Ecology of a Changing planet
Soap in Our Life
Jason S. Eadens
Benedictine University
Soap in Our Life
When people think of what we use in our everyday life they probably think of food, but I thought of something different. The one thing that we should be using everyday more often than we eat is soap. After all that is the thing we care the most about is our own hygiene and the hygiene of others around us. So, first thing you probably realize when you think about soap is the soap isle at a consumer’s store. Thinking about that isle can you see all the different kinds and makes of soaps? What makes them different or one better than the other? Soap is probably …show more content…
Depending on where the soap you used is derived from the diagram above will change a little bit, but overall, it’s the same concept. Soap is created from natural ingredients in the world, like palm trees and fruit branches. No matter what the ingredients are that make up the soap that you use there is still more ways that you have to use to extract the chemicals out to create the soap that you use whether it is liquid or bar soap. Now I think we all know that bar soap has been around longer and liquid soap is no knew thing to the consumer market, but looking into the research of what is best for our environment and to our own health, does it make a difference in which one we use? You should be glad to know that “All types of true soap are composed of the same essential components -- alkali salts of fatty acids and detergent properties”(“Does bar soap work better than liquid soap? | HowStuffWorks,” n.d.). So, in simplest terms there is no real difference in bar soaps and liquid soaps. The only difference that I can think of is with the scientists having to make one chemical compound come out as a liquid and one as a solid. There is a gray area to the end of a soap’s lifecycle, and that is gray water. The water we bath with and wash dishes with cannot be swallowed by human beings, but it can still have many other uses. Such as, watering plants, mopping the floor, and other simple …show more content…
As a consumer, you just have to decide which one you want to use. Some people like the ease non-cleanup mess that liquid soap gives you. Others think that cheaper is better and so what if bar soap leaves a residue under it after its been used and drips dry. Like I think we have gathered it’s not a difference of what is better between the choice, but instead it’s a personal choice in the consumer. I can say liquid soap has seemed to have gathered a stronger following since its debut in the consumer world. I think we can accumulate this from the fact that liquid soap can give a richer lather than bar soap and bar soap when left laying out and used by multiple people can leave bacteria that transfers from one person to another. If you wash correctly it has been shown through studies that no detectable traces of bacteria have been left on the skin surface after washing (“Does bar soap work better than liquid soap? | HowStuffWorks,”