ABSTRACT
Although the origin of soap is not very clear, it is widely accepted that some form of primitive soap-making methods existed several thousand years ago, dating as far back to 2000 bc. For many centuries, soaps were made by heating a mixture of animal fats (tallow) with lye, a basic solution obtained from wood ashes [1]. Until the late eighteenth century, soap was considered a luxury item available only to royalty and the social upper class. Today, soaps are produced using a variety of much more refined processes and different fats and oils, resulting in finished products that deliver consumer-relevant performance benefits with desirable aesthetics [1]. In this section, we will discuss the chemical and physical properties of commercial soap bars with a focus on skin cleansing, the raw materials needed, the manufacturing and process requirements, and the final finished product performance evaluations.
