The first soap description record was made long ago. People have been acquainted with soap from the Roman age. The secret of soap production was told to Roman people by their neighbors. Since then Roman people produced soap in two forms - solid soap and liquid soap. But for the long period soap was among luxuries. It was so expensive that even the richest and of high rank people could afford using soap just several times in their lives. Like the Spain Queen Isabelle applied soap just twice, for the first time when she was born, and for the second time, when she was going to get married. And ordinary people had to use other methods of cleaning themselves and their clothes. The largest soap fabrics were located on the coast of Mediterranean sea, in countries where one could find olive tree.
Only in the middle of nineteenth century the secret of soap products was discovered and cheap soap producing became possible. Today while producing soap they usually use tallow - the sort of animal fat. It is rich in fatty acids and allows getting more soap than from the same quantity of so called vegetable fat. Vegetable fat is more expensive, they get it from palm-oil or coconut oil. Some professionals suppose that soap products based on vegetable fat are of a higher quality.
Today we know two kinds of soap products - bar soap and liquid soap. Bar soap is usually cleaning in a bit rough way - it is not just cleaning skin, but destroys the protective layer of the skin and can cause irritated skin. So it is better to use such soap product only for hands.
In the end of the twentieth century they learned how to produce liquid soap. It cleans the skin more carefully and so can be applied for body. We know that shower gels which are actually liquid soap can care about the skin, smoothen it and fight with irritation, but also they contain some aroma oils. So you can enjoy their fragrance while bathing, but besides people around you can smell the delicate aroma long after you took shower.
There are many methods of soap usage. Some soap products can be used by men as shampoos and shave creams - they do not leave your skin unprotected and do not make you hair split. Nowadays soap products are very tender and even those people who have sensitive skin should not be afraid of using soap. They just should be attentive to details. Look at the ingredients and choose that soap product that contains the largest percentage of vitamins and vegetable oils. People with sensitive and irritated skin should try cream-soap. It is very tender and can be applied even in those cases when skin is unprotected, like after you have been to solarium.
So make the right choice and enjoy your bathing time!