A water-dispersible cleansing product. Soaps are produced by the saponification reaction of long chain fatty acids, such as found in oils and fats, with an alkali, such as sodium hydroxide or lye. Soaps made from animal fat and wood ashes have been used since antiquity. Soap is listed as a substance for coating and polishing the surface of stucco marble in the seventeenth and eighteenth century (soap solutions) and in the nineteenth century (soap water). Wittenburg (1999); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000). [J. Cassar, R. de Angelis]