Following the development of the industry for the mass production of soap during the latter half of the 19th Century and moving forward a little to the early part of the 20th Century, the traditional method of soap making continued until the First World War.
Due to a shortage of available fats, Germany developed the first synthetic detergent in 1916, these non-soap products are a mixture of chemicals combined for their cleaning properties.
Detergent production in the US started in the early 1930's, but production did not really become widespread until after the Second World War and by 1953, sales of detergents had surpassed that of soap, ringing the death knell for traditionally made cold process soap for the mass market.
It is true to say that for the soap manufacturer it is many times more economical to produce detergent based cleansers, than to manufacture traditional soap and so to bring the story completely up to date, traditional soap making is now limited to the work of talented crafters around the world, who create their individual recipes to sell via Craft Shows and Fairs and specialty outlets, cold process hand made soap has again gained the status of luxury product.
Copyright © 2006 Gary Everson