Andrew Pears

Andrew Pears was born around 1770. He is believed to have spent much of his early life on the family farm in St Ewe as he was the son of a farmer  before leaving for London at the age of about 18. At this time he had trained as a barber and he continued this trade in Soho from 1789. His customers were wealthy and he was soon making a good living in the capital.

His trade helped his to recognise a gap in the market – the need for a pure and gentle soap. Consequently Pears set about perfecting a way of refining the quality of soap, The resulting product was of very high quality and was unique in being transparent.

The fashion at that time was to maintain a pristine alabaster complexion as tanned faces were associated with those who laboured outdoors. He found that cosmetic products at that time contained arsenic and lead and caused damage to the skin, he began experimenting with soap purification and eventually produced a gentle soap made from glycerine and other natural product which was known as the original Pears soap.

 This gave it a novelty value and guaranteed immediate popularity. Pears Soap can still be identified by its unique image today.  The transparency was the unique product plus that established the image of Pears Soap. 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 are combined with the delicate fragrance of rosemary, cedar and thyme.

Andrew Pears retired from business in 1838, leaving his grandson, Francis, to continue the business of the London-based firm of A & F Pears. The son in law of Francis was Thomas J Barratt, who is often referred to as the father of modern advertising. It was he who eventually saw the potential of Sir John Everett Millais’ painting ‘Bubbles’ as an ideal advertisement for Pears.