Did you actually think

That the dirt would come off, my daughter,

By wiggling your fingers

Around in the sink

And slapping the top of the water

Just look at your face!

Did you really suppose

Those smudges would all disappear

With a dab at your chin

And the tip of your nose

And a rub on the back of one ear?

You tell me your face

And your fingers are clean?

Do you think you old Dad is a dope?

Let’s try it again

With a different routine.

This time we’ll make use of the soap!

As The World Turns

As the World Turns, Proctor and Gamble’s last soap opera is going off the air with it’s last episode (the 13,661st!) to air in September. Their other remaining soap opera, Guiding Light, was canceled in April, 2009.  That ends their 76 years in the soap opera business.

Actress Eileen Fulton, has been playing the same character (Lisa Grimaldi) on the soap for 50 years!  Some of the more famous alumni of As the World Turns include:

• Courtney Cox (1984)
• Jason Biggs (1994-1995)
• Dana Delany (1981)
• Thomas Gibson (1988-1989)
• James Earl Jones (1966)
• Mary McDonnell (1980)
• Julianne Moore (as two characters, 1985-1988 and 1986-1988)
• Parker Posey (1991-1992)
• Meg Ryan (1982-1984)
• Martin Sheen (1965-1970)
• Marisa Tomei (1983-1985)
• Steven Weber (1985-1986)

While I never watched As the World Turns, it seems sort of sad that such a long running show is being canceled.  I wonder what Proctor and Gamble will turn to next?

In one scene, a character is washing up after delivering a lamb with ” a chunk of strong-smelling lye soap” (at which his daughter “wrinkled her nose”) and he had to rinse well to get the “lye soap” out of his eyes and the “harsh soap” out of his mouth.

You’d think that the author would have done enough research to know that the science of making soap is something that is not affected by electricity, internal combustion or gunpowder.  In fact, in the artistic and creative society he describes, the soap produced could (and most likely would) be not only good soap, it would be much better than “store-bought” soap from before the Change.

Authors, if you are describing handmade soap, here are a few facts to take into consideration:

1. ALL true soap is “lye soap”.  Soap is created with a chemical reaction that REQUIRES lye in order to make it work.
2. Handmade soap retains the glycerin (which is a byproduct of the soapmaking process), and thus is more moisturising than typical commercial soaps which have fillers added and the glycerin removed.
3. Soap can be made with any animal or vegetable fats or oils and soap made from rendered tallow or lard is often the hardest and most gentle soap.
4. “Harsh” soap is made by having too much lye, a result of bad soapmaking.  The science of calculating the correct amount of lye has been around for centuries.
5. When made well, soap doesn’t go bad or “smell rancid”.  In fact, even unscented soap has a pleasant, natural scent.  And, of course, it can be easily scented with a wide variety of plant oils, herbs or spices.

I certainly wish that authors who choose to include soap in their works of fiction (or fact) would take the time to get the details right.

To quote the Handwashing for Life Institute:

Handwashing remains the most important intervention in saving lives around the world. This fact makes that week one of Handwashing For Life’s most important dates on the annual calendar. It is a time to bring the world together, to raise the awareness of the importance of handwashing and to get started in changing hand hygiene behaviors.

Nothing says it better than the mission of The Clean Hands Coalition: Clean hands. Save lifes. This is the world’s call to action from the third world to 5 star restaurants, schools and the world’s finest hospitals across the globe. If you care, you wash. If you care, find a way to get this message out to those you care about.

The Clean Hands Coalition has a sample press release that can be used to write and issue a local press release regarding Clean Hands Week.  It could be a good community activity and a useful PR tool for soapmakers!

Note:  The picture above is part of the Clean Hands Week Poster which can be downloaded and printed for posting in your business or school.

Here’s the article:

Best Tooth Wash

On one occasion, a correspondent for a water-cure journal inquired if a statement of ours was true, that washing the teeth with pure white soap had a tendency to prevent to collection of tartar on the teeth.  The editor replied simply, “It is all fudge.”

He, perhaps, could not conceive how such a thing a common as soft soap could keep the teeth clear of tartar accretions, which were so hard that a steel instrument is employed by dentists to remove them.  He evidently did not know that recent chemical and microscopical investigations, carefully conducted with all the aids of dental science, had demonstrated that this tartar was the product of a living insect , upon which neither vinegar nor tobacco juice had any effect whatever, but which was instantly destroyed by soap-suds; and following up this fact, persons have kept their teeth perfectly clear of re-accumulations of tartar, by simply washing them with white soap and brush, night and morning.  Now and then it will fail, because some tartar is made by an insect which is but little affected by soapsuds.

Okay, so the information IS 150 years old, and the “insects” he is referring to are probably bacteria.  But there’s plenty of evidence to support the fact that soap kills bacteria.

So why isn’t all “toothpaste” made out of soap? Oh MY!!  The controversy!! It’s as bad as Roswell and Area 51.  Not an arena I want to step into here.

I did find some information that deals with research on the use of soap instead of commercial toothpaste formulations.

Dr. Gerard Judd, phd, is quite outspoken on his views of dental hygiene and the use of fluoride.  Without going into that Area 51, he does give some interesting information in a letter he wrote about dental health in 2002.  According to Dr. Judd:

• Tooth cavities would be ended by rinsing acids off the teeth; acids alone eat the enamel
• Bacteria cannot damage the enamel.
• Teeth re-enamalize when clean.
• Any bar soap will make the teeth clean, and rinses off easily.
• Toothpastes contain so much glycerine they need 27 rinses to get it off and teeth brushed with toothpaste are coated with a film and so cannot properly re-enamelize.
• Gums are disinfected by brushing with any bar soap.

