Keeping clean has been a human habit for ages. Washing and cleaning differentiates us from other animals. Ever wondered how soaps came into being? It is interesting to know how our ancestors got clean.
Pre-historic man used only water as a cleanser. Then around 2800 B.C., in ancient Babylon, wood ashes were burnt along with animal and vegetable fats. The Greeks used clay and pumice as cleansers. The origin of the word 'soap' can be traced back to 'Mount Sapo' in Rome, where animals were sacrificed. The rain mixed animal fat residue with the burnt wood on the clay, which initiated a chemical reaction. The substance thus produced turned out to be an excellent cleanser.
Soaps, as people know today, could not have been made, had it not been for Nicholas Le Blanc's efforts. He was a French man who discovered an inexpensive way of making Sodium Hydroxide in the 18th century. The early Americans made soap through a process called the 'Cold Process', whereby animal fat and sodium hydroxide (or lie) extracted from wood ashes were boiled. Modern day soap-makers do not use animal fats any longer since they clog pores and aggravate skin diseases. Instead lie is added to vegetable alkali such as palm oil, coconut oil or olive oil. The mixture is pored into a mold, where the 'curing process' takes place for 3-8 weeks.
In 1898, Celeb Johnson's company in Milwaukee introduced soaps made of palm and olive oils, known as 'Palmolive'. The success of this soap was such that the company changed its name to Palmolive in 1917. In India, Lux was the first soap to be positioned as a beauty soap.
Today the market is flooded with innumerable soap brands. Even the forms of soaps are varied. There are liquid soaps, gels, bars, solutions, et al. They are available in all shapes, sizes, colours and fragrances. So the next time you wash yourself with a soap, this soap saga must be remembered and credit given to the ones who contributed towards its discovery.
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