Fact File: All about soaps

Soap is made from natural a ingredient which includes both plant and animal products and is used for cleaning. It is made up of animal fat, such as tallow or vegetable oil, such as castor, olive, or coconut oil.
It got its name from the latin word Sapo. The first soap was made by Babylonians around 2800 B.C. It was used more to clean wool and textiles than for personal hygiene. Some people preferred smelling good to actually being clean and thought perfume did the trick nicely.
There are many types of soaps, both hard and soft. They are often used as cleansers or detergents. Personal soaps are made to wash skin or hair. Soaps made for bathing are called toilet soaps.
Detergents are designed to clean dishes or laundry. Household cleansers often have mild abrasives that can clean a variety of surfaces. Soaps that are used for personal hygiene are perfumed soaps by adding a few additional ingredients and perfume.
Soap manufacturers add fragrances, colours, germicides, builders and active agents, depending on the purpose of the soap. The industry is always working to improve and create new formulas.
Other Uses
And if you thought soaps are meant only for cleaning then think again. Soaps can be useful in many other ways.
1. It helps to prevent the black cooking marks on your iron cookware. All you need to do is to rub the bottom of the vessel with a soap.
2. You can deodorise your care by placing a little piece of a soap in a mesh bag and hang it from the rear-view mirror.
3. Tailors often use leftover pieces of soap to mark the hem line.
4. Pack youe store clothes or luggage with a piece of soap and your clothes will smell fresh..
5. And last but not the least if a zipper gets stuck rub it with a bar of soap and it will get it moving.
Soap Making
This soap-making process is very easy, but adult supervision is recommended.
What you need:
• Clear glycerine soap blocks (found at craft stores)
• Liquid food colouring
• Stir sticks
• Essential oil (optional)
• Petroleum jelly or cooking spray
• Microwave oven and microwavable container
• Ice cube tray or candy mould or soap mould
Step one: Coat an ice cube tray or mould with petroleum jelly or cooking spray.
Step two: Place glycerine in a microwavable container. Heat in microwave oven. Time varies depending on microwave wattage. Stir every 10 to 15 seconds until completely melted.
Step three: Carefully remove the melted glycerine from oven and stir in a small amount of food colouring. If you wish, stir in a drop or two of scented oil.
Step four: Pour the melted glycerine into the tray or mould, fill almost to the top.
Step five: Cool for an hour or so before removing from the mould. Placing them in the freezer can speed up this process. They should just pop out.
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