The Evolution of Soap Making: From Ancient Craft to Modern Art

Soap is one of those everyday companions we rarely pause to think about — and yet its story stretches back over 4,000 years. From crude mixtures of ash and fat in ancient Babylon to the hand-crafted bars resting in your bathroom today, soap has been part of humanity’s journey through cleanliness, ritual, and care.

At Wax & Lye, we see soap not just as a product, but as a continuation of this long tradition — where everyday use meets artistry. Here’s how it all began, and why handmade soap still matters.

Ancient Beginnings

• Babylon, ~2800 BCE
  The earliest soap-like substance was recorded in Babylon, where people discovered that mixing animal fats with wood ash and water created a cleaning agent. These early soaps weren’t used for bathing but for washing textiles and utensils.
• Egypt, ~1500 BCE
  The famous Ebers Papyrus refers to mixtures of oils and alkaline salts, used both for cleansing and treating skin conditions. Soap was already seen as both practical and medicinal.
• Rome & Greece
  While the Greeks preferred scraping oil from their bodies rather than washing with soap, the Romans embraced soap more widely. Roman author Pliny the Elder even described a soap made by the Gauls using tallow and ashes.
  (Though the famous tale of Mount Sapo — where fat and ash washed into rivers, creating natural soap — is now considered folklore, it shows just how entwined soap is with story.)

From Luxury to Necessity

As soap spread through the Middle East and Europe, it became more refined.

• Islamic Golden Age: In Aleppo and Nablus, makers perfected recipes using olive oil, creating soaps that were milder and scented. These techniques influenced European traditions.
• Medieval Europe: Soap became a luxury item. Famous regions like Castile (Spain) and Marseille (France) produced fine olive oil soaps, highly prized across the continent.
• The Soap Tax: For centuries, soap was taxed heavily, particularly in Britain, making it an indulgence for the wealthy. It wasn’t until 1853, when the tax was repealed, that soap became truly accessible to everyday households.

Science & Industry

The Industrial Revolution brought both progress and compromise.

• 1791: French chemist Nicolas Leblanc invented a process to make soda ash (sodium carbonate) from common salt, revolutionising large-scale soap production.
• 19th Century: Continuous process methods replaced kettle boiling, allowing factories to produce soap in massive quantities.
• The Downside: As demand grew, so did shortcuts. Synthetic additives, fillers, and detergents began to replace natural oils and glycerine, making soap cheaper but often harsher on the skin.

The Artisan Revival

Today, soap has come full circle. As we seek more sustainable, skin-friendly, and meaningful products, artisan soap makers have revived the craft. Handmade soaps retain the natural glycerine formed during saponification — a humectant that helps keep skin hydrated — something many commercial soaps strip away.

At Wax & Lye, every bar is:

• Hand-cut and cured for quality and longevity.
• Made with natural oils and butters chosen for nourishment as well as lather.
• Fragranced with care — blending notes that turn cleansing into a sensory ritual.

This return to craft transforms soap back into what it always was: part necessity, part luxury, part art.

Why It Matters Today

Soap is more than cleansing. It’s a small daily ritual, tied to thousands of years of human history. Choosing handmade soap isn’t just about what touches your skin — it’s about reconnecting with a craft that has been shaped by culture, science, and artistry across millennia.

When you hold a bar of Wax & Lye soap, you’re holding the continuation of that story! 💛