FINE
SOAPMAKERS, LIKE THE REST OF US, CHOOSE FATS WISELY
Swanzey,
NH -- Most of today's talk about fat concerns the foods we
eat. But did you know that when you choose a soap, you also
have a choice of saturated, unsaturated, poly, mono, animal
and vegetable fats? Soap is made by mixing a fat with an
alkali, a process called saponification. In the old days,
soapmakers used the actual ashes of plants like the soapwort
and now-extinct barilla for their alkali. Then, in 18th
century France, Nicolas Leblanc figured out how to synthesize
the active ingredient of this ash, sodium hydroxide (lye),
and it has been used for soapmaking ever since.
When
it comes to which fat and other ingredients to use, however,
there are still plenty of options. Most commercial soaps
are made from a tallow base, which is, simply, animal fat.
Tallow has been used for soap ever since the Phoenicians boiled
up some goat fat with wood ashes about 2500 years ago (the
first solid soap bar wasn't made until around the eighth century).
Superfatted soaps are made by adding additional oil or
fat (often lanolin) to the base after saponification. Glycerine
soaps are a natural by-product of the soapmaking process.
When you mix fat with lye, the reaction creates about 93 percent
soap and seven percent glycerine. Glycerine soap is made by
adding back to the soap the glycerine naturally removed in
the saponification process. Many of Europe's master soapmakers
(called savonniers in France) prefer vegetable based
soaps, which are usually made with a blend of 80 percent palm
oil and 20 percent coconut oil (just like some cookies!).
They also often use other vegetable oils, such as the olive
oil which is used to make the famous "Castile soap" of Spain. Vegetable
based soaps have been coveted for centuries for their aesthetic
qualities and the way they pamper the skin. Today, some people
simply like them because they prefer products not derived
from animals.Vegetable soaps can be blended with fine fragrances
to make them more luxurious, and triple-milled to provide
long-lasting qualities.
This
is the case with Provence Santé soaps, made by master
"savonnier" Stephane Lecaille in Avignon in the south
of France. Lecaille crafts his soap using traditional methods
and natural additives such as lavender, the classic fragrance
of Provence; extract of honeysuckle, which soothes the skin;
and vervain (also known as lemon verbena), which lends a sweet,
citrus fragrance to the soap.Provence Santé vegetable
based soaps are imported by Baudelaire, Inc., which specializes
in fine imported soaps and body care products. The triple-milled
bars are available in gift shops, boutiques, department stores
and day spas nationwide. They can also be ordered directly
through Baudelaire's mail order catalog. For a free copy,
write to Baudelaire, 265 Old Homestead Hwy, Swanzey, NH 03446,
or phone toll-free (800) 327-2324. For more information, visit
the company’s web site at www.baudelairesoaps.com.
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