Soap: A Brief History

With the speed of life getting faster and faster and attention spans getting shorter and shorter, there is something undeniably attractive about artisanal soap. It’s so counter cultural: there’s no instant gratification for it takes months to fully cure; there’s nothing ‘high tech’ about it and the ingredients and technics are the same as they’ve been for hundreds of years; and there’s no obvious AI application in this craft that rewards experience and care.

The history of soap is long, going back to ancient Babylon, where clay cylinders recorded recipes combining water, alkali (from ashes) and cassia oil. By 2500 BCE, Sumerians mixed animal fats with wood ash to create a cleansing paste for wool and cotton. In ancient Egypt (1500 BCE), the Ebers Papyrus described mixing animal fats or vegetable oils with alkaline salts, such as natron, for washing, skin treatments, and ritual purification.

The Romans began using for laundry and hair care rather than bathing. The Latin term "sapo" gave soap its name, and was made by boiling fats with ash-derived lye (potassium hydroxide), a slow and inconsistent process.

By the 7th century, soap-making spread across Europe and the Mediterranean. The Gauls and Germanic tribes refined techniques, using soap for personal hygiene and as a cosmetic for hair. In the Islamic world, Aleppo (Syria) became a soap-making hub, producing hard soaps from olive oil and laurel berry oil, still renowned today. In Europe, soap production became a craft by the 9th century, with guilds in Marseilles (using olive oil and soda ash) and Castile (known for its pure olive oil soap) setting quality standards.

Then came the Industrial Revolution where factories and mass production replaced artisanal craftmanship. Steam-powered machinery automated mixing, cutting, and pressing, replacing manual labor. Factories in England (e.g., Lever Brothers, now Unilever) and France scaled production, churning out uniform soap bars. The hot process, where ingredients were boiled in large vats, became standard in factories, speeding up saponification compared to the slower cold process used by artisans. During World War II, fat shortages prompted the development of synthetic detergents (syndets) from petroleum-based surfactants.

At The Cottage Line, we have a soft spot for things that are old. Making hand-crafted soap with all natural ingredients, using traditional methods is what we do, and we strive to make a high-quality artisanal product that is reminiscent of the pre-Industrial Revolutions. Bringing back a slice of the good old days and providing our customers with a product they will love.