Little soap story
The first indications of soap production, in the form of a recipe, can be found among the Sumerians (approx. 4,500 BC). This is immortalized in cuneiform on a clay tablet. They recognized that vegetable ash (potash) mixed with oils (mainly vegetable oils) has special properties, and created the basis of a soap recipe.
Egyptians and Greeks (approx. 2,700 BC) took over the instructions for chemical production. It is believed that you overlooked the cleansing effect, but recognized the disinfecting effect and therefore used it as a remedy, similar to ointment, for injuries.
Soap, mostly made from goat, cattle or deer tallow, was also known to the Gauls. They were used to dye (bleach) the hair red and to wash out the wool fat (lanolin) from the sheep's wool, as their formulation was too sharp (highly alkaline) for personal hygiene. This was also described by Galenus of Pergamon, a Greek doctor working in Rome.
The first to use soap for personal hygiene were the Teutons, but here mainly by men. Mostly in the form of a kind of hair pomade. Pliny the Elder described an ancient soap made from goat tallow and wood ash in his work "Historia naturalis". Galen, a famous doctor of late antiquity, mentions that the Teutons used a soft type of soap, which he considered to be the best.
Soap was also mentioned in the Bible by Jeremiah (Jer. 2.22) and Job (9.30 / 31). Soap, Latin fullonum, became known to the Romans through their campaigns of conquest.
It was not until the 2nd century AD that it gained real attention as a means of daily care. However, the traditional body cleansing with oils, sand and strigilis remained the more popular method. During excavations in Pompeii (buried in a volcanic eruption in 79 AD), archaeologists came across a completely preserved soap factory with finished bars of soap. The Romans mainly used urine to clean clothes, which was collected and fermented in so-called angiporto amphora or vasae curtae. These amphorae were available to the Roman gentlemen in public places, similar to our present-day public toilets, and were regularly emptied by the urine washers, called fullons.
Emperor Vespasian even levied a urine tax and thus coined the saying "Money doesn't stink"!
In the Middle East, oil, lye and quick lime, which gives the soap strength, were boiled together for the first time in the 7th century, thus creating the soap in the form we know today.
The famous Aleppo soap, a soap made from olive and laurel oil, has been used since the 8th century. Made on traditional white. Likewise, the Savon Noir known from the Hammam's. Or the Mardin soap made from olive and pistachio oil, which originated in the small town of Mardin in eastern Turkey and is very complex to produce. With the conquests of the Arabs, this knowledge quickly spread to Europe.
Initially, the soaps, which were usually lavishly perfumed, were a luxury item and thus reserved for the nobility.
During the Middle Ages, visiting the bathhouse was very popular and body cleansing was better than commonly thought. In addition to France and Spain, soap makers' guilds were formed in Vienna, Prague and Augsburg.
It was not until the outbreak of plague and cholera in the 14th century. resulted in the water washing being discontinued. Since the transmission routes of many diseases were unknown, it was believed that the bath water opened the body to the pathogens. As a result, dry laundry became fashionable during the 16th and 17th centuries. Personal care consisted of powdering, perfuming and light cleaning with damp cloths. Above all, the nobility practiced this poorly hygienic body care. Lice, fleas, eczema and the spread of contagious diseases were part of everyday life. Even doctors advised against excessive washing to protect themselves from the "harmful element" water. Nevertheless, France and Spain established themselves as the centers of soap production worldwide in the 17th century.
The prosperity of the soap guild in France is attributed to King Louis XIV, who brought the best soap makers to Versailles and in 1688 issued a "purity law" for soaps. Accordingly, a high-quality, real soap should contain at least 72% pure oils. This is where the popular Savon de Marseille found its origin. The term "toilet soap", which is still used today, was born. At that time, soaping without a license was a severe punishment.
Nikolas Leblanc (1742-1806) succeeded in producing soda artificially for the first time in 1790, thus replacing the potash that had been used until then. In 1865 the Belgian Ernest Solvay developed the Solvay process, which replaced the Leblanc process. So there was enough soda for soap production and soap became an affordable product for everyone. The body could be washed regularly and freed from odors. Personal hygiene became commonplace again. The range of raw materials such as oils, fats and essential oils was diversified due to the colonial trade.
In the 20th century, wars brought with them a shortage of raw materials, which also hit the soap makers hard. To compensate for the missing or overpriced ingredients, so-called "filled" (stretched) soaps came into fashion. Here, additives such as earth, sugar, starch, glycerine and others were mixed under the soap glue in order to reduce the consumption of raw materials. However, the innovations achieved during the war soon made it possible to manufacture soap and other washing products on a large scale on an industrial scale. The possibility of synthetically reproducing fragrances in the laboratory also made the soap a cheap mass product.
In many, especially rural regions, it was common practice until the late 1960s to make toilet and cleaning soap from fat and sebum residues.
The modern "soaps" exist, according to the findings of Dr. Heinz Maurer, from so-called syndets. Artificial surfactants, which are adjusted to the natural pH value of 5.5 (pH neutral). So soaps without soap, which is why these are called "wash bars" in technical jargon.The pH value of hand-boiled natural soaps, on the other hand, is between 7 and 9. Today, products for personal hygiene are available in numerous variations and no household can be imagined without them.
The information contained here was compiled by me to the best of my knowledge and belief. Since nobody is free of errors, it is advisable to do your own research on this topic.
Natural remedies do not replace a doctor!
All contents without guarantee, subject to change !!!
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