As we know, and it is visible in supermarkets, there are different types of soap, such as liquid soap, bar soap and natural soap. These have different ways of being produced.
Liquid soap is cheap and accessible to produce, this type of product can serve several purposes. Despite the different forms of production, there is a general step-by-step guide:
Preparation of the soap base, which may contain oils or fats, thickeners, surfactants, preservatives, dyes, water and some fragrance.
(the oils must first be heated, mixed with water and the surfactant, which is responsible for the foam, as in the well-known shower gel)
Neutralization: in this second stage, there is an addition of a basic solution, which is capable of neutralizing the acidic components that are present in the first stage of production.
Mixing: Once the base is ready, add the other elements to the mixture, until it is homogeneous.
Viscosity adjustment: this step is only carried out if the viscosity of the product is not as desired, therefore, the thickening agent is added.
Packaging: It is the process of placing the product (soap) in appropriate containers, requiring quality tests to be carried out.
Labeling and storage: finally, the final phase occurs, where the soap is labeled, which contains information about how to use it and the brand of soap, as well as the formulation.
Bar soap is in turn an essential product for people's hygiene and well-being, being present in everyone's daily routine, nowadays we even frequently see the use of shampoo in soap mode, skin care products , and the most common, which is the soap we use to wash our hands.
You could even take as an example the soaps used to wash clothes by hand. It is a product produced on a large scale, so that it can be accessible to the consumer.
There are therefore 5 main steps for its production.
Selection of raw materials: to produce a bar of soap it is necessary to use some type of animal tallow or vegetable essential oil (such as coconut oil, these oils already have beneficial properties for skin care).
Saponification: Chemical reaction between oils/fats and an alkali (which is usually caustic soda or potassium hydroxide). This reaction manages to transform oils and fats into soap, which is the base component of bar soap.
Addition of new ingredients: New ingredients are added to improve the properties and characteristics of the soap, such as fragrance (responsible for the aroma), dye (responsible for color), antioxidants (to prevent deterioration) and /or emollient agents (substances that help the skin to become soft, smooth, supple).
Molding: The liquid product mass is placed in molds, where it is cooled and solidified.
Drying: After the dough has cooled and solidified, it is removed from the mold, going through a drying process to remove excess moisture, which increases the concentration of the product and its durability. After being cut, the soaps are packaged and labeled, with quality controls.
In turn, natural bar soap is different from synthetic bar soap due to its raw materials and their focus on sustainability, as well as the use of natural ingredients.
The main differences are:
In natural soap the raw materials used are pure vegetable oils;
The saponification process is carried out cold, in which the oils and alkali are mixed at lower temperatures, preserving the beneficial properties of the oils, and also avoiding overheating, which could damage some nutrients present in natural products.
There is the addition of natural ingredients such as plant extracts, herbs, spices, clays, which provide therapeutic and aromatic properties.
In this type of soap, the use of synthetic ingredients is avoided, for example artificial dyes, synthetic fragrances and chemical preservatives.
The producers of these soaps opt for recyclable or biodegradable packaging, with the aim of minimizing the carbon footprint.
Written by
Beatriz Pereira
Comments