Soap - what is it really?

Soap is the everyday name, the one used in daily speech.

If we are more specific and more versed in chemistry, soap can also be called potash soap, fatty acid potassium, crystal soap, or potassium salt of fatty acids. Soap is usually made from vegetable fats but can also be made from animal fats. Making soap from animal fat was common in the old farming society where everything was utilized. Fat from animals slaughtered in the household was saponified into soap for washing and cleaning houses and barns.

Soap is used as a cleaning agent or to mount pipes or move/slide heavier objects on logs. Other traditional uses are controlling aphids, foot baths, and treating, for example, ingrown toenails. Soap can be either a viscous gel packaged in a jar or in a package (like butter) or liquid. The production consists of a process where vegetable or animal fat is boiled together with potassium hydroxide – saponification. This distinguishes soap from true soap, which is made from fat and sodium hydroxide.

You can find superfatted and alkaline soaps here
You can find acidic cleaning products such as citric acid and vinegar here