What is the best lye for soap making?

What kind of lye is used for soap making?

Potassium hydroxide, the type of lye used for making liquid soaps, is often sold in flakes.

Can I use 100% lye to make soap?

You Can’t Make Soap Without Lye

You might be able to find it in some hardware stores often in the drain cleaning section next to the Draino. In order for that lye to be effective in soapmaking, you need to make sure that you are getting 100 percent sodium hydroxide. Otherwise, do not buy it.

Can I use any lye for soap making?

Sodium hydroxide is the lye you use to make bar soap. No other substances can be used in place of either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide to make soap. When you introduce lye to fats and oils, it breaks the molecules apart and bonds with them, creating a new compound – soap!

What is the difference between food grade lye and regular lye?

Because food-grade lye comes in contact with food (even though it cannot safely be ingested, any more than the other kind), food-grade lye is at a considerably higher level of purity than other types of lye.

Does Dove soap contain lye?

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!

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, rain water 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 is another name for lye?

“Lye” is commonly an alternative name of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or historically potassium hydroxide (KOH), though the term “lye” refers to any member of a broad range of metal hydroxides. The “cold process” method is often used to make soap from lye.

What ingredients do you need to make homemade soap?

The basic ingredients of soap are:
  1. animal fat or vegetable oil.
  2. 100 percent pure lye.
  3. distilled water.
  4. essential or skin-safe fragrance oils (optional)
  5. colorants (optional)

How do you make soap for beginners?

Soap making science and ingredients for beginners
  1. Mix water and lye, set aside to cool.
  2. Melt oils, set aside to cool.
  3. Blend lye water and oils to form a soap “batter”
  4. Pour into mold and let harden for a day.
  5. Turn out of mold, cut into bars and let cure for 2-3 weeks.

Is lye in soap bad for you?

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. … The lye gets entirely used up during the process, which means it’s no longer present and can do no harm to your skin.

What is a natural soap base?

Shea butter, olive oil, goat milk, or honey are all prime examples of natural ingredients that enhance the basics and create a unique melt and pour soap base. One of the many benefits of the variety of melt and pour soap bases is the ability to choose a soap base with ingredients that benefit your skin type.


Can you make goats milk soap without lye?

If you have goat milk to use but you prefer soap making without lye, adding milk – no more than one tablespoon per pound of melt and pour base – is simple and easy. You can also add powdered or condensed goat milk at the same rate – one tablespoon per pound of base.

Can lye be used in food?

Food. Lyes are used to cure many types of food, including the traditional Nordic lutefisk, olives (making them less bitter), canned mandarin oranges, hominy, lye rolls, century eggs, pretzels, bagels, and the traditional Turkish pumpkin dessert Kabak tatlısı (creating a hard crust while the inside remains soft).

What is food safe lye?

This is the highest quality food grade lye available. Also known as NaOH and caustic soda. This is an inorganic chemical at minimum 99% pure. … Olives are often soaked in sodium hydroxide for softening, Pretzels and German lye rolls are glazed with a sodium hydroxide solution before baking to make them crisp.

Is lye the same as baking soda?

Lye is a stronger alkaline than baking soda or sodium bicarbonate, with a pH reading ranging from around 13 to 14. Its base of sodium hydroxide is created commercially by the electrolysis of sodium chloride solution, as well as reacting calcium hydroxide with sodium carbonate, according to the FDA.