History of Soap Making

Anyone who has seen Fight Club knows that Tyler Durden said that soap was the yardstick of civilization. Now whether that was an actual quote from someone of historical importance or not, it is difficult to deny the influence soap has had on human civilization.

When studying the history of soap, many theories emerge. Some claim that soap was first used in prehistoric times while others claim that the Gauls created it. There is even the possibility that soap may not have been used as a means to clean at first. In fact, it may instead have been used as an antiseptic to heal wounds.

The History of Soap Making by the Greeks, Romans, and Hebrews

Before soap became popularly used, the ancient Greeks were said to have used a combination of lye and ashes as a cleanser for pots and to clean the statues of their gods.

Goat's Milk Soap Recipes seemed to be the soap of choice by the Gauls and the Romans. They combined goat's tallow and the ashes of the beech tree to create both hard and soft soap products.

Today, soap is made from of fats and an alkali. In the past however, people made their own soap from animal fats and wood ashes. Regardless of who first created the concoction, it was undoubtedly used in Rome. This is an established fact because a soapmaker's shop was discovered within the rubble of Pompeii after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius...

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