larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) (04/21/86)
In article <1631@vax3.fluke.UUCP>, dms@fluke.UUCP (David Sherman) writes: > >Someone a while back on the net said that most major > >soap manufacturers use sodium tallowate as one of > >their ingredients. Well, I checked around and sure > >enough that turned out to be true much to my > >surprise. I don't mean to nitpick, but ``tallow'' is not a specific chemical substance (there are MANY kinds of tallow), and ``sodium tallowate'' is NOT a legitimate chemical name. Tallow will typically yield at least three fatty acids: stearic acid, palmitic acid, and oleic acid. > In broadest terms, a soap is simply a salt of a fatty acid. > ... > I suppose one could make soap using vegetable fat, but I've never heard > of it. I'd be willing to bet Ivory is made from tallow. There are several fatty acids presently used in soap manufacture which can be derived from solely vegetable material: lauric acid coconut oil, laurel oil myristic acid coconut oil palmitic acid palm oil capric acid coconut oil arachidic acid peanut oil > of it. I'd be willing to bet Ivory is made from tallow. The main thing > that makes commercial soap more mild than homemade (granny's lye soap) > is that they do a better job of getting the lye to completely react > with the fat. The more free alkalai is the better the soap cleans and > the more of your skin it dissolves in the process. The actual composition of soaps (especially for consumer use) is generally held by the manufacturer as a trade secret. While a manufacturer may extoll the virtues of a particular ingredient, the true composition is not publicly revealed. The composition of consumer soaps is especially complex; it is also difficult and sometimes impossible to obtain an accurate chemical analysis of such a soap, if given a sample. It is not unusual for a more "complex" soap such as a "cosmetic" soap to contain ALL of the following: (1) sodium hydroxide (alkalai) (2) potassium hydroxide (alkalai) (3) triethanolamine (alkanolamine - organic base) (4) ammonium hydroxide (base) (5) palmitic acid (fatty acid) (6) oleic acid (fatty acid) (7) liquid petrolatum (petroleum oil) (8) lanolin (cholesterol esters) (9) Triton X-100 * (surfactant) (10) Triton CF-10 * (surfactant) (11) sorbitol (stabilizer) (12) carboxymethylcellulose (emulsifying agent, stabilizer) (13) perfume (14) coloring agent (15) water * Triton is a registered trade name of Rohm & Haas The above is very close to the composition of some actual soaps. I speak with a bit of firsthand knowledge, since my late father managed various soap manufacturing plants for over 30 years, and I grew up with this stuff. For anyone seriously interested in the formulations of soaps, I would suggest obtaining literature from such companies as Rohm & Haas, Union Carbide, Dow Chemical, etc. who manufacture surfactants, alkanolamines, and other chemical products used in soap. Freely available application literature provides some methodology behind soap formulation. ==> Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, New York ==> UUCP {decvax|dual|rocksanne|rocksvax|watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry ==> VOICE 716/688-1231 {rice|shell}!baylor!/ ==> FAX 716/741-9635 {G1, G2, G3 modes} seismo!/ ==> "Have you hugged your cat today?" ihnp4!/