I have definitely had my share of college chemistry classes and labs. For four years, I donned safety goggles and a lab coat, and delighted in mixing, measuring… using dangerous chemicals that were capable of eating my skin and making me blind. Funny, looking back on it, how similar chemistry lab in college is to soap making in our Soap-Shop!

Sodium Hydroxide and Potassium Hydroxide are strong bases, or alkalis. Each has been referred to as Lye, although in modern times, the name is more often used for Sodium Hydroxide. Lye is a powerful caustic used in drain-cleaning products like Drano. But, it’s also the primary chemical needed to make soap.

Our ancestors made soap using lye, but they obtained it from wood ashes. Now, thanks to the industrial revolution and advances in chemistry, we can purchase lye in granular form, and forget dirty old wood ash. But, it’s essentially the same caustic chemical, just purified and mass produced. You can be assured though, in a properly formulated and prepared batch of soap, highly corrosive lye will become completely harmless. In fact, lye can be used to craft a beautifully gentle bar of soap.

To make soap, Lye is first mixed with water, and then poured into a melted mixture of natural oils. The lye causes the chemical structure of the esters in each oil to break, which releases fatty acids and glycerol. The lye is completely gone once reacted with enough oil. Most recipes even include excess oil, a step known as “Superfatting.” This ensures there is more than enough oil necessary to “use up” the lye, and leaves additional, non-reacted oil in the soap for more moisturizing qualities.

The Lye Soap we hear of our ancestors using was made with lye, just as soap is made today. Believe it or not, Lye Soap is actually more conditioning, moisturizing and cleansing than many commercially made soaps you’ll find in your local grocery store. In our time, the name Lye Soap has fallen from favor, and become replaced with the more gentle term, “Natural Soap.”

In our ancestors time, the primary oils used to make soap would likely have been lard, animal fats and shortenings. Modern day soaps, on the other hand, more often use vegetable-based ingredients like coconut oil and luxurious ingredients such as Shea Butter to create richly conditioning soaps. But, one ingredient remains the same. Lye.

Can’t soap be made without the use of Lye? Not real soap. Real soap is “saponified” oil. To make real soap, strong bases must break oils into fatty acids and glycerol (or glycerin). This process is called Saponification, and it requires the use of lye.  So, Lye=Soap.  No Lye=No soap.

Naturally made Soap can leave your skin not only clean, but moisturized, conditioned and soft. Natural soaps don’t contain overly cleansing and drying detergents, or synthetic cleaners. Natural Soaps can be formulated to help with acne, sunburn, or sensitive skin. Natural Soaps can be custom made to have the scents, colors and qualities you desire. Pretty amazing, considering that it all happens because of a caustic chemical known as Lye.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Monday, January 4th, 2010, 5:01 pm   |   Soap Ingredients, Uncategorized  |  RSS feed |  Respond  |  Trackback