Soap Facts for Kids

A handmade soap bar

Marseille soap in blocks

A soap dispenser

Pretty bar soaps, often found in hotels

Box for Amigo del Obrero (Worker's Friend) soap from the 20th century

Soap is a special cleaning product that helps us wash away dirt, oil, and germs. It comes in many forms, like solid bars, liquids, or even foam. Soap is made by mixing fats or oils with a strong substance called lye. This process is called saponification, and it creates the soap we use every day.

Why We Need Soap
How Soap Works
How Soap Is Made
Types of Soap
Cool Facts About Soap
How to Use Soap Properly
Images for kids
See also
- Types of soap
- Soap-related

Why We Need Soap

Soap is super important for keeping us healthy. Here’s why:

Washing your hands with soap is the best way to remove harmful germs that can make you sick.
Regular handwashing with soap can lower your risk of diseases like diarrhea and respiratory infections.
Soap isn’t just for hands. It’s also used to clean dishes, clothes, and even toys.

How Soap Works

Soap is a surfactant. This means it helps water mix with oil and dirt. Here’s how it works:

Breaks Down Oil: Soap molecules have two ends. One end loves water (it's "hydrophilic"). The other end loves oil (it's "hydrophobic"). When you rub soap on your hands, the oil-loving end grabs onto dirt and oil. The water-loving end then sticks to water.
Lifts Germs: Germs often hide in the oil on your skin. Soap lifts this oil, along with the germs. Then, they can be easily washed away with water.
Creates Foam: When you rub soap with water, it creates foam. This foam helps spread the soap over your hands. It cleans every little spot.

How Soap Is Made

How soaps and detergents are made

You only need a few basic ingredients to make soap:

Fats or Oils: These can be animal fats (like tallow or lard). They can also be vegetable oils (like olive oil, coconut oil, or palm oil). Different fats and oils create different qualities in the soap.
Alkali: This is a chemical that reacts with fats or oils to create soap. The most common alkali used is lye. For bar soap, it's sodium hydroxide. For liquid soap, it's potassium hydroxide. Remember that lye is a strong chemical. It must be handled with care by adults only!
Water: Water is used to dissolve the lye. It also helps the saponification process happen.

Here's a simplified version of how soap is made: 1. Mixing the Lye Solution: An adult carefully mixes the lye with water. This creates a lye solution. The mixture gets very hot, so it's important to be cautious! 2. Melting the Fats or Oils: The fats or oils are melted in a separate container. 3. Combining the Ingredients: The lye solution is slowly added to the melted fats or oils. This is done while stirring constantly. 4. Saponification: As the lye solution and fats/oils mix, the saponification process begins. This can take some time. The mixture will start to thicken. 5. Adding Extras (optional): At this point, you can add things like essential oils for smell. You can also add herbs for color and texture. Other things can be added to make your soap special. 6. Pouring into a Mold: The soap mixture is poured into a mold. This could be a box or container. It is left there to set. 7. Curing: The soap needs to cure for several weeks. During this time, the saponification process continues. The soap becomes milder and harder.

Types of Soap

There are many different types of soap. Each one has its own special qualities:

Bar Soap: This is the most common type of soap. It's solid and comes in many shapes, sizes, and smells.
Liquid Soap: Liquid soap is easy to use for handwashing and showering. It's often pumped from a bottle.
Glycerin Soap: Glycerin is a natural part of soapmaking. Glycerin soap is known for being gentle and moisturizing.
Castile Soap: Castile soap is traditionally made with olive oil. It's a mild and useful soap that can be used for many things.
Laundry Soap: Laundry soap is made specially to clean clothes. It's often stronger than other types of soap.

Cool Facts About Soap

Soap has been around for thousands of years! The earliest proof of soap-making is from ancient Babylon around 2800 BC.
The ancient Egyptians used soap as a medicine. They mixed animal fats or vegetable oils with a substance called trona to make their soaps.
A cleaner similar to soap was made in ancient China. It came from the seeds of the Gleditsia sinensis tree.
In Europe, soap in the 9th century was made from animal fats. It had a bad smell. This changed when olive oil was used instead. Then, much of Europe's soap production moved to the Mediterranean areas where olives grew.
Hard toilet soap was brought to Europe by Arabs.
Liquid soap was not invented until the 1800s. In 1865, William Sheppard got a patent for a liquid version of soap.
Soap can create bubbles because it makes water's surface less tight. This lets the water stretch and form thin films.
In the past, soap was a luxury item. Only wealthy people could afford it.
During World War I and World War II, there were soap shortages. This was because fats and oils were needed for the war effort.

An advertisement for Dobbins' medicated toilet soap
A 1922 magazine ad for Palmolive Soap
Liquid soap

How to Use Soap Properly

Wet Your Hands: Start by wetting your hands with clean water.
Apply Soap: Rub soap all over your hands. Make sure to get between your fingers and under your nails.
Scrub for 20 Seconds: Sing "Happy Birthday" twice or count to 20.
Rinse Thoroughly: Wash off all the soap with running water.
Dry Your Hands: Use a clean towel to dry your hands completely.

Images for kids

Dudu-Osun – a popular type of African black soap
Azul e branco soap – a bar of blue-white soap
Handmade soaps sold at a shop in Hyères, France
Traditional Marseille soap
Modern soap shop in Tübingen (2019)
The lye is dissolved in water.
Greases for car parts can contain soaps.
Soap on a platter
The chemical structure of sodium stearate, found in bar soaps
The chemical structure of sodium laureth sulfate, found in liquid soaps
A cartoon of Lillie Langtry, who advertised soaps
Structure of a micelle, formed by soap parts. The outside loves water, the inside loves oils.

Soap facts for kids

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