Be Careful What Soap You Choose - It Could Contain Fillers

Soap is an anionic surfactant used in conjunction with water for washing and cleaning that historically comes in solid bars but also in the form of a thick liquid. Soaps are useful for cleaning because soap molecules attach readily to both nonpolar molecules (such as grease or oil) and polar molecules (such as water). Soaps, as we know them today, are descendants of historical Arabian soaps. Soap molecules have both properties of non-polar and polar at opposite ends of the molecule.

The fats are hydrolyzed by the base, yielding alkali salts of fatty acids (crude soap) and glycerol. The most popular soapmaking process today is the cold process method, where fats such as olive oil react with lye, while some soapers use the historical hot process. In both cold-process and hot-process soapmaking, heat may be required for saponification. During this time, it is normal for the soap to go through a "gel phase" where the opaque soap will turn somewhat transparent for several hours, before once again turning opaque. A soap factory and bars of scented soap were excavated at Pompeii. The industry was handicapped in England from 1712 to 1853 by a heavy tax on soap.

Chemical Factors In Soap Processing

Fillers are added to many soaps to increase lathering, cleansing, and water-softening properties; the sodium salt of rosin is commonly used in yellow laundry soap to increase lathering. Because the greasy end of the soap molecule sticks out from the surface of the bubble, the soap film is somewhat protected from evaporation (grease doesn't evaporate) which prolongs the life of the bubble substantially.

Fillers Used In Soaps

Nanoscopic metals are commonly added to certain soaps specifically for both coloration and anti-bacterial properties. Titanium powder is commonly used in extreme "white" soaps for these purposes; nickel, aluminum and silver are less commonly used. Manufactured bar soaps first became available in the late nineteenth century, and advertising campaigns in Europe and the United States helped to increase popular awareness of the relationship between cleanliness and health.