Product Description

Learn how to make soap the old fashioned way using new fangled methods. Making Soap for Fun and Profit offers basic recipes using tallow, vegetable shortening and/or a wide variety of oils such as olive, coconut, avacodo etc.. to make soap which lasts like our ancestors.

The author describes how to incorporate addivitives, herbs and essential oils to vary the color and scent of the soap.

The author encourages the reader to design and create special blends - offering some blank pages for personal notes and recipes.

Resources for materials appear through out the book and are also listed in the Index and resource page. Enjoy the process - have some fun making soap!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1154444 in Books
• Published on: 1998-08-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 80 pages

From the Author
Making soap is still a fun hobby for myself and now my two kids. We keep ourselves, our extended family and friends well supplied. I have made every type of soap in this book, but must admit Cinnamon, Dr. Mom, Rosemary Dill and Vegetarian II are still our favorites.

My hope in writing this book was to take the fear out of soap making and instill a spirit of adventure for the soap maker to experiment with essential oils and additives on his or her own.

I have enjoyed sharing my techniques and experiences through the written word and at book signings around the country and meeting the people who have used the book.

Thank you for your encouragement and support.

Happy soap making! Linda

From the Back Cover
Making Soap for Fun and Profit is a must have, full of creative ideas and easy to follow instructions for anyone desiring to learn the craft of soapmaking. Upon finishing the very first batch of soap, the soapmaker will be sure to feel inspired and accomplished by the delightful comments and requests formore homemade soap. Chris Lynn, soapmaker

Doubling as a practical tutorial and guide to a nearly forgotten craft, Making Soap for Fun and Profit serves as a delightful case study of how one idea - enacted upon by two aspiring entrepreneurs - became a successful and enjoyable business. While encouraging the reader to nurture our own ideas from the initial concept though the implementation of a business plan, Linda Inlow leads by example and helpful suggestion. Hank Sowerwine, investment advisor, Linsco/Private Ledger

About the Author
Hidden Meadows Handcrafts began in the fall of 1995 by accident. The author, Linda C. Inlow and her neighbor, Shelly Morgan, made soap and other bath products in their kitchens. Family and friends enjoyed the results so much the two women formed Hidden Meadows and began to sell wholesale and low-end retail. Before this venture, the author owned a llama ranch, dealt in real estate and taught at the local college. She continues to teach community education classes such as 'How to Start Your Own Business', 'First Time Home Buyers', and 'How to Get Published'. While managing the businesses, Linda also raises her two children on a seven-acre farm in a small rural community in Washington State. She spends her time writing, gardening, reading, teaching and of course making soap. Other books by the author include: Making the Most of Your Llama (Kopacetic inK) Diary of a Soapmaker (pamphlet) (Kopacetic inK) The Odd Lot: Raising Unusual Animals (Clay Press) Becoming Me: An Autobiography for the Reader to Complete (Kopacetic inK)

Customer Reviews

Very limited content for beginners
I have ordered several books on soap making to read, and after looking at the books offered on this website, I narrowed it down to three. This was the first book to arrive, and as a beginner, I was disappointed in the very little content the book offered considering the price. The book actually only has about 55 pages of content, and many of those are half-pages. The recipes make up a lot of the book's content, with only one recipe per page. There were no milk-based recipes. The book's title gives the impression that the book contains information re: making soap for profit, but actually only contains 6 pages (with lots of spacing) on the subject, giving really very little specific information, and primarily telling the reader her story of starting her own business. The book has so little content that I was actually able to read the whole book in less than 30 minutes. The book does make the process sound less intimidating, and does make soap making seem much more simple that other writers do. If you want a collection of recipes then this is a good book for your soap making library. But if you want more information on the process itself, including troubleshooting, and on soap making for profit, then look to other authors. If you are on a budget, and can only buy 1 or 2 books, then look elsewhere to get more content for your dollars.

Dangerous Recipes
I am completely outraged that a book like this can enter the marketplace. SEVERAL of her recipes are lye heavy and the soap made WILL burn the skin. She instructs the reader to use massive quantities of certain essential oils, such a cassia that are known to be caustic on the skin. The author obviously has not ever used the soap she's instructing to make. If she had, she would be red, raw and probably blistered. What a shame, so many will be injured by using a soap book.

Safety Hazards and MISinformation
I'd really like to give this book NO starts, but I guess that's not an option. I am returning my copy. I can't believe the safety hazards this woman takes with LYE. It is a HIGHLY caustic material. (which Ms. Inlow does state) However, In her instructions she syas to pour your liquids into your lye... DO NOT DO THIS! Other than creating a volcano effect which could boil over and out of the container in which the mixing is taking place, due to Lye being considered a HAZMAT(Hazardous Material) it is actually illegal to do your mixing this way in some states.. PLEASE check with your local HAZMAT safety regulations before following her instructions.

Misinformation: After studying soapmaking for over two years, I have learned that CASTILLE soap must have at least 50% olive oil in it, or the name must be changed. Ms. Inlow lists a Castille soap that is barely 1/3 olive oil.