BBC's ever popular antique's collection show Bargain Hunt stopped off in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, on Monday (March 14), and the history of soap and how it is made was uncovered with a local expert. The show aired on Monday (March 14) and host Charlie Ross said soap making can be dated as far back at 2800 BC in Ancient Babylon.
The process of making soap remains the same today as what it did then. Emma Grosse, at Soapology in Newark, said: "People found that washing things in the river was much easier when they realised that the animal fats had combined with the ashes of the fire and they were being washed downstream.
"That would have been their cooking utensils that were being washed at the time." Soap is said to have come about by 'chance', according to Charlie.
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Emma said: "It may have been a happy accident, but this mixing actually made it easier to clean things." But washing with soap only became standard following the industrial revolution.
Until the mid-20th century, an antiseptic bar called carbolic soap was used for everything, from household cleaning to personal hygiene. When asked if the process used when it was first made is similar to what's used now, Emma said: "It's similar.
"We're mixing acids and alkaline together which gives a chemical reaction called saponification. The acid is any oil, fat or butter, and the alkaline is our sodium hydroxide.
"That's all you need, and then you can choose to add in any scent or colour to customise each bar."
Emma then explains how soap is made. She said: "Sodium hydroxide and water is mixed, which reaches a temperature of around 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
"Once that is dissolved, it's poured onto any ingredients that are solid and that's mixed together, and then the next step is to add coconut oil. "It adds cleansing properties to the bar."
A small amount of oil is added into the colours, to help the mixing process, before more whisking and pouring, and the mixture is then thickened with a hand blender. It's then poured into a mould, ready to set, which is left for 24 hours before it can be taken out and cut.
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