I’m thinking we all take it for granted when we meander down the aisle of a store, choosing a hand soap or bar or gel of soap for the shower. We sniff, appreciating this scent, quickly putting that one up, and deciding which one we like the best.
But it wasn’t always that way! In fact, back in the 1800s, most soaps didn’t smell that great. While people didn’t bathe nearly as often as we do now, they still used this soap to wash hands and faces, giving the appearance of being clean. While soap was available in stores, and there were several popular brands in the 1800s, such as Pears or Ivorine, or even Wrights tar-coal soap, it was still something made at home by the working class.
The process of making soap, while dangerous and hard work, could be done by using items already on hand,as it’s a chemical reaction that makes the (basically) two very different ingredients create soap. (In fact, you can make soap yourself!) So, for the thrifty-minded individual, that’s just what they did. To make soap, one needed two main ingredients, lye and a fat. Lye could be made by pouring water over ashes from a fireplace and letting it sit a while, something that was easy to do. The fat could be from cooking or left over from butchering an animal. Also something that was in easy supply.
Soap was made outside, both because of the heat and the smell. It was incredibly dangerous too, as lye, concentrated down in order to make the soap, is corrosive and it all had to boil for a while, and be stirred. Once it was cooled and molded, it was ready to be used for household or human use.
But what about the individual who longed to smell like something nice? Not bacon?
Since a good number of the working class individuals bathed with water alone, (be it in a tub of shared water or by sponging off) due to the harshness of lye soap, and not very often, scented soap was a luxury if they had such a thing. It was used sparingly for the face and hands. Scented soap could be made much the same as our every day soap, but with the addition of herbs and flowers. However, the soap still wouldn’t have smelled quite like what we’d imagined scented soap to smell like. For a good quality luxury bar, it would have been bought at a store, likely imported, such as the Yardley brand, which had been creating scented soap since 1770.
As the 1800s progressed, more companies began to make soap, and it became more affordable. In the US, Ivory soap was developed in 1879, and in 1884, Sunlight soap was created by the man who would later form the company called Unilever. After a time, especially as manufacturing saved time and money for many, and because larger numbers now lived near cities, buying soap became the way to go. With a mid to late push in the 1800s for cleanliness and the understanding of bacteria and microbes on skin surfaces, a lot of advertising focused on being clean for health.
Next time you wander the aisles, take a moment to appreciate all of the wonderful scents available to us! Maybe you can even find a bar of Yardley, and join me in marveling how inexpensive it is, compared to how much it likely cost back in the 1800s!
Now, how about a giveaway?
In celebration of a book announcement this fall, with a story taking place in the Blue Ridge Mountains, one random commenter will receive a free ebook copy of my other novella, Frances, that takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and is based on a true story in the 1940s.
Just tell me…When I was a child, I remember my grandparents only used bar soap. I asked once, and was told that’s what their parents used, and theirs. There was a bar in the bath, by the sink, even in the laundry room for stains. I’m not sure if it’s as common now? Growing up, at home, we had liquid hand soap, and liquid bath soap. A bar of Yardley’s scented soap was a thing to tuck into a dresser door with your unmentionables. Perhaps because it was still considered special?
What was it like for you growing up? Were you a bar or liquid family?
My grandma made lye soap up until the late 70s, and in the later years she used it only for laundry she did by hand.
My in-laws only used bar soap, One time they visited, and instead of using the liquid body wash I had in the shower, they went into the cabinet and used the bar of soap I used for laundry!
Scented soap was put in drawers to give fragrance to the items in there and to keep bugs out.
Outside, soap can be used as a deterrent for deer.
Ohh! I never realized soap could keep bugs away too! That’s so handy!! And what a funny story about your in laws!!
My maternal grandmother died before Mom even finished college, so I never met her and it didn’t occur to me to ask Dad’s mom if they made or bought soap when she was growing up (in Newfoundland before the 1918 flu pandemic, after which she and her closest 2 siblings emigrated to the U.S., she to Boston). This will date me, growing up we always used bar soap, as did everyone else. We still prefer bar soap.
I’m wondering if bar soap is gentler on the skin, with less chemicals that dry you! I’m honestly thinking of switching, myself.
Good morning Sarah! I use both now, but will use a bar of soap. Growing up it was Ivory soap. I always wanted to try soap making, but never have. But, I can’t imagine how they made it in the past. Our pioneer relatives were a smart bunch in making what was needed right at home. Churning butter, canning, butchering, etc. But, making quilts with scraps has always amazed me. That’s what I remember most about my grandparents. Nothing was wasted.