Is it true?  Is it backed up by good science?  Is there a cover-up conspiracy on the part of the ADA and/or toothpaste manufacturers?  Honestly, I don’t know, although I’m inclined to think “yes” in answer to all those questions.

In any event, 150 years ago soap was used to clean teeth and promote health.  It’s natural and, really, doesn’t even taste that bad (especially, say, peppermint soap).  Maybe we’ve come full circle and tooth soap is the “modern” track toward good dental hygiene.

Dr. Judd wrote a book, Good Teeth From Birth To Death, which I haven’t read but should give more information on his position and how you can care for your teeth.  It’s not available on Amazon (I was going to post a link), but I expect it’s available somewhere.

Here’s to soap and good teeth!

Note:  Image  © Inna Paladii, Dreamstime.com

Very excited about it - this will probably be our best conference yet.

Leigh, the Conference Chairman, is already there and has created a short preview video.  Check it out!

Marilyn Chambers with her Ivory Snow box

I don’t follow the news much, so I missed the fact that Marilyn Chambers, star of Behind the Green Door, one of the first “main-stream” porn films, died earlier this month.  I only found out when it was briefly mentioned in People magazine.

What I found interesting was the note that before Marilyn made her move into sexually explicit films, she was on the Ivory Soap Box.

In the early 1970’s Proctor and Gamble were looking for a new, fresh face of a young mother to use on boxes of Ivory Snow.  Promoting the “99 44/100% pure” tag line, I expect they wanted to portray that purity through the use of the mother and baby on the box.  It does look pretty pure on the box!

However, in 1972, Ms. Chambers decided to make the leap to adult films.  According to an Associated Press article, in an online chat with AdultDVDtalk.com in 2000, Miss Chambers attempted to explain what caused her to take such a radically different career path.

“Back then in my naive brain I was thinking that something like ‘Behind the Green Door’ had never been done before and the way our sexual revolution was traveling I really thought it was going to be a stepping stone which would further my acting career,” she said.

Oops.

When Proctor and Gamble got wind of her new career, they quickly pulled the Ivory Snow boxes featuring her picture (and no doubt added a morality clause to their models’ contracts).  Now they are collectors items - there are twelve items listed on eBay with the image as I write this!

There a rumor (unverified, as far as I can tell) that there is a reference to Ivory Snow in all of Ms. Chamber’s adult films.  Yet another way that soap has become an integral part of our culture.

I’ve edited out the first part (since this is, after all, a blog about soap trivia).

Listen to Grandma’s Lye Soap (mp3 file - most computers should be able to play it).

Enjoy!

The amounts given in the book are for scenting a soap batch using 50 kilos of oil; I’ve adjusted them down so the amounts shown below are for a soap batch containing 5 kilos (11 pounds) of oil. The names of the soaps are as given in the book.

Family Soap

11 gr. ginger-grass oil
21 gr citronella oil
7 gr lemongrass oil
7 gr cassia oil

Family Soap (2)

13.8 gr cassia oil
9.4 gr caraway oil
9.5 lavender oil

Fennel Soap

26.6 gr fennel oil
12 gr. caraway oil

Yew Soap I

16.5 lavender oil
6.8 gr oil of lemons
5 gr caraway oil
3.3 gr rosemary oil
3.3 gr thymene *
3.3 gr peppermint oil

Yew Soap II

5 gr oil of lemons
5.3 gr petit-grain oil
2.5 gr verbena oil
.6 gr peppermint oil

Pine Soap

28 gr pine-needle oil
4 gr juniper oil
2 gr lavender oil
2 gr thymene

Honey Soap

Note that there isn’t actually any honey in the soap recipe.

30 gr citronella oil
5.6 gr lemongrass oil
2 gr peppermint oil

Crown Soap

15 gr palmarosa oil
15 gr lavender oil
15 gr citronella oil

* Thymene is a liquid terpene obtained from oil of thyme.  I would expect that using thyme oil would produce a similar result.

There are many scent blends in the book that call for “tincture of musk”. Since this isn’t readily available to soapmakers and I can’t offer suggestions for a replacement ingredient, I haven’t been including them.

If you would like me to post some blends that use tincture of musk, or know what ingredient(s) might make a suitable replacement, please comment!

Poster - www.washup.org

As we all know, washing with soap and water is one of the very best ways to prevent the spread of disease, including colds, flu, and other illnesses.  The CDC has long been promoting the benefits of washing with soap and water.  But a study by the The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) and the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) showed that:

• One-third of men don’t wash their hands in public restrooms
• 88% of women do lather up after using public facilities
• 92% say they wash their hands in public restrooms, but only 77% were observed actually doing so

So, the SDA and ASM have teamed up to produce hand hygiene educational brochures to help inform both adults and children of the benefits of hand-washing with soap and water.  It’s another way to promote the benefits of soap.

The materials for kids are pretty good.  There’s a brochure, Have U Washed Your Hands 2Day, and a poster that goes along with it (the posted is shown above).  Both are also available in high-resolution .pdf’s from www.washup.org.  There’s also an adult brochure, Don’t Get Caught Dirty Handed.

The Soap and Detergent Association also has other materials available for kids, including a storybook, Hurray for Handwashing, featuring Sudsy and Soapy and coloring sheets that go with they book.  All these materials area available to download and can also be printed on demand They also have cute several mp3 songs for kids about washing:

Look at Me
Its Fun to Scrub
Remember
Hooray for Handwashing

If you are making and selling handcrafted soaps, the brochures and posters might be good tools to help inform your customers (and the people around you) about the benefits of good ol’ soap and water.