Andrew Pears was an English man, born around 1770, who invented transparent

soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

. He moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1789 from his home in

Mevagissey Mevagissey (; kw, Lannvorek) is a village, fishing port and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.

, Cornwall, where he had trained as a barber. He opened a barber's shop in the then-fashionable residential area of Chinatown, London#Gerrard Street, Gerrard Street, Soho, and attracted the custom of many wealthy families. He noticed that the London upper classes cultivated a delicate white complexion whereas a tanned face was associated with the working class who toiled in the outdoors. Andrew Pears realised that there was a need for a gentle soap for these delicate complexions. After much trial and error he found a way of removing the impurities and refining the base soap before adding the delicate perfume of garden flowers. His product was a high-quality soap, and had the additional benefit of being transparent. Soap refined in this way is transparent and makes longer-lasting bubbles. The transparency was the unique product plus that established the image of

Pears soap Pears transparent soap is a British brand of soap first produced and sold in 1807 by Andrew Pears, at a factory just off Oxford Street in London. It was the world's first mass-market translucent soap. Under the stewardship of advertising pionee ...

. His method of mellowing and ageing each long-lasting Pears Bar, for over two months, is still used today where natural oils and pure

glycerine Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known ...

are combined with the delicate fragrance of

rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name ''Rosmar ...

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

and

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus '' Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigen ...

. In 1835, he took on a partner, his grandson Francis Pears, and they moved to new premises at 55 Wells Street, just off

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...

. Andrew Pears retired from business in 1838, leaving his grandson, Francis, to continue the business of the London-based firm of A & F Pears. He died in 1845. His great great grandson, Thomas Clinton Pears (1882–1912), was travelling First Class aboard RMS ''Titanic'' on the ship's maiden voyage from England to New York in April, 1912 with his wife, Edith Ann (Wearne) Pears (1889–1956). Thomas was lost, while Edith was rescued.

References

1766 births 1845 deaths Inventors from Cornwall People from Mevagissey Soaps {{Cornwall-stub