted. The author's methods never worked for me because they involve too many steps, but I suppose it comes down to learning a certain way and being set in one's ways whether something is useful technique or not. If you're making soap, you don't need this book at all. If you're looking to learn to make soap, get this book if you like complicated procedure. Otherwise, just get the Cavitch book(s) and take her superfatting ideas with a hefty grain of salt.
Rating:
Summary: Best jump start on first making soap yet
Review: The best introduction to soap making I have read. Clear instructions tells what to expect and what can go wrong. Clear list of materials not only for milk soap but for regular soaps too. Clearly written by someone who has made alot of soap.
Rating:
Summary: Good results, not too difficult
Review: The recipes are good, but too many of my questions remain unanswered (and I have been making soap for 10 years). Like why put so little honey in the honey and milk soap? And why is sugar an ingredient in the basic recipe? What purpose does it serve? What is the purpose of encouraging experimentation and then not giving enough information to experiment wisely? She says to do something or not do something without giving specific reasons all too often. I learned to make soap from Carla Emory's book, _Encylopedea of Country Living_ and the information there was much more sketchy than this. Still, I like it better in that it is at least sharing all it knows, while I feel the author of this little book is holding back what might well be the most vital information. I like some of her ideas but I'm not sure it was worth the money. I suppose the method of handling the milk was worth it though as to make milk soap was why I bought it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not enough information
Review: The recipes are good, but too many of my questions remain unanswered (and I have been making soap for 10 years). Like why put so little honey in the honey and milk soap? And why is sugar an ingredient in the basic recipe? What purpose does it serve? What is the purpose of encouraging experimentation and then not giving enough information to experiment wisely? She says to do something or not do something without giving specific reasons all too often. I learned to make soap from Carla Emory's book, _Encylopedea of Country Living_ and the information there was much more sketchy than this. Still, I like it better in that it is at least sharing all it knows, while I feel the author of this little book is holding back what might well be the most vital information. I like some of her ideas but I'm not sure it was worth the money. I suppose the method of handling the milk was worth it though as to make milk soap was why I bought it.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the novice but an excellent book
Review: This is one of my all time favorite books on making soap simply because anyone who owns goats or other livestock for milk, will find yet another way to put the best milk in the world to good use. This isn't for someone just starting out or for someone who lacks a sense of adventure or understands that trial and error are part of the journey be it making soap, dipped candles, canning, sewing etc.......
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the money spent.
Review: This is one of the better books I've read so far. The recipes are large, but the first few batches you make will probably be given away, so these are big enough for you to keep some as well as give away.
The history given is helpful, it was a pleasure to read. As for the methods she uses with the blender, it is alot of work, but it is faster than stirring by hand. Personally, I use my stick blender, less work all around.
It is not nessasary to use palm or coconut oils in soap, and they aren't even the base for all soaps as another reviewer wrote. My best soaps have olive oil as the base and no coconut or palm at all.
Milk soaps aren't for someone completely new to soapmaking.. try making basic soaps first. The recipes are all over the internet, but this book is easy enough to follow that someone who has been making soaps for a month or two will have no problems following it. Actually someone who has never made soap would be able to follow it, but a little experience before trying something that is tricky like milk soaps, wouldn't hurt.
Overall, for the money spent this book is worth it. Much more detailed and well thought out than another soapmaking book I read recently.
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