The handbook of soap manufactureSimmons, W. H. (William Herbert)
Science
The handbook of soap manufacture
Simmons, W. H. (William Herbert)
Soap
Sulphur soaps, when dissolved in water, gradually generate sulphuretted
hydrogen, which, although characteristic, makes their use disagreeable
and lessens their popular estimation.
_Terebene._--The addition of this substance to soap, though imparting a
very refreshing and pleasant odour, does not materially increase the
disinfectant value of the soap. A suitable strength is 5 per cent.
_Thymol._--This furnishes a not unpleasant, and very useful antiseptic
soap, recommended especially for the cleansing of ulcerated wounds and
restoring the skin to a healthy state. The normal strength is 3 per
cent. It is preferable to replace part of the thymol with red thyme oil,
the thymene of which imparts a sweeter odour to the soap than if
produced with thymol alone. A suitable blend is 2-1/2 per cent. of
thymol crystals and 1-1/2 per cent. of a good red thyme oil.
Of the vast number of less known proposed additions to toilet soaps,
mention may be made in passing of:--
_Fluorides._--These have been somewhat popular during recent years for
the disinfection of breweries, etc., and also used to some extent as
food preservatives. Of course only neutral fluorides are available for
use in soap, acid fluorides and soap being obviously incompatible. In
the authors' experience, however, sodium fluoride appears to have little
value as a germicide when added to soap, such soaps being found to
rapidly become rancid and change colour.
_Albumen._--The use of albumen--egg, milk, and vegetable--in soap has
been persistently advocated in this country during the past few years.
The claims attributed to albumen are, that it neutralises free alkali,
causes the soap to yield a more copious lather, and helps to bind it
more closely, and a further inducement held out is that it allows more
water to be left in the soap without affecting its firmness. Experiments
made by the authors did not appear to justify any enthusiasm on the
subject, and the use of albumen for soap-making in this country appears
to be very slight, however popular it may be on the Continent. Numerous
other substances have been proposed for addition to soaps, including
yeast, tar from peat (sphagnol), Swedish wood tar, permanganate of
potash, perborates and percarbonates of soda and ammonia, chlorine
compounds, but none of these has at present come much into favour, and
some had only ephemeral existence. Of the many drugs that it has been
suggested to admix in soap for use in allaying an irritable condition of
the skin, the majority are obviously better applied in the form of
ointments, and we need not consider them further.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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