The document provides a history of soap and compares three popular bar soap brands: Dove, Irish Spring, and Zest. It discusses the origins of soap in ancient Babylon and Rome. It also outlines the key ingredients in each brand and how they differ. Dove contains more moisturizing oils, making it the most expensive. Irish Spring relies on fragrance with drying ingredients. Zest dissolves quickly with no special properties. The document concludes different soaps suit different preferences but notes environmental and health concerns with traditional hard soaps.

1. Chemical Comparison
Of Hard Soaps

2. History Of Soap
• The exact moment that someone invented soap is not
known. However, it is known that the Babylonians had
soap in 2800 BC. We also know that soap was mentioned
throughout history in a number of different writings.
• It is speculated that soap was discovered by washer
women who did laundry in the Tiber River at the base of
Sapo Hill in Rome. Sacrifices were made on Sapo Hill, so
the rainwater running down the hill was rich in
potassium hydroxide, derived from the potash in the
ashes from the fires and animal fat from the sacrifices.

3. History Cont.
• during the 700’s soap making began to be a craft in some part
of Europe. The benefits of soap were beginning to be
recognized and soap spread across that continent.
• In the late 1700’s lye was produced and soap could be made
by more people. The European settlers that came to the
Americas brought a form of soap with them and continued to
make soap once they arrived.
– They took hot water and poured it over wood ashes. This
created alkali potash which was boiled with animal fats.
The soaps they made were often harsh and had a pungent
odor.

4. History cont.
• By the 1800’s the soap industry was in full
swing in North America. There are still some
that choose to make their own soap as a
hobby or to save money.

5. Uses
• Different people made soap for different tasks
mainly for :
– Washing clothes & pots
– To form makeup
– Bathing (Minor purpose)
• modern times, the use of soap has become
universal in industrialized nations due to a better
understanding of the role of hygiene in reducing
the population size of pathogenic microorganisms

6. Alternatives to Soap
• Glycerin bars (Glycerin is popular for use in soap
because its humectant properties help bring
moisture to your skin)
• Vegetarian bars
• Body washes
• Body scrubs (The lemon and baking soda
scrub, another alternative is to grind up oats into
flour. Mix into a paste using a little bit of water, and
then add some tumeric spice as an anti-bacterial
agent.)

7. Chemical structure
• Most soaps are soluble sodium or potassium salts of
carboxylic acids. The most common commercial soap is
sodium stearate, Na[C17H35CO2]. It dissolves in
water, forming the sodium and stearate ions. Even though
most of the stearate ion is a hydrocarbon chain, it dissolves in
water because of the carboxylate group. The carboxylate end
is called hydrophilic (water-loving), and the hydrocarbon tail is
called hydrophobic (water-fearing).

8. Cont.

9. Product Comparison
DOVE Ingredients: IRISH SPRING Ingredients:
Sodium Cococyl Isethionate, Stearic Active ingredient: triclocarban.
Acid, Sodium Tallowate, Coconut Other ingredients: soap (sodium
Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Water, tallowate, sodium cocoate and/or
Sodium Stearate, Cocamidopropyl sodium palm
Betaine, Sodium Cocoate or Palm Kernelate types) water, stearic acid (skin
Kernelate, Fragrance, Helianthus conditioner) coconut and/or palm
Annuus (Sunflower Seed Oil), Kernel acd, glycerin (skin conditioner),
Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E fragrance, sodium chloride, peg-12
Acetate), Sodium Chloride,
Polyethylene, Tetrasodium EDTA, Polysorbate 20, titanium dioxide,
Tetrasodium Etidronate, Titanium tetrasodium edta, bht d&c green no. 8,
Dioxide (CI 77891), Blue 1 Lake (Cl Fd&c green no. 3.
42090).

10. Product Comparison Cont.
ZEST Ingredients
Tetrasodium EDTA, Sodium chloride, FD&C (or D&C) Yellow
#10 (CI 47005), Fragrance(s)/perfume(s), Titanium
dioxide, Chromium trihydroxide, Tetrasodium
etidronate, Pentasodium pentetate, Sodium
tallowate, Coconut fatty acids, Sodium cocoate, FD&C Red #4
(CI 14700), Sodium alkyl glycerol sulfonate, Palm kernelate
(unspecified type), Water, Palm, kernel acid, Magnesium
cocoate.

