# Soap with no lye



## thorn653 (Jun 3, 2013)

My girlfriend is getting into soap making and 
she refuses to use lye even though it's inactive by the time
the process is done.
Is there any recipes that don't use lye?


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

No, not really. It may be called different names, but in order to make soap you have to use lye (caustic soda). The only way to not use lye is to use glycerin, but she'll really be limited as to the soaps she makes. 

If she doesn't want to handle the "raw" lye, then she can use the pour and melt method of using already made soap, melt it, add fragrances, then pour into molds. But lye was used to make the original soap block.


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## thorn653 (Jun 3, 2013)

Ok, that's kind of what I figured.
I imagine if you were protective gloves and are careful, it should be fine.
Thanks for the reply.


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## kyweaver (Nov 30, 2009)

Is she worried about the safety of working with the lye or the safety of the finished soap?
If the former, can she watch someone else's processes and precautions? Sometimes all the warnings can be overwhelming but in practice aren't too bad.
If the latter, I find the descriptions of lye-heavy or mismeasured soap "burning" to be exaggerated. Yes, they can dry out your skin, and sensitive skin can get irritated, but it won't eat your face off. I handle day old soap while cutting and moving it with my bare hands and suffer no ill affects. Now if I touched my eyes or delicate skin without washing, I would probably suffer!
I'm not suggesting that proper precautions not be taken, but that with proper precautions, there is nothing to be intimidated by.


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## RedPines (Dec 29, 2014)

I ditto the above. I just finished my third batch of cold process about an hour ago. Lye is a little intimidating the first time, but I wore safety glasses and gloves and it's not as scary as it first seems.


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## thorn653 (Jun 3, 2013)

kyweaver said:


> Is she worried about the safety of working with the lye or the safety of the finished soap?
> If the former, can she watch someone else's processes and precautions? Sometimes all the warnings can be overwhelming but in practice aren't too bad.
> If the latter, I find the descriptions of lye-heavy or mismeasured soap "burning" to be exaggerated. Yes, they can dry out your skin, and sensitive skin can get irritated, but it won't eat your face off. I handle day old soap while cutting and moving it with my bare hands and suffer no ill affects. Now if I touched my eyes or delicate skin without washing, I would probably suffer!
> I'm not suggesting that proper precautions not be taken, but that with proper precautions, there is nothing to be intimidated by.


I think she's just worry because lye is caustic, but I try to tell her
about how it changes composition in the end.
I mean they make ludefisk fish with it, and some people love that!!


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## kyweaver (Nov 30, 2009)

Pretzels and olives too! Oh, a fresh homemade pretzel! So good.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

if it doesnt have lye in its not soap. make sure its just lye and not other chemicals added in

my other recommendations are:
1. having a light fan blowing or do it outside is does make fumes
2. always pour lye in to water if you pour water over lye it can cause problems 3. use a soap calculator. to double check the recipe. soap calc at mist mountain sage is good.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

thorn653 said:


> I think she's just worry because lye is caustic, but I try to tell her
> about how it changes composition in the end.
> I mean they make ludefisk fish with it, and some people love that!!


another example is 
sodium chloride it is 2 very deadly things sodium a metal that burns when exposed to air and chlorine a gas that kills everything but when bound to each other we call it salt and sprinkle it on our food 

lye is great stuff to have around the house , if you burn something to a stainless steel pan badly you can fill it above the burnt on food with water and add some lye and it breaks down the carbon bonds and the burnt on mess you could not scrub off cleans easily.

I found a Stanley 1/2 gallon coffee thermos at a thrift store 4 dollars a new one is 55 dollars , looked like the previous owner left coffee in it then stopped using it perhaps retired and never used it again left the last days coffee in it or maybe that was just the crust from years of use without a full cleaning 
I filled it with water added about 2 table spoons of lye and let it sit over night , the stainless steel inside was bright and shiny in the morning.

been using it since


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## thorn653 (Jun 3, 2013)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> another example is
> sodium chloride it is 2 very deadly things sodium a metal that burns when exposed to air and chlorine a gas that kills everything but when bound to each other we call it salt and sprinkle it on our food
> 
> lye is great stuff to have around the house , if you burn something to a stainless steel pan badly you can fill it above the burnt on food with water and add some lye and it breaks down the carbon bonds and the burnt on mess you could not scrub off cleans easily.
> ...


Great info, Thanks!


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