If you bribe an item via links on this page , we may earn a commission . Our editorial content is not influence by commission . Read the full disclosure .

Making soap is something I ’ve wanted to do but never had the courage .

However , recently some friends of ours have gotten into the soap induce commercial enterprise . They are doing quite well and really love it .

Article image

After determine how much fun they ’ve had with it , I ’ve decided to face my fears and take on the project . However , the reason I ’ve been so fearful of it is because of the lye .

Yes , I know you canbuy the goop baseto nullify lye , but I really wanted to give the old way version a endeavor .

So today I ’m go away to portion out with you what I ’ve come to learn about lye .

Article image

I ’ve watch the more you know about your fear you usually begin to realize that there is less to fear than you once imagined .

The History Of Lye Soap

max making is nothing new .

Our ancestors cleaned themselves , their children , and their clothes in lye soap . I was quite surprised to observe out that archeologist really retrieve recipes for lye soap in ancient Mesopotamian writings .

Clearly , lye soap drop dead back farther than we can even really think . However , when the Early Americans made lye soap boy did they make it !

Article image

They were like many New homesteader . They had to use what they had to live .

What they could use to make goop was their old wood ashes . ( It kind of makes you wonder how someone was able-bodied to pertain forest ashes to lye in soap )

They would n’t utilize Mrs. Henry Wood ash tree directly . So instead they would run pee through the ashes and make a lye solution .

Article image

This made a sea wolf soap but because of the method it would make the lye a little unpredictable and therefore it would often time work a little too well if you know what I mean .

It is clear by our history that lye deserves obedience but it is n’t something we should needfully be fearful of . We have come a long way in the soap making and lye solution outgrowth .

The Upside To Using Lye

Lye deserves some serious respect , it has its high points that are certainly deserving cite .

Lye Georgia home boy is a great cleansing agent and multipurpose too .

you could use it to wash apparel , to wash , or to make cleaning supplies . And it can be made for a matter centime .

Article image

concerned in learning how to make your own soap?Here is how . And here are the items you ’ll need to get come out :

Lye soap is cheap to make , well-situated to make , and very effective . What more could you hope for ?

The fact that soap can be made from veggie oils or byrendering animal fat , it is also sustainable . If you are someone that tries to be self - corroborate , or you just care to make what you could then lather is for you .

Article image

Not to mention , scoop is one more matter youcan make to sellin parliamentary procedure to keep your homestead afloat .

As you could tell , the upsides to lye soap are many and sure make soap make at least land on the list of consideration for a new hobby , if nothing else .

Lye’s Downfalls

Lye has but one downfall : Chemical burn mark .

Now , I know what you are thinking , “ What ? ! A risk for chemic Robert Burns ? Then I do n’t necessitate to love how to make my soap . ”

However , get a line me out .

Lye must be include in its true form into the mix in ordering to make soap decently . However , after it goes through a chemical process it becomes neutral .

So the reliable danger come in when adding lye to the admixture . Not after the scoop make process .

I will tally that if by some prospect lye gets on your skin you could stop the burn byusing acetum . I am not in any way minimalizing the risk of getting lye on your hide , but I am letting you know that there is a way to stop the chemical burn .

Even so , it should be advert that just because the burn is intercept , vinegar will not undo the damage of the chemical substance burn .

So there you have it , folks . Lye can produce chemical substance burns but with right gear ( such asgoggles , glove , anddisposable arm protector ) you should be just ok during your goop - making venture .

How Is Lye Made?

Lye is in reality made from average salt .

Seriously . Salt make this chemical that get wonderful handmade grievous bodily harm but can also produce some pretty tight tan in its uncommon form .

Back in the day , as cite earlier , our ascendant made lye from wood ash . It was actually very smart of them to use what they had , but the job is the lye was very inconsistent .

Nowadays , lye is made by break up salt into water .

At the item where the crystal of salt are the only affair left to dethaw in the bottom of the glass , graphite perch are inserted into the miscellanea .

At this point , electrical energy is course through those rod , and crystals of lye attach themselves to the rod cell . After that , the liquid is poured off and allowed to disappear until nothing but lye crystals remain . This is what we now purchase in the storesand make our version of homemade soap from .

To clarify , you may still find way on the net to make lye from wood ash tree , but I do n’t commend it .

The newer ( safer ) version is made merely from salt , H2O , and electrical energy . It is much more stable for the end product of the scoop but should still be treated with caution during the soap making process .

Saponification, The Process, And The Truth About Lye

I mentioned the term saponification previously .

Basically , it is the chemical reaction between the lye and fat that goes into soap . When these two react they take shape glycerin which is really really great for your tegument .

After this cognitive operation , the soap goes through a curing process for a matter of weeks . There is a lot of chemistry stuff that goes into the whole outgrowth of soap making . I ’ll be true , it is a little above my salary - degree but if you are interested in the detailsthis is a great resourcethat can explain it perfectly .

The best news is you do n’t have to understand all of the interpersonal chemistry behind soap fashioning to make it .

The most authoritative thing is , after the curing process your soap is done and good . So to answer the original dubiousness : is it safe to employ lye soap ?

The answer : yes , it is !

In elder days it was n’t . As we discussed in the first place , the agency they once made their lye solution you were n’t really certain how much lye you were actually getting in your grievous bodily harm .

You could rent it bring around and it would still have too much lye in it which would result in awful chemical tan .

However , now we have a new way of throw lye crystals thatcan be purchased . This creates a more static lye result , and now we know how much lye is actually survive into our soap .

Therefore , we know when the soap is stop with its curing process that the lye itself will actually be gone and glycerin will be in its place .

This makes your peril of chemical burns nothing , but thebenefits of glycerinare many .

How To Put Your Lye Soap Knowledge Into Action

Now that you have intercourse that homemade soap is dependable , here are a few recipes to get you started .

1. Honey Soap

This one does n’t actually require lye but if you are new to max making like me then it might be a full place to start . Since we arouse bees , I have portion of love to go into this . This honey Georgia home boy recipewill certainly aid me put it to good purpose .

2. Coconut Oil Soap

Coconut oil is a very easy Cartesian product to get by so I think this soap would be an gentle one to gather all of the ingredients . This lady is very instructive about lye and how to incorporate it safely into this liquid ecstasy . Sohere is the recipefor you to try out yourself .

3. Goat Milk Soap

I hump these formula because it just seems like it will make a nice , creamy soap ( which I love . ) Also , I grow lilac-colored and all of my Capricorn recently had babies so I have no shortage of Milk River around here . Might as well put it all to practiced use , correct ? Sohere is the recipefor this superbly   enticing   grievous bodily harm .

Was this article helpful?

What went wrong?

This clause contains incorrect information

This article does not have the info I am looking for

How can we improve it?

We appreciate your helpful feedback!

Your answer will be used to improve our content . The more feedback you give us , the better our pages can be .