A complete introduction to the history and craft of fine soap making. Handmade soap is a natural living thing, the product of a kind of folk alchemy that has been lost to all but a small number of craftspeople in our modern society. Simplified craft instructions; Nature's lathers; Fragrant hand soaps; Leather soap; Complexion soaps; Cleansing creams; Medicated soaps; Inexpensive laundry soap; Insecticidal soap for plants; Shaving lather; Toothpaste; Herbal soaps and shampoos; Glossary of ingredients