How is it that fat actually turns into soap? Well, this wondrous metamorphosis occurs at a molecular level. Fat molecules actually change into soap molecules. The fat molecules become completely different molecules. Just as grapes are transformed into wine, vegetable oil is transformed into soap.

Although this comparison is very rough, it does impart a certain overall sense of the process. In the case of soap, though, fat is chemically altered through an agent (any highly alkaline substance) which precipitates this molecular change. Is soap natural?