• Known as the softest rock on earth, soapstone, named for its soaplike texture, is a rock composed of talc and a combination of chlorite, mica, quartz, tremolite, magnetite and iron. This nonporous stone weighs around 20 pounds per square foot and has great heat retention. However it doesn't burn, won't stain and acids can't damage it. Being a metamorphic rock, soapstone goes through changes or stages ranging from hard dense serpentine to soft talc.
  
  

Serpentine

• Serpentine, the first stage of soapstone, is an impure massive talcose rock. This hard and dense, fine-grained soapstone does not appear in outcropping as does the more coarse-grained soapstone, but in laminated foliated strata forming thick slabs or chunks and is used for manufacturing pipes, beads, shaft straighteners, shallow bowls, dishes, pendants and doughnut holes used by the Gabrielino Indians around Catalina, Calif.
  
  Today this stone is used for meditation and Shimmerlings.com (see Reference 1) avers that it has mystical properties. The Romans used it for protection against the dark arts and sorcery. Drinking containers were made of serpentine because they were said to shatter when poison was poured into them. Ancient American civilizations considered serpentine a vital energy guardian and a protector against invisible powers. Apothecaries during the Middles Ages kept medicines in serpentine vessels as it was thought to increase the medicine's healing powers and make it last longer.
  
  

Steatite

• As the rock slowly changes into talc it becomes steatite (ore containing 50 to 80 percent talc) (see Reference 2), a more coarse-grained soapstone. This stone is found in underground deposits, outcroppings or large surface mounds. At this stage it was used by early California Indians for heavier larger items such as comals (stones used for baking), large bowls, and ollas. Today steatite is used in counter tops, vanities, sinks, fireplaces, liners for pizza ovens, flooring and shower stalls. Other uses include crayons and soap.
  
  

Talc

• Finally, the soapstone becomes pure talc and is considered sculpture grade. This soapstone is easily carved and used for carvings and sculpture work. The waste is milled into talc, which is used in cosmetics, body, dusting and baby powders. The largest consumer of talc, the paper industry, uses it as a filler to improve printing properties and to add opacity. Talc also removes sticky residue from wood pulp. In ceramics, it lowers firing temperatures, prevents late-glaze crazing, and prevents shrinkage. Talc makes up to 65 percent of the composition of ceramic wall tile. This versatile rock is also used in coatings and paint, reinforcement and filling in plastic, chewing gum dusting, rubber-dusting, textile-filler and as a component in asphalt roofing.