Free answer · Soapmaking
Why did my soap accelerate?
Certain ingredients and conditions speed up trace: some fragrance oils, citrus essential oils, sugars, milks, honey, juices, a water discount and high-coconut recipes.
Natural skincare · Soapmaking · Candle making
More Than Recipes. A System for Understanding the Craft.
Learn the ingredients. Understand the formulas. Create with confidence.
Five books by Nigar Rustamova, 50 professional formulas for soap, skin care, hair care and dessert candles. Every one is taught with its reasoning: why an ingredient is there, why a temperature matters, and what to do when something goes wrong.
10,000+ students have taken the author’s courses in natural cosmetics and home fragrance
Instant PDF download · Secure card payment via Payhip · 30-day refund
Read a formula like a formulator
Calming Chamomile Foam Cleanser
Select a phase to see what it does.
- Chamomile flower water100.0 g
- Deionized water · panthenol · sodium lactate · glycerin26.0 g
- Cocamidopropyl betaine30.0 g
- Coco-glucoside · aloe extract15.0 g
- Cranberry · silk · betaine · caprylyl glycol · polysorbate 8012.7 g
- Geogard Ultra · lavender oil2.1 g
✦ AI Knowledge Assistant
Ask the Knowledge Assistant
Ask the way you'd ask a teacher. Answers come from the books, with the chapter to read next. When the books don't cover something, the assistant says so.
Free knowledge
Try the knowledge
Three real questions, answered from the books. If the free answers are this useful, imagine the full chapters.
Free answer · Candle Making
Why is my candle tunneling?
The wick is usually too small for the container, so the melt pool never reaches the edges. Short burns make it worse.
Free answer · Ingredients
What is a macerated oil?
An oil in which dried botanicals have been steeped so it takes up their fat-soluble compounds, like calendula-infused oil.
The library
5 books, one way of thinking
Each book starts with safety and foundations, then builds to complete projects, and explains every step. 50 formulas in total.
The Big Book of · Soapmaking
The Big Book of Homemade Soap
Seven chapters of theory before the first recipe.
For: Complete beginners: the book says no prior experience is needed, and it starts with lye safety.
- Lye safety
- Saponification
- Superfat
- Trace
- Gel phase
- Curing
Buy now — $39.99Read more
The Big Book of · Skin Care
The Big Book of Homemade Skin Care
Sixteen professional formulas, and the reasoning behind every one.
For: Beginners: the book states that no prior experience is needed.
- Hygiene & sterilization
- Emulsions
- pH
- Preservation
- Actives & peptides
- Hydrosols
Buy now — $39.99Read more
The Big Book of · Hair Care
The Big Book of Homemade Hair Care
Surfactant chemistry first. Then nine formulas you can adapt.
For: Formulators moving from skincare into hair care, who need the surfactant side explained properly.
- Surfactants
- Solid shampoo bars
- Conditioning polymers
- Scalp care
- Hair pH
- Active matter
Buy now — $39.99Read more
The Big Book of · the complete collection
The Big Book of Homemade Products
Combined editionTwo crafts, one volume: soap from scratch and professional face care.
For: Anyone who wants both crafts and would otherwise buy two books.
- Lye safety
- Saponification
- Superfat
- Gel phase
- Curing
- Soap calculators
Buy now — $59.99Read more
The Big Book of · Candle Making
The Big Book of Sweet Dessert Candles
Waxes, wicks and temperatures first. Then cakes, cocktails and botanicals.
For: Beginners and intermediate candle makers.
- Coconut, soy & beeswax
- Container vs mold wax
- Wick sizing & testing
- Fragrance load
- Temperatures
- Dyes & mica
Buy now — $29.99Read more
Only need one formula? Single chapters are $9.99 each.
How the books teach
The why behind the recipe
4.5–5.5
pH with a purpose
Healthy skin's acid mantle sits here, so the cleansers do too. The toner goes lower, to 3.8–4.2, because salicylic acid only exfoliates below 4.5.
38–40 °C
Temperature is an ingredient
Peptides, proteins and soothing actives go into the cooling cream, not the hot phases, so they survive the process.
5–7%
Superfat, calculated
The oil left free in a bar of soap, for mildness. Coconut can take 20%; olive would go rancid at that level.
10–12%
Fragrance load, measured
The share of fragrance in coconut wax, added at 55–60 °C and cured 7–10 days so the scent binds.
Three ways in
Learn here. Go deeper in the books.
Free, here
Knowledge & answers
Knowledge articles, the blog, the ingredient glossary, learning paths and the AI Knowledge Assistant.
Start learningOne formula
A single chapter
Just the recipe you need — the full ingredient table, method and troubleshooting notes — as its own PDF, $9.99.
Browse the chaptersThe books
Complete, structured knowledge
50 formulas across 5 books, with every chapter, temperature and troubleshooting note in the order the author teaches them.
Shop the booksAbout the author
Nigar Rustamova
Nigar Rustamova is a natural cosmetics formulator and educator. In her books she describes founding her own formulation school, which she says has taught more than ten thousand students worldwide. The candle book adds her years of candle making, her training with a Korean master, and her courses on candles and home fragrance, and on soap and body care.
Instagram: @niki_rustamova
“Do not become dependent on recipes. Learn to understand formulas.” From the conclusion of The Big Book of Homemade Soap
From the blog
Latest posts
Troubleshooting guides and complete formulas, free to read.
Natural Skincare
Why Your DIY Face Cream Separated (And How to Fix It)
Learn the 3 main reasons why homemade face cream separates and how to fix it. Professional emulsion formulation tips for DIY skincare.
Soapmaking
Why Your Cold Process Soap Didn't Harden (And How to Fix It)
Learn why your cold process soap is still soft after 24 hours and how to fix it. Lye calculation, water discount and temperature tips for soap makers.
Candle Making
Why Your Dessert Candles Have Tunneling (And How to Fix It)
Learn why your dessert candles tunnel and how to fix it. Wick size, first burn rules and pouring temperature tips for candle makers.
Reviews
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Safety first, in every book
“There is no ‘home’ version of safety — there is only the correct protocol.”
Every book opens with safety: protective gear, sterilized tools, the lye-to-liquid rule, and first response if something goes wrong. Candles are melted only in a double boiler and never taken past 85 °C. We keep those warnings visible here too.