Hand Crafted Luxury: The Art of Herbal Soap Making

Why go to the trouble to make soap from scratch? Herbalist and soapmaker Susan Battle explains that home soapmakers can control the contents of their soap, leaving out the petrochemicals that are in most mass-produced bars, and have fun making it besides. The basic ingredients are easy to find (lye, vegetable oil, olive oil) and the method demonstrated here does not require a heat source. (Forget the soapmaking demonstration you saw at Pioneer Days, with its requisite iron pot hanging over an outdoor fire.) Battle is clearly knowledgeable about her subject, but her nervous, disjointed delivery does not make for a wonderful viewing experience. A typical phrase: "Now this is--you use it in a small amount--it's an antioxidant. I really--I choose not to use it in most of my soapmaking but in the ones that I used instead of water for my--my--um--to mix with the lye--I make a soap actually from carrot juice and I like to use some antioxidant for that carrot juice." While there are two cameras, the main shot has been set up to frame Battle's face beside a huge floral arrangement. The flowers are pretty, but this camera angle cuts off just above the work table where she demonstrates. Therefore, if there's not a close-up shot cut in, you can't really see what she's doing unless she lifts up an item for the camera. Another caveat: when she uses exotic ingredients, she mentions who she bought them from, but the tape does not list source addresses at the end. There are several books on soapmaking available; public libraries should choose them instead of this tape. Aud: P (R. Reagan)