Is soap necessary?
The ancient Babylonians are credited with being the first people to make soap. Their recipe for animal fats, wood ash, and water has been found carved into clay containers dating back to 2800 B.C. They likely used the concoction for washing wool and cotton so the materials could be woven into cloth and not so much for cleaning their bodies. (1) Roman and Egyptian ancient civilizations also used soap but like the Babylonians, they did not use soap on their bodies regularly. So why do we use it so frequently? Let’s look at how soap works.
How soap works:
The making of soap has changed from using wood ash, which is very alkaline to using lye (sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide), which is also very alkaline. Lye is mixed with water (or something water-based) and liquid fat (acidic substance). A chemical reaction takes place between the two substances that turns the fats into a salt form and the soap becomes an alkaline substance.
Soap has a unique chemical structure that looks like a balloon. The balloon head is the salt—a charged, polar molecule—and it’s connected to a string or tail of non-polar fatty acids. The soap molecule can therefore act like a double-agent: the salty end is attracted to water, while the fatty tail is attracted to the dirt or oil. When you mix soap with dirt and water, the soap molecules break up the dirt and the bacteria it contains by forming circles around individual droplets—the fatty chains go in the middle facing the dirt, while the salt balloon tops form the outside of the circle facing the surrounding water. The wheel-like structure formed by the circle of soap molecules around the dirt or oil droplet is called a micelle. This allows the dirt and germs on your skin—or on clothing, surfaces, or towels—to be rinsed away with the water. (2)
Does water work just as well as soap and water together do?
A study was performed and it found that “Handwashing with water alone reduced the presence of bacteria to 23% (p < 0.001). Handwashing with plain soap and water reduced the presence of bacteria to 8% (comparison of both handwashing arms: p < 0.001). The effect did not appear to depend on the bacteria species. Handwashing with non-antibacterial soap and water is more effective for the removal of bacteria of potential fecal origin from hands than handwashing with water alone and should therefore be more useful for the prevention of transmission of diarrhoeal diseases.” (3) Some germs are water soluble and will wash away with just water but some are lipid soluble and a fat or alkali base is required to remove them. In more scientific terms:
Bacteria or viruses are easily captured by micelles because the outside of the micelle is hydrophilic, so it’s easily swept off your hands and down the drain — along with its pathogenic prisoners — when you rinse the soap away with water. (4) So to prevent a stomach bug from affecting you and your family, washing your hands with soap will greatly improve your chances of staying well.
The benefits of handwashing with soap are numerous. It significantly reduces the risk of diarrhea, typhoid, respiratory illnesses, and lots of other waterborne and infectious diseases. And because handwashing reduces illnesses and their long-term complications, handwashing also helps improve child growth, development, and school attendance around the world. (5) What about hand sanitizer? “Hand sanitizer does kill some germs, but it won’t eliminate all types of germs and is not effective at removing harmful chemicals, like pesticides. Hand sanitizers are also not great at cleaning hands that are visibly dirty or greasy. (6)
Shouldn’t I be using antibacterial soap?
Actually no, just like antibiotics antibacterial soap can cause more problems rather than help in the long run, for the exact same reason antibiotics can create issues. Antibacterial products and antibiotics are making it possible for viruses and bacteria to become resistant to them due to over use of antibacterial products and the virus and bacteria’s ability to mutate.
The best kinds of soap:
If you are using a commercially produced bar of soap you are most likely exposing yourself to artificial colors, parabens, preservatives, & artificial fragrances. Many of the aforementioned ingredients can cause skin irritations, affect internal organs, are carcinogenic, disrupt hormones, and more, and are just simply not necessary for soap making.
Dandelion Naturals bar soap is made with high quality essential oils, high quality fats ranging from tallow to olive oil, natural clays, and natural juice to color our products. Some of our bar soaps are more exfoliating which is due to adding natural ingredients such as oatmeal or coffee. After we pour raw soap, the saponification process is complete after 24 to 48 hours. We cure our bar soap for a minimum of four weeks, creating a hard, longer lasting bar that cleanses and nourishes your skin.
We currently have 4 unscented bar soaps available and 31 essential oil scented bar soaps, many of which feature exfoliating ingredients and the essential oils provide a variety of benefits.
For the hard working man we recommend: Walk In The Woods Bar soap, it is a plant-based, palm oil-free bar soap that whisks you away to the wild wonder of the woods. Featuring olive oil, shea butter, avocado oil, and nettle leaf powder for its earthy green swirls. A thoughtful blend of cedarwood, lemongrass, rosemary, and eucalyptus essential oils is a breath of fresh air that leaves you feeling clean and renewed. You can find Walk In The Woods at: https://dandelionnaturals.com/product/walk-in-the-woods-bar-soap/
For the ladies who love floral smells we recommend: P.S.I Love You. It is a scent that we recently formulated and we all fell in love with. You can find P.S. I Love You can be found at: https://dandelionnaturals.com/product/p-s-i-love-you-bar-soap-with-lavender-juniper-sage-mint/
For the citrus scent lover we recommend: Grapefruit Sea Salt
Grapefruit Sea Salt is a gentle, exfoliating soap that leaves your skin feeling incredibly smooth and soft with its foamy, cloud-like lather. Real Salt is loaded with minerals like magnesium, potassium, and calcium and is effective at combating acne by restoring the skin’s natural oil balance while fighting bacteria. You can find Grapefruit Sea Salt at: https://dandelionnaturals.com/product/grapefruit-sea-salt-bar-soap/
For a unique exfoliating experience we recommend: Citrus Mint Tallow Loofah Bar Soap
What’s so unique? We source whole, all-natural loofahs, slice them, and place them in this round bar of soap for a truly unique exfoliating experience! This bar soap is at: https://dandelionnaturals.com/product/citrus-mint-tallow-loofah-bar-soap/
For the kids try our: Little Babe Tallow Bar Soap. We took our beloved Tallow Bar Soap recipe and tweaked it a bit and made adorable animal shaped soaps for all the little Babes! These bars are cured with tallow beef and calendula infused olive oil, two ideal fats for soap making that are mild on the skin and provide the skin with vitamins, nutrients, and moisturizing fatty acids. You can find our Little Babe Tallow Bar Soap at: https://dandelionnaturals.com/product-category/kids/
We have many other scents so we are sure that you will find many scents that you love while using our 100% natural bar soaps.
Resources:
https://www.livescience.com/57044-science-of-soap.html (1)
https://www.defeatdd.org/blog/how-does-soap-actually-work/ (2, 5)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3037063/ (3)
https://www.livescience.com/how-soap-kills-germs (4)
https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/en/healthu/2020/08/11/how-does-soap-work (6)
