All About Soap
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The history of soap can be dated to the ancient civilizations of the ancient day Babylonians and the Egyptians who used animal fats,mixture of ashes and water. Now mordern soap is very similar due to the combination of fats and sodium hydroxide to produce it.
Once raw soap is produced ,other ingredients are added like perfume and colors can be added to make it attractive. The chemical method of making soaps is called "Saponification".
-Importance of soaps -
1.Soaps help to keep the body free from dirt and germs
2.Soaps helping the part of creating new skin cells
3.Some soaps have a very good fragrance which helps a person to smell better.
4.Some soaps contain anti-oxidants which nourish the skin.
5.Some soaps are used to treat skin infections.
- Disadvantages of using soaps-
1.Some soaps are not good for sensitive skin
2.Soaps dry the skin of its nutrients.
3.Soaps contain high acidic properties which is very dangerous to the skin
- Charteristics of soap-
1.Soaps are produced from natural ingredients such as fast and oils ,plants etc and combined with sodium or potassium salts.
- Softer and less harsh I'm skin compared to detergent.
3.Soap is biodegradable .
4.It can be in liquid or solid form.
-The Nigerian soap Ose dudu-
Nigerians take great pride in their skin and appearance and have a very beautiful skin.Ose Dudu which translates to black soap is one of the soaps made by women in Nigeria for many generations ago to keep their skin fresh and healthy. The soap naturally has therapeutic benefits
African black soap has a high concentration of anti oxidants which nourish the skin. It is made from the ashes of plantain skins, cocoa, and palm leaves and palm oil from leaves or kernels. Some additional ingeredients could be honey ,Shea butter or cocoa butter to soften the skin and provide extra moisturizing effects.
-Ingredient of the African black soap-
1.Plantain skins and leaves :they have a high concentration in iron and vitamin A and E. Vitamin E helps to improve texture and tone of the skin. Allantoine in the leaves of plantain leaves help to formulate new skin cells.
2.Cocoa powder:which are made from cocoa beans has anti oxidants and anti inflammatory properties to repair damaged skin cells
3.Shea butter or Karite butter is made from the nuts from the karite tree. The oil made from this nuts also contains Vitamin A and E that can help heal burns, sores, and treat eczema and dermatitis.
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4.Palm oil:palm kernel oil and and coconut oil are used as one of the basic ingredients in the manufacturing of soap since they have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal qualities
-Soap Making
Traditional methods-
1.Put the dried plantain palm leaves and coco pods into a stove or clay oven to produce ash
2.Water is then added to the ashes and filtered
3.Ingredients such as Shea butter, coconut oil, palm kernel oil or cocoa butter can be then added
3.The mixture is then stirred for at least 24 hours
4.Then the soap solidifies and moves to the top.
5.The top layer is then scooped out and the mixture is set to cure for two weeks.