Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) can be found in many hardware stores, or ordered on line. Some sell lye in bulk, in bags from 35 to 50 pounds in weight. Lye is also marketed as a drain-opening product, as well -- but the label should be checked to make sure the product is 100% lye. See the link below for more information.
Using expired lye in cold process soap can greatly affect the process and final product.
Typically, soap is not acidic. It is slightly alkaline Lye or sodium laureth sulfate is the typical active ingredient in soap
physical
Lye itself is caustic and can cause burns or irritation if ingested. In a finished soap product, lye is typically fully reacted with oils during the soap-making process, reducing its caustic properties. However, ingesting a large amount of soap could still lead to gastrointestinal issues or discomfort.
Lye is a strong alkaline compound that is commonly used for cleaning, soap-making, and food processing. It is a chemical compound known as sodium hydroxide.
Lye Soap is made by combining Lye (Sodium hydroxide), Oils and water together at the right temperature and ratio as to begin saponification. Ordinary soap like in the supermarket is not this type of soap. They do not contain lye at all.
mix lye, water, and fat in large pot. heat and stir. you will get soap.
Normally you don't make lye, you usually purchase it. It depends on your use of Sodium Hydroxide (lye) but one of the ways that lye can be made is by taking ashes from a fire and dripping water of it. The liquid resulting is lye. When most people think of Grandma's soap they think of the harsh feel and smell of it, it is because she probably made her lye this way. The way most in home soap makers get lye is in dry pearl format from a chemical company.
Yes, lye soap is safe to use in fact that is what I use every day. When I was a child, my father used to make lye soap which we all used regularly. Except that it didn't have perfume, it was no different from 'store bought' soap. In previous centuries, many people made and used lye soap.
lye
Lye, or sodium hydroxide, is a key ingredient in soap making as it reacts with fats/oils to create a chemical process called saponification, which converts them into soap. This process helps to ensure that the soap is effective at cleansing by breaking down dirt and oils on the skin. Lye is essential for creating solid bars of soap that are safe and suitable for use.
Fat and lye.
lye.
Traditional soap-making processes involve using lye (sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide) to react with fats to create soap. However, there are now alternative methods to make soap without lye, such as melt-and-pour soap bases that have already undergone the saponification process.
lye
You cannot make soap without lye. Even glycerin soap is not free of lye. The Lye is a naturally occurring chemical that can be produced using simple rainwater and wood or plant ash. Soap has been made with some form of lye for thousands of years and can be traced back as far as 2800 BC. Here is a website that gives a summary of the history of soap. http://www.cleaning101.com/cleaning/history/ The glycerin is the byproduct that is left over after the commercial soapmakers skim the soap off the top. What is left is then distilled and becomes what we know as glycerin, but the glycerin results from the original process to make the soap which invariably uses lye. The removal of the glycerin from the soap along with the addition of other, God knows what, chemicals added in the commercial soap is what is harmful or drying to your skin. Lye soap (there REALLY is no other kind)is not harmful to your skin IF the soap is properly made. If too much lye is used for the fat content, it may retain some of they lye's caustic properties. Some soapmakers (homemade soap, not commercial) will "super fat" their mixture to avoid any chance that the lye's caustic properties were not neutralized. If you worry about the "chemical" use of lye in your soap, don't be. Without lye, there is no soap. Water, Lye and Fat are the ingredients in any soap. The only alternative is detergent which is made with phosphates. Phosphates are carcenogenic and are known to cause cancer. Also, don't forget the potential for chemical harm attributable to glycerin either. Nitroglycerin is made from glycerin! When used and handled properly, lye is very safe. Here is another article about the soap making process. http://www.pioneerthinking.com/glycerin.html
Soap has to cure for a while, or it will be caustic. It can make chemical burns on the skin. When soap is first prepared it usually contains residues of unreacted fat and lye. If used immediately and you get a piece of the unreacted lye on your skin it will cause a chemical burn, turning the fats in your skin into soap! If you wait before using the soap the unreacted lye will slowly turn unreacted fat into soap. This waiting time can be reduced or eliminated if you give the original fat and lye mixture longer to "cook" before making the bars of soap. To verify that the reaction is complete, take samples of the soap mixture in water and test for neutral pH 7, when it is neutral all the lye is used up.