Herbal Soap Blog: Interesting Soap Facts

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1. The world produces 10 billion pounds of soap per year. The U.S. makes and uses about one-third of this amount.

2. Per capita soap consumption is highest in the U.S. at 25 lbs/person, followed by the Netherlands (24 lbs/person) and the United Kingdom (20 lbs/person). Other per capita consumption rates: Japan, 7 lbs/person; Brazil, 6.8 lbs/person; Russia, 5.7 lbs/person; British India, 4 oz/person; and China, 2 oz/person. The world average is 6.6 lbs/person.

3. In the U.S., 85% of soap is used for laundry, 12% for toiletry uses, and 3% miscellaneous. For the entire world, 92% of soap is used for laundry.

4. The use of soap dates back to 2800 BC, when Babylonians made it by mixing water with alkali and cassia oil in clay cylinders.

5. Historically, soap was made by mixing animal fats with lye. This was a dangerous procedure which could easily result in serious chemical burns or blindness due to the caustic lye. Before lye was produced on a commercial level, it was produced at home by using the ashes from a wood fire.

6. Early Romans made soap out of urine in the first century A.D. Urine contains ammonium carbonate which was reacted with the oils and fats found in sheep’s wool for a partial saponification. People called fullones walked the city streets collecting urine to sell to soap makers.

7. In the 1500s, most people got married in June because they took their annual baths in May and, according to the standards at that time, still smelled pretty good by June. However, they started smelling a little bad by the time the wedding came around, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers with them to hide the odor. This is where we get today’s custom of brides carrying a bouquet of flowers at their wedding.

8. In medieval Europe, soap was seen as a great source of revenue by the government so heavy taxes were imposed upon it. This tax went as high as 3d per pound. Tax inspectors had to lock up soap boiling pans at night in order to prevent illegal production. This tax was repealed in 1835. Prior to this, the government was making £1 million a year from it.

9. Most soaps purchased in stores aren’t soaps at all; rather, they are bars of detergent. The process of soap making results in a bar that contains glycerin, which is a very good skin moisturizer. Commercial companies remove this glycerin and sell it for other purposes, resulting in a bar of detergent instead of a bar of soap. The glycerin is replaced with cheaper synthetic chemicals which can be harsh on our skin.

10. There are several different stories about where we get the name “soap”. One comes from an ancient Roman legend that states that the name comes from Mount Sapo, a mountain on which animals were sacrificed. Whenever it rained, the water flowed through a mixture of melted animal fat and ashes and into the Tibet River below. Woman who washed their clothes in this river noticed the mixture made their clothes cleaner and began calling the mixture soap.

Herbal Soap Blog

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Interesting Soap Facts

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