Organic soap, Hand made, and Dispensers
Welcome to earthlysoaps.com. We are pleased to information, tips, and ideas about handmade soaps, organic soaps, and more. Earthlysoaps.com is not selling any soap or soap products, we just feature information and research gathered about the history of soap, how to make soap, and other helpful soap-related tidbits.
At its most basic, soap is formed when animal (or vegetable) fats or oils react with an alkali (specifically, lye). Scents, colors and “superfats” are added at various times in the process that imbue the mixture with different and unique characteristics.
Historically, soap has somewhat convoluted beginnings. Natural soap occurrences date back to antiquity and the Ayurvedic Hindus being required to bathe regularly. Around 2800 BC, there is evidence of manufactured soap in the form of a recipe written on a Babylonian scroll.
Roman legend tells of naturally occurring soap collecting at the base of Mount Sapo on the banks of the Tiber – wood ash and the fat of sacrificed animals. “Sapo” is the Latin word for “soap”, but this legend is unverifiable.
True soaps are generally accepted to have appeared in the medieval Islamic society – these 7th Century Arabian soap methods and formulas remain the standard.
Then in the 1940s chemists made the first detergent, which is defined as chemically modified soap that works well in cold and hard water and can be formulated to clean specific dirt and stains.
The common definition of soap in the modern world is any product that bubbles and cleans, though most modern products called soap are actually detergents.
In the world of handmade soaps, “handcrafting” is the broad term used to describe the process of making and selling soap. The steps to handcrafting soaps include:
• Creating the recipe
• Measuring and mixing the fat/oil and lye
• Adding scent and color
• Shaping, molding, cutting, trimming after hardening
• Designing and creating packaging
• Marketing, displaying and sellingHome soapers need not fuss with the marketing and packaging, though. Unless some fabulous recipe is discovered and might be sold at the local farmer’s market, for example. Making soap is a precise and artistic process, though. Any number of combinations could be formulated right in your own kitchen.
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