Bursting Myths About Lye

We're all familiar with handmade soap making and its benefits towards skin care. Most handmade soaps are made with organic ingredients along with lye. The usage of lye doesn't register very well in our minds, does it? It makes us think the soap is harsh on the skin and not ‘organic’ after all. But that's not true. Your apprehensions are natural, and so is your soap! Having correct information about the effect of lye being added in soap will drive your insecurities away.

For those who do not know what lye is, don't worry, we're beginning from scratch.

What exactly is lye?

Lye, also known as sodium hydroxide, is a chemical using ordinary but pure salt. Salt is added to cold water, but before the salt starts completely dissolving, graphic rods are added to the solution. The rods are charged with electricity through which crystals form on the rods. The solution is then poured in a glass pan and left to evaporate. The remainder after evaporation takes place is lye.

Lye is also made using wood ash, but the lye produced is inconsistent and will result in a very soft soap bar.

Lye in soap

Lye is added to the soap mixture in the process. When it is first added, there is absolute presence of lye with other ingredients. Making handmade soaps is a long process. Once all the ingredients are put together, the mixture is added in the moulds and then left that way to be cured for 3-4 weeks. Here's what happens:

Within those weeks of curing, lye mixes with oil and gets neutralized and thus the process of saponification takes place.

When the mixture is completely cured, the remainder is soap without any traces of lye in it! So, of course, lye is used but once the soap is ready, you have a gentle, lye-free soap bar.

Lye-free soaps?

NO. There is no component that will turn oil into soap. Lye is an alkali that mixes with fat to produce soap. Only lye is able to achieve that and there is no substitute for the same. Every bar soap is made using sodium hydroxide and liquid soap using potassium hydroxide. The word ‘lye’ is not usually printed on soap packaging, because, once the soap is saponified and fully cured, there is not trace of lye left in it. Soap isn't soap without lye. At the end of the saponification process, what is left is simply glycerin and oils that got converted to soap.

It is also to be noted that though a fully cured soap is free from lye, the process of making it must be carried out with care and caution, especially if you plan to prepare lye at home. You may end up burning yourself if the solution drops on you. Even the fumes produced while making lye are not to be inhaled. If you make a mistake in preparing the mixture, your soap may end up containing lye in it, which will harm your skin.

That's the reason it is always advisable to buy handmade soaps from authentic sellers and save yourself from the hassles. Handmade organic soaps are creatively made with numerous, unbelievably surprising ingredients that thoroughly nourish our skin and keep skin problems away.

You can check out some soaps on our page, Antardwand Organics by clicking on the link given below.

https://www.facebook.com/antardwandindiaorganics/

Believing and spreading myths can be harmful to the reputation of not only persons, but products as well. The best way to get rid of myths is to educate yourself. We hope that this write-up relieves you of the misconceptions you had heard about lye. Share this with your friends and family and burst the soapy bubble of myths!