Andrew Pears

Who was Andrew Pears?

Andrew Pears was a farmer's son from Cornwall, born around 1770, who invented transparent soap. He moved to London in 1789 from his home in Mevagissey, Cornwall, where he had trained as a barber.

He opened a barber's shop in the then-fashionable residential area of 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.