Milk-Based Soaps: Making Natural, Skin-Nourishing Soap

"Do you have a muffin recipe that you love? This book is like having a favorite muffin recipe with many variations. I guess if it is your favorite don't argue with it. But, this book is full of variations of a basic recipe.
It is a nice book, but I had hoped for more variety.
But, I do love muffins. "
~ Written on 2007-05-09

"I was initailly intimidated by this book and I owned it for a while before I attempted her methods. But if you want to make soap with real milk (not powdered as an additive) this is a great resource. Making whole milk soap is not easy. This methods works. I admit I use a stick blender and keep it in one pot but my milk has never curdled due to her cold bath method. Her recipes produce gentle, silky soaps and are made with readily available ingredients. My main complaint with some of the other books is that you cannot get many of the ingredients unless you go online and pay shipping. I agree with another reviewer that she does not explain the why behind some of her methods. I think the glycerine and the sugar are for more lather but I'm not positive. I know the amount of honey is limited due to the risk of the soap overheating in the mold. My only other concern about her recipes is that they do not produce much lather and I like bubbles. However, now that I know the method and have had a lot of success I can experiment with the recipes to customize the soap. "
~ Written on 2006-10-20

"I had taken intrest in soap making and so I bought this book off of Amazon.com. It helped me a lot and had some awesome recipies in it."
~ Written on 2006-02-12

"I liked Caseys recipes but..it was almost tiring just reading her instructions,like...start with this pan,then put the mixture in that pan...then stir both pans at the same time.I make and mix my soap in one pan,it's really not that difficult.I agree with another reviewer who said it does'nt have to be a team effort.The best soapmaking book I have ever bought is "The Everything Soapmaking Book" by Alicia Grosso. This book has all the information you will ever need to make really beautiful handmade soap."
~ Written on 2005-10-01

"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."
~ Written on 2004-07-28