Herbal Soap Balls from the 17 & 18th centuries

In the How many rose bushes do you have? thread, I mentioned how I use rose petals in historical crafts, like making soap washballs. Joylynn replied saying, "Alright Nicole, where is your thread about those? "

Come to find out, I don't have a thread on them! I've mentioned them in some of my kids-craft thread (Winter Nature Crafts and Historical Disney Princess activities), but there isn't a thread with more info on them...until now!

I learned about soap washballs from Sally Pointer's video:



The ingredients you need are:

• A liquid (rose water and orange water are historical, but you can use normal water). I bought this set of rose and orange blossum water. Most kids likes the rose water and disliked the orange. So, if you get one, get rose water.
• Grated soap. You can grate your own, or buy pre-grated soap. I used these tallow soap flakes, because they were affordable and historical. The tallow helps kids realize one of the reasons why people added herbs.
• Ground herbs--or herbs and a mortar and pestle. Kids love grinding things in mortar and pestles. Make sure your herbs are really dry!

The herbs and flowers I've used were:

• Lilac -- Mine dried smelling a bit off. Use a dehydrator to dry them if you have a humid house!
• Mint -- This is generally a hit
• Lavendar -- Kids like the lavender!
• Rose -- Another well-liked scent
• Lemonbalm -- Some kids picked this, others did not
• Elderflower -- Red elderflower doesn't smell delightful, but black/blue elderflower does
• Sweet cicely -- Not chose frequently
• Calendula -- Does not stay dry and is hard to grind

Kids generally enjoy this activity. The mixing of the soap is goopy, so some liked using gloves. But, they like using the mortar and pestle, and it's a fun way for them to make soap when learning about the popularity of soap in the 1600-1800s.

The soap itself is nice. The herbs help it be extra scrubby--nice for stains on hands or clothes. They do wash off and land in the sink, though.

The soap balls also turn brown from the tannins in the plants. You could add food coloring or cochineal to change the color... but it might come off when washing. I'd be wary of using turmeric because it likes to stain, and beets tend to discolor over time (at least they did when I colored playdough with beets).

You don't have to make them into balls--they could be in hearts or other shapes. If you're making them for yourself, you might want castile soap for a nicer smell.

All in all, it's a fun craft, a great way to learn about history, and you get something useful out of it!

Thank you!

What a lovely project!! These would make nice gifts, too.

You said "tallow flakes" but then acted as if they were soap? Was it straight tallow or tallow soap? I have tallow. And I have plants with sopapians (ot what that word is) and I have wood ash, and roses, mint, rose water. I was trying to find how to transform the tallow into soap. Do I need to start by leeching the wood ashes? Or is there a way without lyme?

R Grier wrote:You said "tallow flakes" but then acted as if they were soap? Was it straight tallow or tallow soap? I have tallow. And I have plants with sopapians (ot what that word is) and I have wood ash, and roses, mint, rose water. I was trying to find how to transform the tallow into soap. Do I need to start by leeching the wood ashes? Or is there a way without lyme?

Oh, sorry! I made this post in a hurry because someone had asked about the soap balls. I'm sorry if I didn't explain things well! I used these tallow soap flakes that I bought off of Amazon. They're just soap that's made from tallow. You could use Castile soap (which is made from olive oil) I have not made my own soap before--working with lye always seemed a little scary to me. I believe the first step is to leach the lye from the soap. Sally Pointer has a great video on leaching lye:



She also continued her tutorial to talk about making soap:



Once again, I've never made soap (just soap balls made with purchased soap), so I don't have much advice to give!

Maybe make a new post about making soap? You might also find more information in these threads about soap making: How to make soap without lye, soap making, Grease Cutting Lard Soap.

I hope that helps!

Quite a brilliant, and eloquent post here.  Videos are very helpful and complete down to 18th century texts. I remember making soap with my Mom in a pig to soap process.   Excellent summer activity for kids, spare certain bits with strong alkaline present.  And do not taste the lye, chemical burns can last a lifetime, I know.  External finger touch sampling is usually enough, or buy a pH meter, rather than have to go to the hospital.  I know (in the videos) she’s attempting historical accurate production, but an excellent time to educate the kids, lye is dangerous.  While adults handle the organic chemistry have the kids gather fresh lavender, lemon verbena, and rose petals.  My favorite use for some high petal count antique European rose petals, air dried, and ground mortar and pestle.  Add fresh petals to dried adds depth to the scent.  Herbs infusions kids love to make their own, just watch out for garlic and chive soap:(  A few differences between porcine, and bovine rendered fats and where on the animals they came from are important, and you should look up.  As well as lessening the overall heating time for best soap, like food over cooking is burnt.  Yet, we use 100% of any animal is important and as we rarely slaughter, animals are the best workers on any farm, and our friends.  We cherish soap made from them at a spiritual level until we have enough olives for Castile soap.  Improving the quality of daily living in this way makes culture deep and personal.  We are grateful for nature, how life works daily, and our existence within nature. Cheers.