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Lye is made from wood ashes seeped in water, and it was first called potash or pot ash, being ashes soaked in a pot. This is actually the origin of the word “potassium!” Lye is used in many soap recipes and cleansers, usually mixed in with oils and animal fats like beef fat to produce soap.
What is the main ingredient in lye?
Lye, or caustic soda, is a mixture of sodium hydroxide and water. This strong alkaline compound is used sparingly in baking due its dominate properties. While stronger solutions of lye have been made famous for making soap and other cleaners, food-grade lye is a much milder solution.
How do you make homemade lye?
To make lye in the kitchen, boil the ashes from a hardwood fire (soft woods are too resinous to mix with fat) in a little soft water, rainwater is best, for about half an hour. Allow the ashes to settle to the bottom of the pan and then skim the liquid lye off the top.
What does lye soap do to your skin?
Lye is a caustic substance that can certainly damage your skin if you’re exposed to it. It can cause a number of problems, such as burns, blindness, and even death when consumed. But, and this is a big but, soap that is created with lye (which is all real soap) will do absolutely no harm to your skin.
What are the ingredients of lye soap?
GRANDMA’S Lye Soap is made with only three ingredients: food grade lard, lye and water. There are no detergents, fragrances, dyes or other additives to irritate sensitive skin, and it retains 100% of the natural glycerin created during the soap making process.
Where does lye come from?
A lye is a metal hydroxide traditionally obtained by leaching wood ashes, or a strong alkali which is highly soluble in water producing caustic basic solutions. “Lye” most commonly refers to sodium hydroxide (NaOH), but historically has been used for potassium hydroxide (KOH).
Can soap be made without lye?
In short the answer is no. Soap must be made using lye. Lye is the key ingredient in making soap. All products that are legally allowed to be called soap, must have gone through the process of saponification.
Is lye the same as baking soda?
Originally Answered: Is baking soda same as lye? No. baking soda is sodium (hence the “soda” in the name) bicarbonate (NaHCO3), while lye (also known as “caustic soda”) is sodium hydroxide (NaOH).
Can you use baking soda instead of lye to make soap?
It is certainly possible to make an acceptable cold process soap using baking soda or washing soda, but lather performance suffers compared to the same soap formula without them. This supports the conventional wisdom that they are better used in a hot process soap (after the cook) or in a rebatched soap.
How was soap made before lye?
Thousands of years ago before soap was available, people made their lye the old fashioned way by leaching water through wood ashes layered in a barrel or other container. If you’re in a far corner of the globe and can’t get lye locally, or are just curious how it’s made, you can make potassium hardwood lye yourself.
Does Dove soap have lye in it?
Dove. It is true that the words “lye” or “sodium hydroxide” do not appear on the Dove ingredient label. But, the first ingredients listed were sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate, and sodium palm kernelate. Yes, Dove is made with lye!Feb 18, 2014.
Is lye soap antibacterial?
Lye is both a disinfectant and a cleanser. Lye is particularly suitable to kill germs and bacteria as well as cleaning the surface of food containers, room vessels, the surface of wash bowls, etc.
Why is lye soap harsh?
So why does “lye soap” have a reputation of being harsh? In days past, homemakers made soap using lye made from wood ash. Sophisticated scales for measuring were not available, and often too much lye was used. When saponification occurred, some lye was left in the soap, making it harsh on the skin.
How long does it take to make lye soap?
This will take from 30 minutes to one hour. Now you can add any essential oils for fragrance or leave it plain. Pour it into your mold scraping the sides of the bowl. The emulsion created by combining the lye water and fat creates a chemical reaction called saponification.
What does lye soap smell like?
Lye soap is made from potassium hydroxide (from wood ashes or sodium hydroxide) and animal fat. So it is a “smelly” process that leaves the end product with a slight “basic” or biting odor a little like ammonia.
Is lye considered natural?
In fact, although lye isn’t technically organic, it is one of the few non-organic ingredients that the USDA allows within their organic standards. That means that, even though it isn’t organic, it is used in such a way in soap making, that soaps made with it can still be considered organic.
Is lye natural or synthetic?
Lye has been on the USDA approved list for organic products from day one, The FDA specifically exempts soap from it’s labeling requirements, and The Natural Ingredient Resource Center exempts soap and allows it to be listed as 100% natural if all the ingredients (which they require to be listed) are all natural.
Can I make my own soap?
Making soap at home requires two types of ingredients — an acid and a base. These chemically react together in what is called “saponification” and produce the soap along with glycerin as a byproduct. No commercial or homemade soap can be made without these two ingredients.
How do you make lye soap from scratch?
Quick Summary: Weigh and melt your fats in a large pot. Weigh the lye in a zip close bag and weigh your water into a plastic container. Prepare mold (add wax paper if necessary) Weigh essential oils according to recipe, set aside. When fats and lye both reach about 100° F, pour lye into pot of oil and stir.
