Lye And Safety

All soap requires lye in the making process, my friend. That is a fact.

If you want to make soap from scratch, you will have to get comfortable with the idea of working with lye.

To be clear—there is no such thing as soap without lye.

But if the idea of putting lye on your skin makes you cringe, I have good news! There is NO lye remaining in the product after it turns into soap. That is, if you measured and blended everything the correct way.

How is that possible? There is a wonderful explanation on the FDA’s website explaining the process, and I would like to quote it here:

“Ordinary soap is made by combining fats or oils, and an alkali, such as lye. The fats and oils, which may be from animal, vegetable, or mineral sources, are degraded into free fatty acids, which then combine with the free alkali to form crude soap. The lye reacts with the oils, turning what starts out as liquid, into blocks of soap. When made properly, no lye remains in the finished product.”

Translation? If you emulsify your ingredients the right way, you change the chemical composition. After saponifying, it is no longer lye and oil. It is now soap.

What Is Lye? It It Natural?

Lye is a metal hydroxide, used to make soap. Also very useful as a drain cleaner. It can be natural, meaning it comes from natural sources. But it needs a bit of help to form.

There are 2 main kinds of lye used in soap:

1. Potassium hydroxide (potash) for liquid soap.

2. Sodium hydroxide for solid bar soap.

To make Potassium hydroxide/potash, you leach burned wood ashes in water. Then evaporate that solution and collect the white residue left over. That is potash. It is also mined from the raw ore in evaporated sea beds.

Sodium hydroxide comes from salt water (brine). To make it, you reduce the water to hydrogen gas, and hydroxide ion. The hydroxide ion bonds with the sodium, to form “sodium hydroxide”, or lye.

But Melissa, What About Melt-And-Pour Soap? You Don’t Need Lye For That.

Not now, no. But the manufacturers DID use lye to produce their soap. Also, the ingredients and procedure for making it are different from regular soap. They formulate it to be re-melted, over and over.

But Melissa, I Don’t See “Lye” As An Ingredient In My Shampoo, Or My Body Wash!

Most liquid shampoos and body washes are actually synthetic detergent. So they aren’t “real” soap. They behave like soap, but they're made from chemical compounds. Not fat and lye. The purpose of synthetic detergents is to combat hard water. They are useful because they still perform well in those conditions. Also, they provide a means to keep clean when natural soap ingredients are in short supply.That is why they were first invented.

How Come I Don’t See "Lye" On The Ingredients List Of My Bar Soap?

There are several possible reasons for this:

1. Other names for lye can be “sodium hydroxide” for bar soap. Or “potassium hydroxide/potash” for liquid soap. Check the ingredients list for these names as well.

2. Some top companies have been making their bar "soap" from solidified synthetic detergent.

3. If the maker is in the United States, they are not required to list lye as an ingredient. That is because once saponified, the product no longer contains lye. That being they case, businesses can list the ingredients as “saponified oils of…” and name the oils. Other countries may or may not have similar laws.

What Would Happen If I Tried To Make Soap Without Lye?

There is no soap without lye. The scientific formula is as follows:

Lye + Water + Oil = Soap.

Soap is the natural reaction of emulsifying those 3 together. So take away the lye, and what do you have? Oil and water, right? Or plain oil, if you leave the water out. In other words, you wouldn’t have much. Only a big, gooey pool of oil.

Safety:

It generally takes 24 to 48 hours for the oils and lye solution to fully saponify. Until then, please take precautions while handling the ingredients and the soap batter.

Lye will burn you, if it makes direct contact with your skin. It is a corrosive, often used as a drain cleaner. Lye can also ruin your tables or counter tops if you spill it. Even damage your mixing tools and containers, if they are not the right material.

So it is very important to use quality materials. You should also protect yourself by wearing PPE (personal protective equipment). Always do so while you are soaping. This includes:

-Disposable gloves (any kind that you are not allergic to)

-Eye shields

-Suitable clothing (long sleeve shirts, long pants, and closed-toe shoes)

If you do get lye or soap batter on your skin, immediately rinse the area well with water. Seek medical attention if you do experience a lye burn.

IMPORTANT:

Be sure there are NO children or pets in your soaping area. Keep them out until after you have finished soaping and cleaned up. Lye water looks like regular water, and soap batter can look a lot like cake batter. Children and pets are curious, and can spill things. We don’t want anybody to get severe burns. Most soap projects take 45 minutes to an hour. So give yourself at least that amount of time to work, without interruptions.

NEVER leave soap batter or lye water unattended.

Mixing Containers:

Make sure that your mixing tools and containers can withstand lye. Mixing containers should ONLY be stainless steel, or plastic which has a #2 or #5 recycle code.

To find the recycle code for plastic, check the container. It is usually on the bottom. Look for a symbol of arrows in the shape of a triangle, with a number in the middle. Again, make sure it says 2 or 5.

NEVER use other kinds of metal/plastic, or glass. Lye can weaken or shatter glass.

Stirring Utensils:

Be sure all stirring and sifting utensils are either stainless steel, or silicone. Especially your rubber spatulas. Never use wood, or other materials.

Making Your Lye Solution:

When mixing water and lye together, always follow this important safety rule:

WATER goes on the table first. Then add your lye.

If you do it the other way around, it could “explode” and that would be dangerous.

Always work in a well-ventilated area while mixing lye. Add the lye to the water, small amounts at a time. While doing so, continue to stir with either a stainless steel or silicone utensil.

As the lye reacts with the water, the temperature will rise. It can go above 200 degrees F. You will also see steam rising from the lye/water solution. That is normal. But try not to breathe in the fumes, they can irritate your throat.

This is another reason why we add the lye in small amounts. There is much less steam and fumes that way, and it will not get as hot.

TIP:

You can also take your pre-measured water and freeze it into ice cubes. Stir the lye into the ice cubes, as they melt. This works great for reducing the fumes, and keeps the temperature even cooler.

As you stir, try not to splash or spill the lye solution. It may look foggy at first, but it will turn clear as it cools down. Allow your lye water to cool to room temperature before using. You can check the temperature with a digital thermometer. Be sure to stir until all the lye has completely dissolved.

Sometimes after lye water has been sitting for a while, you will see “lye lint” floating around in it. This looks like grey or white flakes. Lye lint is not a problem. But you do want to to keep your soap looking nice and smooth. So you can pour the lye water through stainless steel sifter while you are adding it to your oils. This will sift out the lye lint.

Note:

Since cool lye water looks very much like regular water, be sure to tape a note to the container that says “Poison! Do not drink” in case other adults enter the room.

Dry Lye:

The shelf life of dry lye is up to 1 year. Store at room temperature and do not allow exposure to moisture. If it does expire, it may not trace well in soap batter, and the batter could separate. Be sure your lye is not expired, for good quality soap.

Storing Pre-mixed Lye Water:

You can pre-mix your lye water and allow it to cool, then store it in a tightly-sealed #2 or #5 plastic container. Use it for making soap without having to mix a lye solution every time. Be sure to store it at room temperature. Label the container. Make sure pets, children and unsuspecting adults cannot access it.

Clean Up:

Keep your gloves on during clean up. Be sure to rinse very well with water any containers or utensils that have come in contact with lye. Then wash as usual. Never use soaping containers or utensils for cooking, or vise-versa. Soaping equipment should always be separate.

Vinegar neutralizes lye. So keep some vinegar (full strength) in a spray bottle. When you finish soaping, use the vinegar to spray and wipe surfaces down. This includes your counters, sinks, tables or any area that that may have come in contact with lye.

If you like, you can spray your disposable gloves with vinegar, before removing them to throw away.