Important Principle for Producing Self-Made Bath Soap

Making soaps itself is the best way to get soap with desirable composition and to prevent unbeneficial things to our skin health. The above mentioned materials are still controversial, that efforts to pick out proper and secure raw materials are still considered (debatable). This article more and less can be your first milestone in searching more complete references and infos for producing self-made soap. Man seeks unlimited source to fulfill their needs. Tey require great supports fro the nature and the living environment. The greater the requirement, the larger the impacts that may occur.

Nevertheless, anyone should realize that bad management on enviromental impacts would be a boomerang for the lifes of human, animals, plants, and their nature.

A house is a place where people settle, live, and building families. Therefore, everything related with human activities in fulfilling their needs are expected to be managed properly. So, negative impact of dangerous wates, particalarly soaps and detergent in households, should be managed carefully. Everybody has similar right on the good and healthy nature.

Soaps

The soap as we know today was found for the first time by the arabs in 19th century. Basically, it is made by mixing caustic soda with vegetable oil or animal oil. Since its raw materials are natural, most of the users do not find any difficulties or problems such as allergy or skin damage. Soaps in form of liquids or solids are used for bathing, laundery, or for cleaning househould furnishings and tools.

Massive industrial demand on cheap product, soaps in the market consist of SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) as its basic material. SLS become the main material for making detergent. SLS is also named surfactant (cleaner agent).

Detergent

As a cleaner, detergent may be the fruit of technology development utilizing chemicals as the side products of oil refinery, and added with other chemical substance such as phosphate, silicate, coloring, and perfumes. Around 1960’s, the first generation of detergent appeared by using Alkyl Benzene Sulfonat (ABS) as surfactant that is able to produce foam. But since the property of ABS which is hard to be decomposized by land-surface microorganism, finally it is subtitued with "Linear Alkyl Sulfonat (LAS) which is believed to be nature-friendly.

In many countries in the world, the use of ABS has been prohibited and alternated with LAS. In Indonesia, regulation concerning the prohibition of the ABS doesn’t exist. Several reasons for the use of ABS in detergent are: its low price, stability in form of cream/pasta and abundant foam.

Chemical Contents In Detergent

Compared to soaps, detergent has superiority for its better washing capacity and stability on betel lime condition of the water. In general, detergent has materials as follows:

Surfactant. Surfactant (surface active agent) is an active substance that has 2 different tips: hydrophyl (water-like) and hydrofob (fat-like). Surfactant is classified as organic chemicals. It has a chemical chain that hardly degraded by the nature. This active material is able to lower water surface tension and to take off dirts sticked in clothes. Technically, it functions as emulsifier. This chemical is toxic if inhaled (by nose), absorbed (by the skin) or swelled (orally). In general, there are 4 categories of surfactant:

• Anionic :

• Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate (ABS)

• Linear Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate (LAS)

• Alpha Olein Sulfonate (AOS)

• Cationic : Ammonium Salt

• Non ionic : Nonyl phenol polyethoxyle

• Amphoteric : Acyl Ethylenediamines

Builder. Builder (former) functions for upgrading the efficiency of the washer from surfactant by non-active minerals that cause betel lime condition of the water.

• Phosphate : Sodium Tri Poly Phosphate (STPP)
• Acetate
• Nitril Tri Acetate (NTA)
• Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetate (EDTA)
• Silicate: Zeolit
• citrate : Citrate acid
Filler. Filler is additional materials for the detergent that dosent have the ability to increase laundery-power, but raise the quantity. For example: Sodium sulphate.

Additives. Additives are suplementary / additional materials to make products more attractive, such as perfumes, solution, whitener, coloring, etc, they don’t have direct relationhip with washing capacity of the detergent. Additives are added for commercial purpose, for examples: Enzymes, Borax, Sodium chloride, Carboxy Methyl Cellulose (CMC)

Soaps and Detergent

Soaps as cleaner dissolved with water in mountaineous area or ex-swamp settlement often cannot produce foam. Because, the nature of soap itself can not produce foam when fused in betel lime water (water that contains certain metal materials or calcium). But, in most cases, the use of detergent and betel lime water can still produce abundant foam.

Both soaps and detergent dissolved in the water in washing will form emulsion with dirts wasted when rinsing. There is a false argument saying that the more abundant the foam the cleaner the laundery. Foam with its wide surface may absorb dust, but since there is surfactant, cleaning is already done without tanpa perlu adanya busa.

