Don't spend a fortune on fancy measuring cups and spoons from gourmet shops; inexpensive measuring tools will do just fine. Heat-safe glass measuring cups in a variety of sizes are nearly as indispensable as your stainless steel pans. Heavy-duty glass measures with graded measurements on the sides are available at grocery, mass-market, and drug stores. It is tempting to use the attractive thinner heatproof glass, but just stick to the heavy-duty variety as the thin glass will shatter.

The small-batch cold-process recipes in this book call for two 4-cup measures: one for mixing the lye solution and the other for mixing the oils and stirring the soap. The measures are also used in some liquid, melt-and-pour, and hand-milling techniques. They are, of course, always useful for measuring water.

Sets of stainless steel measuring cups and spoons are used in nearly all techniques. It's best to steer clear of plastic measuring cups and spoons. While they can be good for some things, they may be corroded by essential oils and fragrance oils or marred by heat.