The twilight hours are getting a little cooler and many of us opt for the comforting warmth of water, we might decide to turn ourselves into lobsters, marinating in the hot soapy water for hours. Or, if you are anything like me and the idea of running a bath just seems like a hassle, stand, staring with eyes devoid of any true purpose, brain running loops of white noise, while the hot water seems to work its magic. You can’t tell me that I am alone in this, and if I am, cést la vie.

Once the trance inevitably breaks and thoughts of the real world intrusively butt their way back in, we reach for the excessive range of products adorning the selves of the shower and get to work. I doubt whether many of us put to much thought into the silky, bubbly bar we call soap. As a person who battles with psoriasis, I think about that little bar more than is rational or possibly even sane. Luckily for me, I have a mother that appreciates natural ingredients and old-fashioned methods of soap making, converting me to the resplendent world of artisanal soaps. I thought it would be fun in a kind of nerdy way to have a look at the History of Soap.

I promise this will be as painless as I can make it.

A mere 4824 years ago, the Babylonians and Mesopotamians boiled fats with ashes, creating an early, rather unpleasant version of soap. Following suit about a thousand years later the Egyptians documented, in medical papyri, the use of similar soap-like substances used for washing.

Let’s take a leap forward to the Roman Empire, washing started off with oils applied to the skin and with the aid of a tool scraped off again. Soap made an appearance in the first century and was used for medical purposes as well as personal hygiene. Pliny the Elder, the author, recorded that soap was being used by the Gauls (a Celtic group) and Germans. As the idea of soap spread so did the need for manufacture, the process became more established within the Roman empire.

I am not sure about you, but I cannot stop thinking about how bad Medieval Europe must have smelt, and with the fall of the Roman empire the knowledge of soap making declined too, luckily it was reserved in the Islamic cultures. Luckily, we see a European revival in the 7^th Century, Spain, Italy and France began producing soap and it becomes a hot trade commodity.

So, Europe is beginning to embrace the bars and by the 16^th Century soap making becomes commercial. Castile soap made in Spain, which has an olive oil base is fast becoming popular. The chemistry of soap is discovered in the 18th century by Nicolas Leblanc and Michel E. Chevreul, this discovery led to a more efficient production.

In the 19^th century soap making becomes industrialized, meaning it became more accessible and more affordable, being clean was no longer just for the wealthy upper crust of society.  

Synthetic detergents hit the shelves in the 20th century and offered an alternative to traditional soaps, natural soap making luckily did not fade into obscurity.  Nowadays we see an increase in skin irritations and allergies that many are returning to the natural hand made soaps comprised of only the finest ingredients.

The issue that I have seen lately is that some soap makers are calling their products natural soaps when they have used a glycerine melt and pour type soap. This is not natural the process is not traditional, it is cheap substitute, and you may as well buy a store-bought brand, which would be cheaper. The artisanal soap to which I rely on for my skin is one which uses precise chemistry and careful hands turning acids into saponifying agents. This old-fashioned method is by no mean easy but the result so well worth it. These bars cost more than their store-bought synthetic counterparts, but the difference is surreal.

What do you look for in a soap? Do you use artisanal soaps, or do you prefer a body wash? What ever it is that you choose to use daily there is no denying what a big part of our daily lives soap has become, I for one am so thankful for this.

Thank you for taking the time to join me on my little deep dive. 

With love, 

Kim