Best wishes Sarah!
By the way, I enjoyed Overcome Betrayal recently. I have been enjoying that series. Lately the short reads have been nice since I’ve took on a few extra projects! LOL
Yes! Our ancestors used it all! I feel so wasteful sometimes!! I wonder how they managed to do so much, all of the time!
And thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed my book! Yes, I like the shorter reads too! Then I don’t feel like I can’t finish it, because things come up!
My family grew up with bar soap. We used it for years.
We used bar soap. I can remember my mother making lye soap in an old black wrought-iron cauldron outside. I can’t remember using it, but she liked to add some to her laundry, saying it got the clothes cleaner. (She and my dad grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains.) I have actually made lye soap myself to sell at the craft fairs and sales I used to do.
Oh that’s neat they grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains! I wonder if it really did get the clothes cleaner. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised! How cool you made your own soap! Lynne Lanning has been trying to make it too!
Bar…now mostly liquid for hand and bar for bathing.
I agree the liquid seems easier for hand!!
My family used bar soap, Zest brand mostly.
I’ve not heard the Zest jingle for years! But guess what’s stuck in my head now? LOL!
Definitely bar soap which I still use in the main bathroom. In the second bathroom and in the kitchen I use liquid soap. The liquid soap disappears too fast with small children. The bar soap last longer for small children and they love to play with soap and water.
You are right on the liquid goes faster! My kids are older, but I feel like I’m always refilling it!
Growing up we used bar soap. I don’t remember seeing liquid soap except for washing dishes. (I am older). I do remember getting Yardley soap a few times.
I guess dishes were done with bar soap, maybe soap shavings (?) before liquid? I want to look into that now and see!
ugh – Safeguard and Dial – just thinking of the smell of either is so gross to me now! Dial feels like it is taking my skin off – the whole anti-bacterial thing – ugh – I still use goats milk bar soap or from Amish farm soap!
Ohh I hear you!! Irish Spring…did the same to me the odd time I used it. I bet the goats milk is really nice!
Bar soap mostly,some liquid hand soap, now more liquid soap, but I still like to use a bar of Dove soap.
Dove is seriously the best. It’s my go to brand!
We had bar soap but I had to use a special soap due to skin issues. I still have the same issues and must use non scented soaps.
We have a lot of skin issues in the house too! I hope you’ve got something that works. It seems unfair sometimes how hard it is to get a safe product!
We used bar soap. We had a shower no bathtub. I remember when I was little and we went to my grandparents we took a bath in a wash tub. I was only 3 or 4.
I bet you thought that was so fun!! I know that’s how it was done back then, but still seems so cute to think about a tot in a washtub!
Bar soap it was when I was growing up. Dial, Zest. Lifebuoy, Ivory and Lava were brands Mom bought. What was on sale is what we used! Lava was the go-to for really dirty, greasy hands. Instead of Lava I keep a bar of gritty gardeners’ soap by the sink year-round. Today’s liquid soaps and gels are a real “treat” rather than having to use their harsher bar soap cousins. Yardley was a must in my Grandma’s house, never for use, just for the lovely fragrance!
I have never seen Lava soap! Now, I have to look for it. And yes…the scented soaps were never for use when I ran across them!
this is an interesting post. thanks for sharing. we were a bar soap household. there were no liquid soaps at the time.
I wonder if the first liquids were made just by shaving off some of the bar.
We were a bar soap family. In fact, with six kids my dad was very frugal as he would take a nearly gone bar of soap and get it wet enough to stick to the new one so we could get use out of all the bar(s). It was his mother who made lye soap. I recall one time I was visiting her, and she took me upstairs to a room where several bars of lye soap were drying out. She had just made a batch. The odor of lye soap is awful! I can still smell it in my mind. I thank GOD for all the choices we have today, and we probably do not appreciate it.
I’ve never smelled lye soap that was still drying, but that sounds terrible!! Gosh we are lucky! And I don’t blame people for not wanting to bathe with it!
The only liquid soap we had when I was growing up was shampoo for hair and one for washing dishes. Everything else was bar soap, except for laundry detergent. We did occasionally get a gift of bubble bath, which was fun, but we still had to scrub with the bar soap!
Oh yes! Bubbles are always a fun bathtime treat for a kid!
