What Is Soft Pure Soap?

Pure soft soap is free from synthetic additives.

Pure or soft soap is soap free from synthetic additives, such as perfumes, dyes and/or chemicals. Pure soap bath and beauty bars are available for purchase at most beauty supply or health food stores. Recipes and soap making kits are also available for purchase at your local craft store or on the Internet.

Pure Verses Synthetic

The difference between pure and synthetic soaps are the synthetic additives found in synthetic soap, such as non-organic, non-natural fats and oils and chemical compounds. Additionally, synthetic soaps may contain perfumes and dyes. Ivory, who has been manufacturing soap since 1879, claims its soap to be pure soap.

History

Found in clay jars during an excavation of Babylon, pure soap dates back to 2800 BC. Since then, it has been a cleansing agent in some capacity for thousands of years. It was not until the 18th century that soaps started being made with synthetic chemicals, according to The Soap and Detergent Association. Unless otherwise noted on the package, most standard bath soaps made today are synthetic.

Lore

According to soap lore, it originally gets its name from Mount Sapo. The lore surrounding the accidental discovery of soap was recognized when the mixture of animal fat and ash washed down to the Tiber River from the sacrificial Mount Sapo and was found to be a useful cleansing agent.

Misconceptions

Although there are many soap makers that advertise their product as organic and natural, not all soap sold as pure soap is free from synthetic additives. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) soap is listed as having special requirements that differ from food, drugs and cosmetics; furthermore, not every soap produced meets FDA guidelines for what it considers soap.

Benefits

The benefits of using pure soap rather than synthetic soap are many. In general, pure soap is less costly because it has fewer ingredients. In addition, most pure soaps are made with natural oils such as aloe, olive oil, oatmeal, and/or shea butter. Additionally, most pure soaps are made with plant oils so they are animal and environmentally friendly.

References

• Natural Pure Soap: Nourish Your Skin Best with Pure And Natural Soap
• Ivory: Pure Fun--Ivory History
• The Soap and Detergent Association: Soap History
• FDA: Is It a Cosmetic, a Drug, or Both? (Or Is It Soap?)