Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. Soaps are surfactants that are usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. The major raw materials for soap manufacture are fat and alkali. Other substances, such as optical brighteners, water softeners, and abrasives, are often added. To be regulated as “soap,” the product must be composed mainly of the “alkali salts of fatty acids,” that is, the material you get when you combine fats or oils with an alkali, such as lye. Those “alkali salts of fatty acids” must be the only material that results in the product’s cleaning action. If the product contains synthetic detergents, it’s a cosmetic, not a soap.
Ingredients or materials
- Soaps are made from natural ingredients, such as plant oils (coconut, vegetable, palm, pine) or acids derived from animal fat.
- The major raw materials for soap manufacture are fat and alkali.
- To be regulated as “soap,” the product must be composed mainly of the “alkali salts of fatty acids,” that is, the material you get when you combine fats or oils with an alkali, such as lye.
Positive
- Soaps are surfactants that are usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping.
- Soaps are made from natural ingredients.
Negative
- Antibacterial soaps are a concern for experts.
Additional information
- Soap molecules must contain a hydrophobic (water-insoluble) part, such as a fatty acid or a rather long chain carbon group, such as fatty alcohols or alkylbenzene.
- The first detergent (or surface-active agent) was soap.
- While soap is limited in its applications, detergents can be formulated to include other ingredients for all sorts of cleaning purposes.
- Soaps cannot work without two basic ingredients: oil and alkali.