Both sets of grandparents only ever had bar soap. I remember one set used a big bar of ugly green soap and I have no idea what it was. It didn’t smell very good. I grew up with bars of Dove in the tub and at the bathroom sink. There was a liquid soap at the kitchen sink. When I got married we used Dove soap because that’s all I knew and it was way before body wash got popular. However, I have a love affair with body wash. In the last couple of years it’s gotten so expensive I started making my own. It’s quite easy and I can make it smell however I like. For anyone that would like to try this:
1 bar soap grated or shaved and chopped up off the bar with a knife.
1 cup water
1 TB coconut oil
Put all in a pan on medium heat. DO NOT BOIL. Stir occasionally until soap is melted. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil. Let sit until cool. As it sits it may thicken. Gently stir some more water in if necessary. Pour into an old squeeze or pump bottle.
*I use Dove soap because it lathers up nicely. I also do 2 bars at a time.
Oh that’s a great recpie! I’m a Dove fan myself. It’s seriously the best on skin I think.
Liquid when we grew up.
Liquid sure seems easier!
We had bar soaps growing up. I don’t remember liquid soaps being around until after I was out of the family house and pregnant in the early 1990’s. We had to use Zest because anything else left an ugly residue with our well water. I could be wrong on when those liquid soaps came around. My memory isn’t the best. lol
The Blue Ridge Mountains are beautiful!!! We were around there for a motorcycle rally a ew years back.
Ohh you know…I never thought about how some soaps could interact with well water. We had a well growing up too.
When I was growing up, we used bar soap for washing ourselves, and liquid dish soap for washing dishes. Mom would only use Ivory for us, and usually Palmolive for the dishes. It was a real treat when I begged her to buy me a bar of Irish Spring. I still love the smell of it! Now I use Dial bar soap in the shower, and different brands of liquid hand soap, depending on what smells I can find that I like. Back around Christmas I found some Soft Soap brand that smells like peppermint and stocked up! I use Dawn liquid dish detergent.
Ohh ohh!! I found that peppermint one too and stocked up!! It’s the BEST! I hope they do it again next year!
I grew up with bar soap but now use both bar and liquid soap.
Both are good, and both clean what they need to!
Being old as I am I really don’t remember there being such a thing as liquid soap. We had a bar of Ivory soap in the kitchen for hand washing and getting stains out of clothes, and Dial soap for bathing. At special times we did use little bars of Yardley in our unmentionable dresser drawers. I wouldn’t touch a bar of soap today; liquid only for me.
You know, I wonder if bar soap would help with stains. I have spent a small fortune on stain remover for a shirt I’m trying to save! I’ve got to try a bar of Ivory now.
Likely being much older than you are, we on ly had bar soap, except for dish washing soap. We usually had Ivory or Lifebuoy soap. In later years, we had Lava soap for those really dirty hands. I could never use Ivory because it “burned” my skin. I guess 99% pure wasn’t good for me.
I do purchase hand made soaps today. I usually get those with a floral or citrus scent. I also pick up Tea Tree soap for us and several members of the family for its medicinal properties.. One that we started using when our children were camp counselors and backpacking was Castile soap. We keep a bar of it in the laundry room and one in the RV. Back when we started using it it didn’t come in liquid form, as far as I know. The bar form is easier to carry because you don’t have to worry about it spilling.
I have worked or attended a few living history events where they demonstrated making soap. Interesting. Thanks for an interesting post.
You are the second to mention Lava soap! I’ve never seen that. I like Tea Tree oil and lotion, I should look for the soap too.
It used to come in a dark gray bar, there is pumice in it I believe. The bars now are green and less gritty. I found it on Amazon and can’t remember seeing it in stores although I am sure some must carry it. It does do a good job getting rid of oil, dirt, paint, etc. The newer bars seem to be a bit less harsh on the skin.
I just looked it up! Love the wrapper!
We used the Zest bar soaps, no liquid soaps and for the wash we would use Tide powder soap and for the dishes we would use the Vel liquid soap. When I turned 15 (a very long time ago) I was given a perfume and a bar of soap that came with it and I loved it, it was called Maja and it smelled so clean and nice. About 5 years ago I ordered myself some of the same soaps, Maja . (not entering this ebook giveaway as I dont read ebooks at all I am not tech savvy, but Thank you) Have a great rest of the week. I enjoyed reading your post.