11. Common Ingredients
• Sodium Tallowate
Sodium tallowate is a true soap created when the fatty acid from animal tissue is combined
with some type of lye, usually sodium hydroxide. The resulting soap is often used as an
ingredient in skin cleanser.
• Sodium Cocoate
Sodium cocoate is a generic name for the mixture of fatty acid salts derived by reacting
coconut oil with sodium hydroxide. Package labels refer to sodium cocoate using the names
coconut oil, fatty acids, coco and sodium salts. It is a surfactant and emulsifying agent. It is a
critical ingredient in soap making. The Bottom Line: This ingredient cleanses your skin.
• Water
Water is typically used in soap as a solvent for dissolving the oxidizer (the thing that
combines with the oils to make soap)

12. Common Ingredients cont.
• Tetrasodium EDTA
Tetrasodium EDTA is used as a chelating agent, or, it makes hard water become
soft. As water makes its way through the water cycle, it tend to pick up metal
ions such as calcium and iron. These metal ions can make water hard, which is
a problem because hard water won't get you clean. Body washes, shampoos
and other cleansers work as surfactants, which are responsible for attracting
dirt and oil and pulling it off your skin so it can be rinsed away by water. The
problem is that surfactants also attract the metal ions found in hard
water, hindering the surfactants' ability to cleanse your skin. As the chelating
agent, Tetrasodium EDTA neutralizes the metal ions in hard water and allows
the surfactant to do its job.
• Fragrance
Fragrances give soaps a pleasant smell which is very important for a hygienic
product.
• Sodium Chloride
This ingredient appears not to have any beneficial properties for skin. In soaps
it is used as a thickening agent.

13. Cont.
• Titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide has no benefit to the skin only to the
appearance of the soap, it makes it whiter. A normal goat’s
milk soap will not be white; it will truly be creamy beige.

14. Cost Comparison
1 bar Dove - $3.25
1 bar Irish spring - $1.49
1 bar Zest - $1.59
• Research has shown that the most expensive ingredients in
the soap bars are the essential and natural oils.
• The ingredient listing on the Dove bar shows that the bar
contains more oils than both contenders, making it pricier.
We can also see, that Zest has a minute, but acceptable
amount of oils.
• Irish Spring however has no extra oils than those shared
among the three.

15. Performance
• The dove white soap bar contains ¼ pure moisturizing cream.
– This proves to be true as the bar leaves skin clean, soft and
smooth. Dove, however is the most costly of the three.
• The motto for the Irish Spring Original soap bar is “Fresh
without the frills, for a classic clean”.
– This bar is all clean and no moisture.
– It contains drying ingredients that strip skin of its natural
moisture, leaving it feeling dry and tight. This may
contribute significantly to its low price.

16. Performance
• Zest bar soap has a few cons that we noticed when using the product.
– The bar dissolves very quickly under water and finishes quicker than
its contenders.
– The bar has nothing special about it. It does not have moisturizing
properties like the Dove bar and it does not have a fresh scent like the
Irish Spring bar

17. Environmental & Health Concerns
• It is surprising that the product we use to wash our bodies
and keep it clean could actually cause much damage to not
only the environment and aquatic systems, but also to our
own skin.
• Most commercial soaps contain harsh chemical additives to
make them lather properly.
– They contain perfumes and fragrances that are known to cause
irritation in some people.
– These sweet smelling fragrances are not extracted from natural
sources like flowers; they are produced chemically using cancer-
causing chemicals.
– Studies have also shown that some of the chemicals used in soap
fragrances can cause skin diseases, birth defects and even liver
damage in animal testing.

18. Cont.
• Soaps hold their bar-like shape because of
ingredients like animal tallow, paraffin wax
and other crude oil derivatives.
• Other problem: is that those same chemicals
run down our drains and into our water
systems. Disrupting the marine eco system
and the bacterial breakdown required for a
functional sewage system.

19. Conclusion & Findings
• Based on our research we can conclude that the best soap is determined
by one’s preference. You may have a preference for a high quality
moisturizing soap bar and unconcerned about its price, then the Dove
soap bar would be an ideal choice. If you have a preference for highly
fragrant soap bars and is unconcerned about moisture, then the Irish
Spring soap bar is for you.
• If you are simply in search of a low cost, light smelling soap, then Zest bar
soap is ideal for you. If you are an environmental and health conscious
individual, I would say that no form of hard soap is ideal for you as most of
them have trace amounts of toxic chemicals. You may want to know why
hard soaps are still so popular despite their many flaws.

20. Cont.
• The answer is simple; tradition. Hard soaps have been
around for centuries and they are all some people come to
know. They are usually cheaper than their alternatives and
information about their health and environmental concerns
are not accessible to individuals from all walks of life.

21. Thanks for Your Attention!!