THE HISTORY OF SOAP
The History of Soap finds it roots hundreds of years ago. Soap occurs once fat mixes with wood ash and a chemical change occurs called Saponification. There is an old story that was once told of a group of people who were cooking meat over a camp fire. The next morning, after everyone had ate and slept, the children were playing in the ashes and got their hands covered with a slippery substance. They ran to a nearby creek and dipped their hands only to discover it had cleaned their hands! Once they shared the news, the soap started to be collected after every fire. People had discovered that the dripping remnants of the fire could be used to make soap. From then on the word began to spread and eventually the ashes and fats were collected, heated, and combined to create soap, and this became forever known as the Saponification process!
As the years passed Soap making was a routine thing in almost every family. You could trade handmade items or food to buy soap. The English and French were good at making soap, although it is believed that german soap makers were the best! Germans had more advanced and specialized technique and added smell to the soap. In France, Beautiful Purple fields of French Lavender were grown and harvested for their unique fragrant petals and oil and were then added to the bath water and soap. To present day, Lavender remains the most popular bar of soap.
Soap contains a natural humectant called glycerin. Glycerin is a byproduct of the saponification process. A humectant is a substance that hydrates the skin and hair by actually pulling moisture out of the air into itself. Eventually Soap was commercialized stripping all glycerin out of each bar to create a longer lasting harder bar of soap. Soap became cheap and was sold by hundreds and thousands and now millions each year. Many new scents and ingredients are now incorporated into modern age soaping and thus many different kinds of soaps are now available.
Over time it was discovered you could harvest oils and fats from plants and trees, Castile soap was born. Castile Soap is what we Specialize in at The Soap Vine. Castile soap is made with plant, tree or nut based oils such as coconut or olive and combining them with sodium hydroxide or lye to saponify. Many health professionals agree and recommend Castile Soap over all others. Castile Soap is regarded as the soap of "Choice", for maximum skin benefits.
Some independent soap companies choose to triple mill there soap which removes the natural glycerin from the soap. Some soap makers use animal fat or tallow in soap. Most soap companies use the cheapest grade oils for cost effectiveness. Here at The Soap Vine, we believe in keeping the bar in its natural & purest form. We do not triple mill our soap. Our bars nourish,condition and vitalize the skin. We prefer Non-GMO, Organic, Unrefined,Virgin, Minimally processed ingredients. Imagine us as a gourmet fudge shop for your skin! Our heavenly soap is made in large batches and loaves and carefully cut and hand carved. We package our soap in recycled ,earthly, sustainable materials.