Welcome to Savory Soaps!

Soaps have been around for about 2800 years now. Some may define soaps as the simplest form of cleansers. Well, we simply agree but we also believe that they could be a lot more than just cleansers. And, we are here to show you that these cleansing agents could be used for variety of other purposes.

But first, Where do soaps come from?

A little history:

Early soap makers probably used ashes, and animal fats. The Celts, who produced their soap from animal fats and plant ashes, named the product saipo, from which the word soap is derived. The importance of soap for washing and cleaning was apparently not recognized until the 2nd century A.D.; the Greek physician Galen mentions it as a medicament and as a means of cleansing the body. Previously soap had been used as medicine. The Arabs made the soap from vegetable oil as olive oil or some aromatic oils such as thyme oil. Sodium Lye (Al-Soda Al-Kawia) NaOH was used for the first time and the formula hasn't changed from the current soap sold in the market. From the beginning of the 7th century soap was produced in Nablus (Palestine), Kufa (Iraq) and Basra (Iraq). Arabian Soap was perfumed and colored, some of the soaps were liquid and others were hard.

 The industrialization of soap making though tended to use more chemically produced ingredients and less natural ingredients, and produced in essence a detergent rather than soap such as our ancestors used. With World War I and the shortages of fats and oils that occurred, people felt compelled to look for a replacement for soap, leading to the invention of synthetic detergents.

This has caused in some people super sensitivity to these "soaps", rashes, skin irritations, and allergies plus a general drying out of the skin. Increasingly, we are required to use hand creams and lotions to prevent or reduce the dryness and roughness arising from exposure to household detergents, wind, sun, and dry atmospheres. Like facial creams, they act largely by replacing lost water and laying down an oil film to reduce subsequent moisture loss while the body's natural processes repair the damage.

It is tempting for manufacturers to use synthetic and avoid natural ingredients as much as possible: they are more cost effective, more stable, and a higher degree of consistency could be achieved. But, as you use more and more of these harsh substances, your skin loses its natural defense mechanism and become more and more dependent on stronger cleansers and costly lotions. So, ask yourself the question: do I want to go the nature’s way or the lab’s way?

Sources:

Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com , 2006.

Wikipedia Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page, 2006

Cavitch, Susan Miller, The Natural Soap Book, Storey Publishing, North Adams, MA, 1995.

Cavitch, Susan Miller, The Soapmaker's Companion, Storey Publish, North Adams, MA, 1997.