History of Soap
The exact moment that someone invented soap is not known. However, we know that the Babylonians had soap in 2800 BC. We also know that soap was mentioned throughout history in a number of different writings, although it was not always thought of the way that we think of it.
Even though soap has been around for longer than we can say, there are some things that we can speculate about the first soaps. Soap was most likely discovered by women who were cooking in huge pots outdoors. The fat from the meats they prepared mixed with the ashes from the burned wood and rain water would have created a very primitive soap. When they were washing the pots they cooked in they probably noticed that they were cleaner when they used the strange mixture.
Over the centuries different people made soap for different tasks. Bathing was just one of the purposes. Some used soap for cleaning garments and other used it as a form of makeup.
Sometime during the 700’s soap making began to be a craft in some part of Europe. The benefits of soap were beginning to be recognized and soap spread across that continent. In the late 1700’s lye was produced and soap could be made be more people.
The European settlers that came to the Americas brought a form of soap with them and continued to make soap once they arrived. They took hot water and poured it over wood ashes. This created alkali potash which was boiled with animal fats. The soaps they made were often harsh and had a pungent odor.
By the 1800’s the soap industry was in full swing in North America but most people made their own soap still. There are still some that choose to make their own soap as a hobby or to save money.