The first soap by Lauren Harden

The first soap like substance is said to have been first used and produced in around 2,800 BCE in Ancient Babylon. The formula for this soap included water, alkali and cassia oil and was found written on a Babylonian clay tablet around 2,200 BCE.

Soap was widely known about and used in the Roman Empire. Early Romans made soap in the first century A.D. from urine.  The urine contained ammonium carbonate which caused a reaction with the oils and fat in wool which created the soap like substance. 

After the fall or the Roman Empire it was not until around the 8th century soap making was revived. This occurred first in Italy and Spain and by the 13th century France too. It was in the 14th century that soap making came to England. Soaps produced in the south of Europe, Italy, Spain, and southern France were made from olive oils. This made the soaps of a higher quality. England and northern France did not have access to these oils and therefore were forced to use animal fats.

How to make soap

    
    Oils:

24 ounces olive oil (not extra virgin)

24 ounces coconut oil

38 ounces vegetable shortening

    Alkaline Solution:

12 ounces sodium hydroxide (lye).

32 ounces spring or distilled water

Fragrance or Essential Oil

4 ounces of your favorite fragrance

   

    Equipment:

Safety Goggles

Rubber Gloves

Scale to weigh the ingredients

A one gallon stainless steel or enamel kettle, not aluminum, and not lined with non-stick surface

Glass or plastic wide mouth pitcher to hold water and lye

A two cup plastic or glass measuring cup

Wooden spoons

Stainless steel wire whisk or a hand blender

One accurate glass thermometer that registers between 80-100 degrees F.

Plastic shoe box for your soap mold. Spray with vegetable spray so soap will release easily.

2 towels to cover your soap

A source of running water, in case of a spill.

You will need several hours of time to make your soap.

• Weight out 12 ounces of lye (sodium hydroxide). Weigh 32 ounces of cold water in glass container.

• Slowly add lye to water, stirring gently. It is very important to add the Lye to the water and not the other way around, otherwise the reaction is too quick and it is dangerous. Make sure to stir with a wooden spoon, plastic will melt and metal will react.Set aside and allow the lye to cool.

• Weigh out 24 ounces of coconut oil and 38 ounces of vegetable oil shortening into the metal kettle. Porcelain coated metal, or glass vessels are fine, regular metal pans and pots are fine for melting the oil, but inappropriate for mixing lye solution with oil, or setting off lye/water mixture - use canning jars or heavy glass made for drastic temperature changes. Melt these oils over low heat and stir frequently. Remove from heat after oils have melted and add the 24 ounces of olive oil.

• When your lye has reached a range of 95-98 degrees Fahrenheit / (35-36 degrees Celsius) and your oils are at the same temperature, add the lye in a slow steady stream to the oils. Do not use metal implements to stir raw soap. This will cause a reaction again, use a wooden spoon. After about ten minutes you will notice a change in your mixture. This is called saponification. "Tracing" occurs when the spoon stirred through the mixture leaves a "trace" behind it.


• Add your fragrance when tracing occurs. The mixture will appear like thin cream, and droplets of soap will stand up on the surface. Stir well. Be ready to pour natural soap in your mold. Some fragrances and essential oils will cause soap to set quickly in your pot.

• Use an old plastic spatula to scrape out your soap-pot. Use gloves and eye protection. Raw soap is caustic and it can burn skin. Raw soap is strong enough to use as paint remover. Cover your shoe box with the two towels and set aside, and out of air drafts for eighteen hours. The soap will go through a gel stage and a heat process. At the end of this period uncover the soap and allow to sit for another 12 hours. If your soap has a deep oily film on top the natural soap cannot be used because it has separated.. This will occur if your measurements were not accurate, or if you did not stir long enough or if there is a drastic difference in lye solution temp vs. oil temps when mixed. Sometimes soap will not set at all, or will have white or clear pockets in it. This is caused by under-stirring during the soap-making process and the finished product is not only unusable, but caustic. Use care when disposing of this.

• Unmold your natural soap. Turn the box over and allow the soap to fall on a towel or clean surface. Cut your soap into bars.

http://www.alcasoft.com/soapfact/history.html

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapmakingbasics/a/How-To-Make-Soap.htm

http://www.humantouchofchemistry.com/the-origins-of-soap.htm

 
http://www.yardleylondon.co.uk/blog/the-origins-of-soap

         

http://www.goodscentscandles.us/soaphistory.php