How many times do we wash our hands with soap every day? 5-10-15? Even maybe more for people who are suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. So what do we know about these soaps that are part of our lives? What do we know about the history of soaps, which became even more popular after the pandemic period? You always buy soap, but have you ever tried to make soap yourself?
The surprising history of soap deserves to be remembered. This history of soap is a long one, dating back thousands of years to Ancient Babylon. Soap got its name from an ancient Roman legend about Mount Sapo. Rain would wash down the mountain mixing with animal fat and ashes, resulting in a clay mixture found to make cleaning easier. By the 7th century, soap-making was an established art in Italy, Spain, and France. These countries were early centers of soap manufacturing due to their ready supply of source ingredients, such as oil from olive trees.
Ordinary soap is made by combining fats or oils and an alkali, such as lye. The fats and oils, which may be from animal, vegetable, or mineral sources, are degraded into free fatty acids, which then combine with the alkali to form crude soap. The lye reacts with the oils, turning what starts out as liquid into blocks of soap. When made properly, no lye remains in the finished product. In the past, people commonly made their soap using animal fats and lye that had been extracted from wood ashes.
There are many different methods for preparing soap at home.
- Melt and Pour Soap
- Cold Process Soapmaking
- Hot Process Soap
- Rebatched Soap
- Partially Rebatched Soap
- 6. Liquid Soapmaking
- 7. Make Plant-Based Saponin Soap
Based on my own experience, I have tried 1.2 and 3rd way of soap-making workshops so far. The most difficult and complicated soap preparation workshop I tried was the hot process soap-making method. Preparing your space is absolutely critical to not only making great eco-friendly soap but remaining completely safe throughout the process. There is some volatility involved in any soap recipe, so being in the middle of a big space with plenty of open windows (and a few fans) will be your best bet.
Eco-friendly liquid soap is an oxymoron. In 2009, a Swiss study revealed that liquid soap, which was once thought to be more economically and environmentally sound, is actually worse for your wallet and the earth. You’re likely to use more liquid soap without measuring it out properly, whereas with bar soap you apply it across your skin in a few strokes, and get the perfect amount. On top of that, liquid soap is also far more expensive to create on your own. Homemade liquid soap lacks many of the chemicals in commercial soaps. While we would normally argue about that being a good thing, it’s just not practical. Homemade liquid soap comes out far more watery, and since it doesn’t stick around on your skin for the 20-30 seconds that is required to properly wash your hands, you’re not cleaning your hands as efficiently. It’s good to be as environmentally conscious as you can be with soap, but not at the risk of contaminating food or surfaces in your home by not properly cleaning your hands and the rest of your body.
Very interesting and old-tradition of soap making in Syria. Even ongoing war and hard circumstances didn’t stop them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osh4sR5KWNk&ab_channel=MoneyTalks
So, when is the history of homemade soaps in Azerbaijan? Soap-making became a profession in Azerbaijan during World War II. Soap-making became a profession in Azerbaijan during World War II. People were suffering from hunger and misery. And some people found their way to get money by making soap. There is a very famous old Azerbaijani movie about it. A teacher trying to survive on a very low salary starts making soap as a second job. But later he distributes the soaps he made to people who went to war. Maybe for the last time wash. Here is the movie with English subtitles if someone interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChqRmN1sArY&ab_channel=KinoAzeri
But unfortunately, later soap making became an old tradition and it is very difficult to find almost homemade soaps in Azerbaijan
To be honest, soap making is one of the things that excites me and is fun besides being eco-friendly and sustainable 😊
Sources:
https://www.cleaninginstitute.org/understanding-products/why-clean/soaps-detergents-history
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