What Is Soap & How Does It Clean?

Geranium Bay soap with calendula petals and a cocoa powder exfoliating strip

Bar soap is the resulting product of combining an alkalinic/basic solution of lye (aka sodium hydroxide, or caustic soda) and water, with acidic fats or oils. When the basic and acid substances mix, a chemical reaction takes place, called saponification, where molecules rearrange, the lye is neutralized via the rearrangement and connection with other molecules, and you then have soap molecules, which are really fatty acid salts, as well as naturally occurring glycerin molecules. Magical! The chemical formula looks like this:

   [C₁₅H₃₁CO]₃[C₃H₅O₃]      +      3NaOH

                            (triglyceride as oil molecule)           (sodium hydroxide as lye)

=

              3C₁₅H₃₁COONa             +       C₃H₅ (OH)₃

        (sodium palmitate, i.e. soap)             (glycerol)

Additionally, when extra oil is added to the formula, it does not get converted to soap because there is not enough lye to do so; but instead it remains as an added moisturizer.  This is called "superfatting." The Herbal Workshop soap is always superfatted so that your skin is not completely stripped of all it's natural oils which help defend against germs and harmful bacteria by giving our skin a slightly acid pH where these microorganisms cannot thrive.



HOW IT CLEANS
The soap molecule has two ends: one is a hydrophilic (water-loving) polar tip, the other is a hydrophobic (water-fearing) non-polar hydrocarbon chain or tail. The tip is happily attaching itself to the water, while the tail is more attracted to grease & dirt. This creates something like a wheel with spokes centering around grease pieces. The soap molecule tails are like the spokes attached to the center grime piece, and the other end of the tails are the tips sticking to the water. This whole entity becomes suspended in the water and then washes away when rinsed, carrying the dirt and grease with it.