Health
Wash Up! The Story of Soap BY LINDSEY JOHNSON, MS, MCHES | ILLUSTRATIONS BY MEGAN SAPELAK
Soap has been around for centuries, dating all the way back to 2800 BC. Soap has evolved in that time but the basics remain the same.
HOW IS SOAP MADE? Believe it or not, it takes only two key ingredients to make soap: fats and an alkali. These two ingredients together combine with water to make a chemical reaction that results in the soap we use to wash our hands and bodies. According to MerriamWebster, this is done through saponification, “the act, process, or result of making soap.” Most soaps use oils for their fat and lye or sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide as their alkali. Lye is created by boiling hardwood ashes with soft water such as rainwater. It is also commercially available at hardware stores and craft sites. There are a wide variety of oils used in soaps, including olive, coconut, palm kernel, cocoa butter and more. When making cold-process soap, soapmakers must take into account which oil they use as each one has a specific saponification value to determine how much lye is needed in the recipe. According to Shelly Scott, CEO and Head Soapmaker at Pretty Bird Soapery, it is important to determine the desired percentage of superfat so the soap maintains some of the oil to help moisturize skin.
The soap-making process takes approximately four to six weeks from beginning to end.
Scott explains that the soapmaking process takes approximately four to six weeks from beginning to end. First comes the measuring and mixing to ensure that the fats and lye have properly emulsified. During this step, scents and colors are also added to the mixture. Scents may be achieved by adding essential or fragrance oils. Colorants may be natural substances such as turmeric and indigo or oxides and micas, which are naturally occurring substances that are stabilized in the lab. Some soapmakers use commercial soap dyes to color their products. Once the soap has been properly mixed, it is covered and left overnight to harden. After the first 24 hours, the soap is removed from the molds and cut into bars and put on shelves to cure for at least four to six weeks. This allows the extra water to evaporate, producing a milder and longer lasting bar. At this point, the soap is ready to get to work!
BASIC SOAP INGREDIENTS
A FAT
AN ALKALI
A SCENT WELLNESS360 | MAY/JUNE 2021
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