Living · 6 pages · 12 min
Why handmade soap and detergent are different
Soap is a salt of fatty acids, and detergent is a surfactant built by other chemistry.
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From the opening
Handmade soap is the salt left when fats meet a strong alkali and split into fatty-acid salts and glycerin. A detergent is a surfactant made by other chemistry, so its working end is not that kind of salt. The opening covers saponification makes a fatty-acid salt, why hard water throws soap scum, and a handmade bar can be synthetic.
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Inside
- Saponification makes a fatty-acid salt
- Why hard water throws soap scum
- A handmade bar can be synthetic
- Glycerin left in or taken out
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Saponification of fats into soap and glycerin
- Synthetic surfactants that stay dissolved in hard water