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Soaps

Hard soaps are made by boiling oils or fats with a lye of caustic soda. In soft soaps the lye is potash. Resin is used in yellow soaps, as it saves fat. Silicate of soda is now frequently used instead; it gives a white soap, which has no offensive smell, and has not the stickiness of resin soap. Prentiss' Washing and Scouring Solution is pure silicate of soda. Besides refuse fat, the palm and cocoa-nut oils are largely used as a basis for soap. Castile soap is made from olive oil, and is mottled by iron.

Soft Soap.

Add 3 galls. of rain or other soft water to 1 lb. of saponified or concentrated lye; boil it and put into it 4 lbs. of tallow or soap-fat. When the solution becomes clear, add 12 galls. more of water. It is ready for use when cold.

Scented Soaps.

Cut the soap into thin shavings, and heat it with enough water until liquefied. Let it cool to 135° Fahr., and add the coloring matter and perfumes. Almond Soap.

To 1 cwt. of the best hard curd soap add 20 of oz. oil of bitter almonds, or essence of Mirban (p. 291).

Rose Soap.

Put into a copper vessel, placed in boiling water, 20 lbs. of white curd soap and 30 lbs. of olive oil soap, both cut into thin shavings; add 5 lbs. of soft water, or rose-water; keep the heat below boiling until the soap is uniformly liquified, and then add 12 oz. of finely-sifted vermillion, or enough to give the required color. Withdraw from the fire and, when sufficiently cool, add 34 oz. otto of roses, oz. oil of cloves, oz. oil of cinnamon, and 24 oz. oil of bergamot. For cheap soap use less perfume.

Honey Soap.

White curd soap, 1½ lbs.; Windsor soap, lb.

Cut into shavings and liquefy as before directed; then add 4 oz. of honey, and keep it melted until most of the water is evaporated. Perfume with any of the essential oils.

Floating Soaps Are made by beating up soaps, liquefied as before directed, so as to incorporate a certain quantity of air.

Transparent Soaps Are made by dissolving white soap in alcohol and evaporating. By the use of a still most of the alcohol may be recovered. They are made round by moulding with a drinking-glass, and then are known as wash-balls.

Glycerine Soap.

Cut the soap into fine shavings, dry, and powder it. Dissolve in a mixture of equal parts of alcohol and water by the aid of a water-bath. When the brush, and has met with an extensive demand as a shaving-soap, especially in Paris. It is prepared thus: Take of fine clarified lard, 7 lbs.; potash lye, containing about 26 per cent. of caustic potash, 3 lbs. 12 oz.; rectified spirit, 2 oz.; essential oil of almonds, 2 drs. Melt the lard in a porcelain vessel, by a salt-water bath or a steam-heat under 15 lbs. pressure, then run in the lye very slowly, agitating continually from right to left during the whole time; when about half the lye is run in the mixture begins to curdle; it will, however, finally become so firm and compact that it cannot be stirred, if the operation is successful. The soap is now finished, but is not pearly; it will, however, assume that appearance by long trituration in a mortar, gradually adding the alcohol, in which is previously dissolved the perfume.

Tooth Powder.

Take precipitated chalk and powdered orrisroot, each 1 lb.; carmine and powdered sugar, each 15 grs.; essence rose and essence neroli, each 60 grs.

Tooth Paste.

Honey, precipitated chalk, powdered orris-root, each 8 oz.; tincture of opium, tincture of myrrh, each 14 drs.; essence of rose, cloves, and nutmeg, each dr.

Charcoal Tooth Powder.

Finely powdered charcoal, sugar, each 2 oz.; oil of cloves, 6 drops.