Soap used to be made with animal fat and lye, but with the discovery of essential oils, it has been made without animal fat.

Fat/Oil + Sodium\, Hydroxide \rightarrow Soap + Glycerol\) Fats and oils are esters made from glycerol and long chain fatty acids. Consider the hydrolysis of this triglyceride found in animal fat.

to a plant-based or vegan fat. While this might appeal to consumers concerned with animal welfare, I’m not a vegan. I just wanted the soap I’d always used, the soap that is now gone.

Legend has it that the first soap was accidentally produced on Mt. Sopa, a site of animal sacrifice. As the goat meat burned, fat dripped down through the fire, bonding to lye leaching out of the ...