A soaper is a person who practices soap making. It is the origin of the surnames "Soper", "Soaper", and "Saboni" (Arabic for soap maker). Roads named "Sopers Lane," "Soper Street," and so forth often were centres for soap making.

Historically in England and in the United States, a chandler is a person in the soap and/or candle trade.^[1][2][3] Soapmaking and candle-making use both similar ingredients and similar instruments.

Craft-scale soap making has a variety of adherents, both those who practice it as a hobby and to keep traditional soap making methods alive, and consumers who prefer traditional handmade products as alternatives to mass-produced industrial offerings and as a contribution to a more sustainable means of living. In Europe, soapers in the 9th century produced soap from animal fats and had an unpleasant smell. Eventually, soap was made with olive oil, the Mediterranean regions due to the high influx in olive-growing. Finally, by the 15th century, soap had become industrialized, being produced in Antwerp, Castile, Marseille, Naples, and Venice. Soap had gradually moved to being made with lye, which was additionally used to bleach linen becoming the standard formula for centuries later. The lye was produced mixing water with the ash of plants (mainly wood). The mixture was left to stand and then had water poured out. Finally any excess water was evaporated out to concentrate the liquid then adding it to the oil/fat. The soap uses were not always as expected. For quite some time, soap was mainly used to wash clothes, but only on certain occasions to wash bodies. Soft soap came in two versions, white for bodies and black for cloth. Softsoap was the main cause for these occurrences. The softsoap had little detergent powder. Generally made using mutton fat, wood ash or potash, and natural soda. Women also used a mixture of lye and fuller's earth or white clay. The softsoap had grown quite popular when issues had begun striking. The harshness of the soap left women's legs and hands blistered.