Soaps are the sodium salts or potassium salts of stearic acids or any other fatty acids. They are prepared by the saponification process, which is, reacting the oil which contain triglycerides with caustic soda (NaOH) to give the soap. Soaps and detergents are both cleaning products that help clean or remove dirt, germs, and other unwanted particles from the human body and other surfaces. Because both are used for cleaning purposes, people often get confused between these two cleaners and use these terms interchangeably. However, in reality, there are significant differences between soaps and detergents.