Jackie Thompson’s long awaited book, Liquid Soapmaking, is finally here—and more than worth the wait!
For those who make handcrafted soap bars, transitioning to making liquid soap can be daunting. While the chemistry is essentially the same, when it comes to the finished product, opaque bar soap is much more forgiving than liquid soap that should be completely clear and of the right consistency. Jackie has researched this area (for years!) and has managed to capture all you need to know about liquid soapmaking in just 207 pages!
I admit, I’ve made liquid soap. I also admit that while it turned out “okay” as soap (I mean, it didn’t harm anyone and it did lather and clean), it wasn’t what I’d call “great.” Certainly not anything I’d be willing to package and sell to a customer. The thing is, I never knew exactly what the problem was, or how to fix it. I didn’t know enough about advanced soap chemistry, how the chemical qualitities of various oils affect liquid soap, and the effects of different additives. Without that understanding, it’s not surprising that I gave up on making liquid soap.
Jackie’s book changed that. After reading it, I became inspired (again) to make liquid soap.
First of all, every question I had about liquid soap was answered. For example,
- How to determine the amount of neutralizer required? – Page 35.
- Can you make liquid soap without making paste first? – Page 59
- How do you thicken liquid soap? – Page 73
- What about soap gels and jellies? are they even possible? (Yes!) – Page 85
- How do you color liquid soap? – Page 95
Not only were all my questions answered, Jackie led me on a journey of discovery as I found out the many things I didn’t even know I didn’t know about liquid soap! As I was reading through the book, I noticed that each time I thought, “Well, what if I …?” or had some question, I found that the next sentence or paragraph directly addressed my question.
If you are at all interested in making liquid soap, or even if you are just interested in understanding more about soap chemistry in general, Jackie’s book is a must-have. You can purchase Liquid Soapmaking from Amazon.
Leave a Reply