Washed Away

Believe it or not, I've had more than one person ask me how soap works. I don't think we give it much thought when we buy commercial soap products, but there's something about creating something in our own kitchen that causes us to ponder how it actually does work. Can we really duplicate the so-called professionals out there? The answer is....YES! And better yet, not duplicate but improve!

So when did our clean culture obsession with soap start? Roman legend says that on Mount Sapo, an ancient site for animal sacrifices, rain washed the fat and ash down into the river, where a lather was formed that was discovered to have remarkable cleaning ability on skin and clothes. The earliest known written soap recipe is credited to the Babylonians in 2800 B.C. Inscriptions on clay cylinders excavated in the ancient city of Babylon say that fats were boiled with wood ashes to make soap. An Egyptian scroll dated 1550 B.C. indicated that they bathed in a combination of animal and vegetable oils mixed with wood ash, which would have created a soap-like substance. And through Moses, God gave the Israelites detailed laws concerning personal cleanliness, suggesting the Israelites knew that mixing ashes and oil produced a sort of cleansing agent. So soap has been around a long time. But maybe not the way we know it today....

The effects and injuries of WWI brought the need for an increase in cleaning agents. Because ingredients to make soap were scarce at the time, German scientists developed various synthetic compounds called detergents (petroleum by-products) to do the job instead. By the 1950's detergent sales surpassed soap sales in the U.S. These 'soaps' cannot legally be called soap since they are not, they are detergents. So if you notice that it says 'body bar' or 'beauty bar' it's because it's not soap at all!

Now for the geeky science end of it.....most of what we call 'dirt' is really grease or oil, which does not generally come off with just water. It needs soap. But what is so magical about those little bubbles that they can carry away all our dirt and grime? Well, since you asked! Here's a simple explanation...soap molecules have 2 very different ends - one end LOVES water (called hydrophilic), and the other end HATES water (called hydrophobic). The hydrophobic end of soap molecules all attach to the oil or dirt, and the hydrophilic end sticks out into the water. This causes drops of oil to form which are suspended in the water. So when we clean our hands the soap causes drops of oil and grease to be pulled off your hands and suspended in water. These drops are then washed away when you rinse your hands. Think about the science of what's really happening the next time you lather up your hands....you know you will ;)

Furthermore, soap is a natural surfactant (substance that tends to reduce surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved). Cleaning products are based on surfactants, and because they are constructed with one hydrophilic end and one hydrophobic end, they are compatible with oil and water, which makes them good for cleaning. They not only lower the surface tension of the water, they make the water molecules more slippery so they are less likely to stick to themselves and more likely to stick to the oil and grease.

Natural soap is a natural surfactant. Coconut oil, as a base, is the surfactant. It makes great bubbles and lather! All while cleaning and moisturizing (unlike 'soaps' that use synthetic surfactants/detergents which are very drying and irritating to the skin)! What could be better than that?

It's fascinating isn't it?! Looking into the structure of a simple soap molecule expands our vision of the physical world around us. But what about the things we can't see? There's a spiritual realm that we are a part of whether we stop to realize it or not. The Bible is FULL of insight and instruction for our spiritual lives.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

(2 Tim 13:16-17)

It's so easy to fall into the lie that I do more good than bad, so then I'm good, right? Not so. We are all covered in dirt, grease, oil, and grime. We can't help it. We are human beings born into sin.

"We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind."

(Isaiah 64:6)

We need cleansing! We need the ultimate heavenly soap of Jesus! The One who attracted all our grease and grime to Himself so that we can be clean! The One who is the perfect surfactant, reducing the surface tension of our sin! The One who washes away all our dirt! I can't think of ANYTHING better than that! Can you?

"Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." (Psalm 51:2)