FROM THE PUBLISHER
The best way to know what is in the soap you use, is to make it yourself. Making your own soap is a fun and creative adventure, where traditional craft methods foster an ethical and healthy way of life.
Soapmaking is not difficult: have a look around in your kitchen, and you will find that most of the ingredients and tools you need are already there. While teaching how to make soap with everyday tools and wholesome ingredients, the Soap Naturally book encourages the rediscovery of a more genuine and appreciative bond with Nature, describing how we can take care of ourselves, while at the same time respecting the environment.
New soap and skin care makers will find everything they need to know about ingredients, additives, tools and methods. Soapmaking is easy, but there are secrets, which are revealed from reading the book in its entirety: background information, step-by-step instructions, reliable recipes that illustrate how to incorporate different types of ingredients to obtain top results, and tips on how to avoid common pitfalls are extensively covered and explained in clear, concise language.
Advanced soapmaking methods, including the revolutionary Discounted Water Cold Process and a truly natural method for liquid soap, will appeal to those experienced soapmakers, who are already familiar with the basics and are looking for leading-edge solutions, or starting points for further investigations in the area of natural skin care.
As a natural complement to natural soapmaking, a whole Chapter is dedicated to the ABC of natural skin care and offers a complete, no-nonsense guide on how best to use essential and fixed oils in developing truly skin-friendly nourishing and moisturising applications: lip and skin balms, ointments, oil blends and sera, creams and lotions.
Comprehensive reference sections collect a wide range of handy lookup tables and Web resources. Through the underlying connection with one of the most authoritative soapmaking mailing lists in the world, the book also offers privileged access to the intercontinental soapmaking network.
Soap Naturally - Ingredients, methods and recipes for natural handmade soap is completed by an 8-page colour photograph section, which walks through the crucial steps of making soap and shows the final results for all the recipes. Examples of the photos included in the Soap Naturally book are available from this page.
We invite you to join the natural soapmaking revolution: it is a wonderful journey!
♥ Soap Naturally is indeed a fantastic book, jam-packed with everything you need to know, written in an easy and concise format. Most importantly, it leaves you with a clear understanding of the whole concept to the art of soapmaking from newbie status to experienced alike.
I found it invaluable to see a book that is up to date with methods and containing several topics that are not even mentioned in other books.
Ersilia Vitale, Sydney
♥ I am delighted to recommend your book. There are far too many books with
lots of pretty pictures but very little good information, whereas yours is
the other way around, which is much better in my opinion.
Pat Silver, UK
♥ This is the one soap book you won't want to put down, even to go make soap. An easy to read, easy to follow book that will greatly appeal to beginners and newbies, yet full of interesting suggestions to attract and satisfy expert soap makers. Even I learned quite a few new tricks!
Anne Morgan, Anne Lee's Soap & Toiletries
♥ This book is very comprehensive and will be a good reference for newbies and the more experienced who want to learn more. Patrizia and Marina have not missed a beat!
Rebecca Midkiff, Aromatics & More (NZ)
♥ Soap Naturally is really interesting
right from page one. It really is different from other soap books, and very valuable for anyone wanting to know the nitty gritty of soapmaking.
Janice Ferrante, Skin Care Naturals
♥ This is a good book!
Not since The Soapmaker's Companion have I seen a book of this detail and quality. It has answered some questions I have had for a long time.
Thank you Anne (Anne Lee's, US distributor) for distributing it--it really is a find! Thanks for being so fast, too!
Jean-Marie, Daisycakes Soap
♥ I LOVE IT! I have just started CP soapmaking, and had bought another book (which was my starting point), but as a beginner, I found it to be lacking in a lot of areas, such as how to set up and clean up, etc. (Though it is good otherwise.)
Your book is SO comprehensive that all the points I had previously wished to be covered in the other book, are well and truly covered in your book - and then some!! It is obviously very well thought-through, and it shows.
Having a husband who is completing his PhD in Environmental Science, I am also impressed with your environmentally aware and responsible attitude. It's so important to promote at least the awareness! Your book will result in many more good deeds for the planet than you'd expect, I'm sure.
So, for many reasons, you have created a wonderful book - thank you!
Magda, Australia
♥ Soap Naturally is clear, well organized, jam packed with info on just about every soap topic imaginable, easy to read, and, knowing Marina, I can actually trust that the recipes & techniques work (unlike most other soap books I've read, which can be really misleading).
It's truly a book for soapers, not one of those glossy table books full of gorgeous photos and not much else. If you could only buy one soap book, this would have to be it. All the latest techniques & knowhow are in there. I'll be recommending it to all the newbies who ask me how to start, and I'm learning stuff myself - eg. all those amazing & evolving varieties of hot process that I've never tried - how they compare, which might be best for me to try. It confirms lots of practical knowhow I've figured out all by myself but have never seen written down, and it saves time when you're wanting to try something new. I also think it's an organized distillation of everything that's been talked about haphazardly in the Soapnatch mailing list over the past few years. So I'm just thinking that if I were starting out now, the book would save me quite a few years of trial and error!
The other thing that comes shining through for me is the truly generous and sharing vision behind this work. It's about sharing the author's knowledge freely in a spirit of cooperation, trusting that the world needs more of us, and that we are far better off helping each other than fighting, competing & keeping our secrets to ourselves.
Alison Southern, Hidden Valley Handcrafts (Broome, Australia)
♥ I received my copy of
Marina & Patrizia's book; decided to take a peek at
10pm one evening and....... I finally put it down at 2am! I was sooooo
riveted - I couldn't put it down. No, it's not a murder mystery, nor a
love novel but perhaps, a combination of the two - let me explain...
Basically, this book teaches you how not to murder the batch of soap you
make; how to unravel all of those mysterious questions you may be wondering
about, and how to love your soaping in a very unstressful way. The only thing it doesn't have is a pilates section showing the best positions for using your soap on a
rope....
All jokes aside, let me give you a few adjectives and descriptive phrases
which sum up this book:
- Hummingbird Medicine (sharing of recipes and joy)
- Wonderful,
- Comprehensive,
- Concise,
- Descriptive,
- Sooooo easy to understand,
- Useful, useful, useful
- Easy reference
- Best ever,
- Amazing,
- Informative,
- Educational
Do yourself a favour and purchase a
copy of this ab fab, brilliant book. You won't be disappointed.
Kel in Victoria - proud owner of The Soap Bible
♥ I am impressed with all your research and hard work. I have thought for a long time about doing a book but never seem to get to it. If it ever happens it will be much simpler than yours... I don't think I have your dedication!
Kathy Miller, Miller Soap
