The Dirty History of Soap

You’re probably thinking: A mixture of fat and ashes? That doesn’t sound very clean. (Actually, it sounds pretty gross.) But when the two ingredients are boiled together, they create a slippery new material that can help pick up dirt and wash it away. Humans began making soap this way nearly 5,000 years ago.

This early soap was greasy and lumpy. It made skin itchy. It often smelled like burned bacon. Not surprisingly, most ancient peoples didn’t bathe with it. They used it for pretty much everything except washing their bodies: scrubbing floors, doing laundry, cleaning tools, treating wounds, and even styling their hair.

So how did people keep clean in ancient times if they didn’t use soap? Bathers in Japan soaked in rice water. Many Native Americans made cleansers out of crushed-up plants. The Greeks and Romans coated their sweaty bodies with oil and sand, then scraped everything off with a curved metal tool. (Famous athletes sometimes put this goopy mixture in jars and sold it to their fans.)

A mixture of fat and ashes probably doesn’t sound very clean. (Actually, it sounds pretty gross.) But boiling the two ingredients together makes a slippery new material. It helps pick up dirt and wash it away. Humans began making soap this way nearly 5,000 years ago.

This early soap was greasy and lumpy. It made skin itchy. It often smelled like burned bacon. So most ancient peoples didn’t wash with it. They used it for almost everything except cleaning their bodies. They scrubbed floors with it. They did laundry. They even styled their hair.

So how did people keep clean in ancient times if they didn’t use soap? Bathers in Japan soaked in rice water. Many Native Americans made cleansers out of crushedup plants. The Greeks and Romans coated their sweaty bodies with oil and sand. Then they scraped everything off with a metal tool. (Famous athletes sometimes put this mixture in jars and sold it to their fans.)

Washing with soap became more common around the 1100s, during the time of the knights. Soap makers in Europe had figured out how to create gentle, sweet-smelling bar soaps. They used olive oil instead of animal fats. But these new soaps were very expensive. Rich ladies dabbed them on their face and hands, more to make themselves smell nice than to get clean. Most people couldn’t afford such a luxury.

This was still true by the time Abigail Foote was cooking up her pot of soap in Connecticut in 1775. Abigail and her family would have used the harsh homemade soap to clean around the house. But when it came to their bodies, they might have just wiped down with a damp rag . . . if they even washed at all.

In fact, many people considered bathing unhealthy back then—even dangerous. They believed that dirt helped block diseases from entering the body. Scrubbing clean, they thought, could actually make you sick. Smelling like armpits was a way to stay safe.

Washing with soap became more common around the 1100s. Soap makers in Europe had figured out how to create sweetsmelling soaps. But these new bars cost a lot. Most people couldn’t afford such a luxury.

This was still true by the time Abigail was cooking up her pot of soap in Connecticut in 1775. Abigail and her family would have used the harsh homemade soap to clean around the house. But they might have just wiped down their bodies with a damp rag. Or maybe they didn’t wash at all.

Many people considered bathing unhealthy back then—even dangerous. They believed that dirt helped block diseases from entering the body. They thought scrubbing clean could actually make you sick. Smelling like armpits was a way to stay safe.

Soon, soap had taken over America. Factories churned out bars in big stacks. Movie stars appeared in ads for different brands. Kids learned about the importance of regular washing in school. By the 1930s, a survey showed that Americans saw soap as one of the top three things they couldn’t live without (along with bread and butter).

Today, we spend more than $300 million on soap products every year. If Abigail Foote were still alive, she would be dazzled by all the different kinds for sale—liquids, gels, foams. Most are now made with chemicals instead of fat and ashes. But they still work basically the same way as those long-ago soaps.

And they are just as important for battling germs. Health experts say that handwashing is key to stopping the spread of diseases, including Covid-19. As we face this new health challenge, one of our best weapons is from ancient times: a little soap and water.

Soon, soap had taken over America. Factories made big stacks of bars. Movie stars appeared in ads for different brands. Kids learned about the importance of washing in school. By the 1930s, Americans saw soap as one of the top three things they couldn’t live without (along with bread and butter).

Today, we spend more than $300 million on soap products every year. If Abigail Foote were still alive, she would be dazzled by all the different kinds for sale—liquids, gels, foams. Most are now made with chemicals instead of fat and ashes. But they still work about the same way as those long-ago soaps.

And they’re just as important for battling germs. Health experts say that handwashing is key to stopping the spread of diseases, including Covid-19. As we face this new health challenge, one of our best weapons is from ancient times: a little soap and water.

Last February, the coronavirus began spreading across America. Health experts stressed that keeping your hands clean was key to staying healthy. And soon, one item became almost impossible to find: hand sanitizer.

Small bottles that usually cost $2 were being sold online for nearly $100. Hospitals had to lock up their sanitizer so no one would steal it. Once you might have tossed a bottle of Purell in your backpack without thinking about it. Now it was being treated almost like liquid diamonds.

In New Jersey, 11-year-old Jayden Perez saw that many kids in his class didn’t have hand sanitizer. With his mom’s help, he managed to find 1,500 sanitizer sprays for sale online. But instead of keeping the sprays, Jayden donated them—to emergency workers, his neighbors, the library, and every school in his district.

 “I just wanted to do what I could to help my community,” Jayden said.

Last February, the coronavirus began spreading across America. Health experts stressed that keeping your hands clean was key to staying healthy. And soon, one item became almost impossible to find: hand sanitizer.

Small bottles that usually cost $2 were being sold online for nearly $100. Hospitals had to lock up their sanitizer so no one would steal it. Purell was being treated like it was liquid diamonds.

In New Jersey, 11-year-old Jayden Perez saw that many kids in his class didn’t have hand sanitizer. With his mom’s help, he found 1,500 sanitizer sprays for sale online. But instead of keeping the sprays, Jayden donated them. He gave them to emergency workers, his neighbors, the library, and every school in his district.

“I just wanted to do what I could to help my community,” Jayden said.

This article was originally published in the September 2020 issue.

This article was originally published in the September 2020 issue.