Opinion saying that exaggerated foam indicates higher effectivity of the detergent is misleading. Thus, washing process doesn’t depend on the amount of the foam. Cleaning power of the detergent can be improved if washing heated cucian dipanaskan karena daya kerja enzim dan pemutih akan efektif. But, washing with hot water causes the color of clother faded. So for colored clothes, hot water is not recommended.

The use of detergent often raises new problem, especially for those who are sensitive. Detergent users may have skin irritation, itchy, or feeling hot after using detergent.

Usually anionic detergent is added with other aditives (builders) like:

• Ammonium quartener group (alkyldimetihylbenzyl-ammonium chloride, diethanolamine/DEA). We must first realize that, these chemicals are frequently used for cleaner products for body treatment to maintain acidity (pH) formula. The group may cause allergy, eye irritation, dryness, and toxic if used for long period. Carsinogenic substance is already prohibited in Europe but still found in cosmetics formula.

• Chlorinated trisodium phospate (chlorinated TSP). This chemical has carsinogenic nature.

• Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). This substance may transform immunity system and cause damages on the eyes, digestion system, neurons, lungs and skin. Generally, SLS was found in effervescent products for body treatment. SLS is probably registered as component of semi natural products claimed to have been made of coconut oil.

• Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES). When combined with other substances, SLES forms nitrosamine with carsinogenic effects on the body. A scrutinized treatment is required toward semi natural products made from coconut oil.

• Linear alkyl benzene sulfonate (LAS). This chemical substance is carsinogenic too.

The Impacts of Soap and Detergent To Health and Environment

• The groups of ammonium quartener are able to form nitrosamine compound. Nitrosamine was known to have carsinogenic property, thay may trigger cancer.

• Chemical compounds sucah as SLS, SLES or LAS are asily react with ammonium quartener compound group, such as DEA and forming nitrosamine. Moreover, SLS was identified to cause irritation on human skin, slowing healing period and causing cataract in the eyes of adults.

• LAS is relatively easy to degrade biologically rather than ABS. LAS may be degraded up to 90%. But the problems don’t stop till here. LAS also needs processes. Thus, the tip of its chemical chain should be broken. Its omega ties must be broken off and beta-oxydated. So, it really takes time.

• According to an experiment, it takes 9 days for the nature to decomposize LAS. And it maximally reaches only 50%. Because of many households are just wasting their laundry wastes without previously process it, nature is expected to be able to handle this job.

• Before being wasted and mixed with clean water material, laundry wastes require a complex management. In order to decompize detergent compounds, wastes have to be gazed with sufficient ultraviolet ray and precipitated for about three weeks. That is why countries permitting LAS mostly have feasible water management system.

• The decomposition of detergent would produce benzena residues. These residues, when react with chlor, would form the very dangerous chlorobenzene. The contact between benzene and chlor is very possible in the manufacturing of drinking water, as chlorine were used extensively (where chlor is the main material). Chlorine functions as bactericidal in chlorination.

• Presently, water installation belongs to The National Drinking Water Company (PAM) and industrial wastes installation stil don’t have proper technology that is capable of processing detergents perfectly.

• The application of phosphate as builder in detergent needs to be reviewed, concerning that this compound may become one cause of eutrophycation (the enrichment of excessive substances) in rivers/lakes characterized by vast growth of algae and eceng gondoks, which in turn contributes to the shallowing river, a death signal for the life of the river inhabitants.

• In some European countries, the application of phosphates has been forbidden and replaced with substitutional compound which is relatively environmental friendly.

• The application of detergents has brought risks for human health and the environment. The most minor risk is iritation (hot feeling, itchy, and pelling off skin) mainly in the area that has direct contact with the product.

• This is caused by the high level of acidity. In a condition of being irritated or wounded, softener products that contain perfumes would only make the irritation become worse.

• Bath soap produces too many foam. The formula of detergent and soda ash was recognized as powerful to lift dirts on body skin. But if you apply this soap on your face, your facial natural oil would be removed also. Moreover, it leaves some drying residues on the surface of your face. And this may quicken wrinkles faster than it should.

Tips

Our green environment needs to be cleaned, why we care about the ecology, but in the same time let our own houses in a mess? The reason is that the materials are dangerous instead of environment friendly.

Keep in mind that you always have to put attention on the composition of the detergent, your soap, and other cleaner products to ensure that your product is safe. Keep looking for information on chemical substances that may damage your health and the environment, and spread these infos to others.

Truly yours and have a nice work
Sapto T Poedjanarto
Program & IT Officer
Demak Lantern Indonesia

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