BUZZ ISSUE-U:BEE ONLINE #02

Some people actually start
hobby.
own soap-making business!.
their
whose roots can
pomeridianum),
crushed in water to form a
be
(Saponaria officinalis)
Soapwort
contain the same main
also
a compound called
ingredient,
which forms the foamy
saponin,
and is also a toxin used to
lather,
fish in streams to make
stupefy
people learned that fats
Later,
react with alkalies in the
would
soaps are made from fats
Today,
oils that react with lye (sodium
and
Solid fats like coconut
hydroxide).
palm oil, tallow (rendered beef
oil,
or lard (rendered pork fat), are
fat),
to form bars of soap that stay
used
START MAKING
YOUR OWN
SOAP-YOU'LL
LOVE THE
RESULTS!
THE FIRST
SOAPS WERE
THE SAP OF
PLANTS
The first soaps were probably the
saps of certain plants, such as the
BY MARK EVE
Soap Plant (Chlorogalum
We're so used to just picking up some
lather, and used as a shampoo.
soap at the local chemist or using a
shower gel or bath product we got as a
Christmas present - we tend to forget
Other plants, such as Soapbark
that years ago people actually made
(Quillaja saponaria), Soapberry
(Sapindus mukorossi), and
their own soap!
Do you know it is probably better for
your skin and is it a really popular
them easy to catch.
ashes left over from a fire to
produce saponified compounds
such as sodium stearate and the
related potassium stearate.
hard and resist dissolving in the
water left in the soap dish.
Issue Two: January 2019 / buzz@ubee.org.uk / www.ubee.org.uk / Page 8