Let's Talk : Lye

Let's talk about Lye. Lye also known as sodium hydroxide, is the alkali used to make soap. For any soap to be real soap, lye is required to make it as such. Lye is the component responsible for disinfecting and cleansing. It then works along with the oils present to provide that deep cleanse and lather we all desire in a nice hard bar of soap. Lye can be harmful in its natural state as it is caustic, meaning it can burn or corrode. So, how is lye not harmful in soap? During soap making there is the main process you want to happen called saponification. Saponification is the process where lye is essentially "cooked out" and binds with the oils leaving no actual lye in the finished soap. I like to think of it as cooking with alcohol because your finished food product once heated to a certain temperature will not have any alcohol left, only the flavor that binds with your other ingredients. To my surprise as well, lye is often used in making pretzels, bagels, canned fruits and more so it does "cook out" when it is used!

I am often asked is lye is natural or vegan? Lye can be found naturally in the burnt ashes of trees. However, most are made with the identical chemical structure in factories these days because burning trees is NOT eco-friendly. Lye is vegan because no animal products are used or harmed when making it.

 Lye is so important to have in any bar of soap for simply getting rid of germs and staying clean! If you are using a soap without lye, it is not technically soap at all.

I hope this information helps! Know that we always make REAL soap here!

Bubbles and Suds to you all,

Aubrey Lindsey, Owner