I’m going to keep an eye out for that soap! That Maja sounds nice!
Loved the post, but Sarah, you sure make me feel as old as the hills! As far as I know, there was no such thing as liquid soap when I was growing up, other than the dish liquid and shampoo. But now I only use liquid. The bar soaps leave me feeling dried out or something. I never saw anyone make soap as I grew up and can’t imagine a soap that smelled bad…I’ll just take your word for it.
I have been making soap for nearly a year, and love the smell of all the wonderful scents! I use goat’s milk, shea butter and glycerin. But for my personal use, I still love the liquid! I want to thank the woman for the liquid soap recipe because I’ve been wanting to try that. My husband loves the bar soaps – to each his own!
And I want to comment on another woman’s post…we save those little pieces of soap and put them in a fiber mesh bag made especially for soap. It makes a wonderfully soapy loofah! (That reminds me, I’m growing my own loofahs now!) What next?
Whaaatt?? Growing your own loofah?! How cool!
We used bar soap. Usually Ivory and/or Dove. I don’t remember buying liquid hand soap until after I got married in the late seventies.
I was typing in, yeah, it’s just been the last few decades I think it got really popular…and realized…the 70s was like 50 years ago. And I don’t know where that time went!
I grew up with bar soap. My grandparents were born in the late 1800’s so I’m sure they made their own, but we never talked about it. We used safeguard or dial, Breck shampoo, and Palmolive for dishes. I use Caress body wash and caress bar soap to shower, Dawn in the kitchen, and liquid Coconut hand soap in all our bathrooms and washroom.
I’ve not seen Safeguard brand for ages!
Bar soap. Usually Ivory or Camay
Ohh! Camay is one I’m not familiar with. I am going to look it up.
Thank you for the refresher. It has been years since I visited a reenactment of soap making although I have had story characters make soap – just the basic. I once saw a PBS show with a woman needing to live as if she were in 1830s. She made a mess of her hair trying to wash it since there wasn’t any shampoo as such. The lye was too harsh. I think she should have used baking soda rinse, but she did not think of it. She tried egg wash and ended up with scrambled egg in her hair. Oh, the fun those women must have had. I always appreciate the conveniences.
Again, thank you for the information. It is always enjoyed.
Oh goodness! Can you imagine the difficulty washing your hair?! Yikes! Thank goodness for shampoo!
Hi, Sarah! I just turned 69 years old, and my maternal Granny, Esther “Chic” (pronounced Chick), passed away when I was about 10 years old, but I definitely remember being in her backyard when she’d make lye soap. Everyone was given strict instructions to stay far away from the big ol’ vat she made her soap in. She always “shared” her soap with us, but we didn’t like to have to use it! It just stunk to us kids, but if we ran out of our store bought bar soap, which WAS what we used, then out came an old, used bar of Granny’s lye soap. We still had little bits of it when I was 15 years old and even older which my Mama just couldn’t seem to part with!! We used Zest, sometimes, and Prell shampoo quite often. We used Palmolive for dishes and Tide powder for clothes. Now, all of the above is when I was growing up. My hubby and I use Dove liquid soap and Dove shampoo, ever since I had cancer and we lived in The Hope Lodge in OKC, and that’s the soap they used there and we found that it improved our skin! Thanks for taking me down memory lane!
Goodness, I can’t imagine someone willingly wanting to use lye, but there may still be some who do! You are right on Dove, it’s the best and my brand. I also hope your cancer is no evidence of disease.
I remember the bar of Castille soap, with the white wrapper at my grandfather’s. He lived without electricity and had a two-holer outside. We used Zest and Dove as I was growing up. At our house, we use liquid hand soap and bars of scented tallow for shampoo and body.
We used Ivory bar soap when growing up, then eventually Lux bar soap.
Then when liquid soap came out about 1980, used Soft Soap, then eventually Bath & Body Works liquid soap, love their scents! How things have evolved and changed.
We loved going to the Blue Ridge Mountains! Either hiking or camping or staying in a rustic cabin! Love to hear stories about the Blue Ridge Mountains!
We used Ivory bar soap when growing up, then eventually Lux bar soap.
Then when liquid soap came out about 1980, used Soft Soap, then eventually Bath & Body Works liquid soap, love their scents! How things have evolved and changed.
We loved going to the Blue Ridge Mountains! Either hiking or camping or staying in a rustic cabin! Love to hear stories about the Blue Ridge Mountains!