Is lye soap safe to use on the skin? Is it a natural ingredient? Time for some viewer Q&A!
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- Опубликовано: 30 май 2024
- Sharing my perspective on soap made with lye - how natural and/or safe is it?
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Important Safety Information
Sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide (lyes) used in soap making, in granular or flake form or in solution with water/other liquids, as well as raw soap batter, are highly corrosive and require careful and attentive handling and the proper use of personal protective equipment. Please watch this video to learn more about essential soap making safety precautions: • Soap Making Safety Ess...
Disclaimer
The information provided in my videos and website is based on my own personal research and experience and is provided for informational purposes only. While I take the utmost care to ensure that the recipes and information I provide are accurate and calculated without error, I am not a professional soap manufacturer, nor do I have formal qualifications in chemistry or skincare formulation (or any other related field) and I make no guarantees about the correctness of the information presented. I am not responsible for the consequences of the application or misapplication of any of the information I provide. Use the information in my videos and on my website at your own risk.
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*DISCLAIMER:* The information provided within Elly's Everyday videos, website, social media pages and for Elly’s Everyday group members is based on my own personal research and experience and is provided for informational, entertainment and general educational purposes only. I am not a professional soap manufacturer and do not hold any qualifications in chemistry or skincare formulation (or any other related field) and I make no guarantees about the correctness of the information provided. Please use any information provided at your own risk and view this video if you are new to soap making: ruclips.net/video/EZTsW9UvNmU/видео.html. Thank you!
Love the answer Elly, I'm a scientist and I love making soap and I can tell you that most answers in science, you can't give a straight answer to they are too complicated.
This is one of those because your right you can't make soap without lye and it's not in the final product because it should completely soaponify, if you are following a recipe correctly and waiting the required curing time.
Also to add to your explanation, potash is KOH and the lye made with hardwood ash is NaOH they are all hydroxide (basic) chemicals and we use a chemically created version that is just much more pure so our recipes can be more precise.
Thanks so much for your comment and input. I should have done a bit more research before I completed my answer! I appreciate your feedback - these are complex subjects and there are a lot of factors involved. My husband is a scientist as well and he also added some more commentary on my response that I didn't think to say when I filmed it! Live and learn.
@@EllysEverydaySoapMaking
Oh I think you are doing a wonderful job explaining everything! And you are recommending great recipes and books! I bought "Scientific Soapmaking:The Chemistry of the Cold Process" by Kevin M. Dunn on your recommendation, and it is a wonderful book. So much knowledge. Your my go to for any soap help, that I need and you have so many informative videos. I found you two or three years ago by chance because of your laundry soap video and I still use that laundry soap recipe. I appreciate your help and advice and recommendations.
Can you please answer my question as you say you are a scientist
I have been using a tried and tested recipe but these last two times the caustic soda has not dissolved please have you any thoughts on this😊
These days people take this “natural” thing too far. Thanks for the information! We love your content 💕
Thanks Aniqua, glad you enjoyed it :)
It is great content but the extremist think that way due to trust. They would rather be able to make the same products in the stores comfortably in their homes etc.. I could be reaching but if they didn’t exists, we would be VERY dependent of others to provide things that comes from the Earth. Even in the “ organic “ conversation they use pesticides and bottle nutrients [ lab made ] not grown and still call it organic. To each their own.
Health Wealth and Prosperity to all viewers.
Hello Elly, thanks for this info. I know that people are sometimes reluctant to use lye as it can burn your skin if it splashes. I’ve used it many a time to clear my kitchen sink drain pipe. This was many years before I ever made my own soap. The reason it works is because the oil and fat clogging the pipe turns into soap when the lye combines with it. The same reaction happens when making soap - the lye and oil combine to become something else. Also, I have cooked my soap in the hot process many times and there is no more lye left and no soda ash to worry about. For me, I’d rather buy the predictable lye than try to make my own from the ash in my fireplace.
I agree completely Peggy! I love the idea of knowing exactly what I'm doing with measurable NaOH or KOH from the shop. I like the idea of trying wood ash soap, but I have no idea how they make it without a tonne of trial and error.
Great Video Elly, just seen this now! Watching with my morning Coffee. Personally I consider soap a natural product, commercial lye is made from brine (salt water). Lye is present in many natural sources when turned into ash as you mentioned hardwood, and lots of other plant materials. My skin issues didn't clear up until I started to make my own soap, dermatologists could only provide temporary relief from my very painful eczema. I am a firm believer in what works for you is what works and don't change it, kinda like don't fix what ain't broke. Handmade soap with quality ingredients has been a life saver for me and my skin. Thanks for the video Elly 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks George! Yes, it's all a matter of perspective. I love my handmade soap too - magic stuff.
Uranium is natural and you don’t want to go near that stuff!!!
I think commercial body washes and shampoo are way more damaging than soap 🤷🏼♀️
Good point!
I like to make things for myself because I know more about what goes into them. So many products I used to buy started out working well and then someone new bought the company and changed the ingredients without notification to the customers. Ingredients I was avoiding on my skin. You would have to read the label every time you buy the “same” product to notice. Plus they charge outrageous prices, anything they think people will have to pay. That is why choices are important. We have a lot of companies with fewer and fewer people actually owning them. I would much rather make my own soap with very few ingredients. I certainly would like to get to the place where I could make my own lye from wood ash as well, but one step at a time.
I agree completely Tracy. That's my view too. Good for us!
The story I heard was as follows.
There used to be temples that sacrificed animals. When this was done, the altars were cleaned off using water from a nearby river or creek. Over time, women doing washing noticed that their cloths got cleaner if they used water from the creek where the wood ash and fat from the sacrificed animals were mingled and caught somehow. Just an interesting story.
That makes sense!
Thank you for taking the time to give such a thorough answer! "Natural" is definitely subjective & yes, I want to be both environmentally conscious & avoid using any & all toxic ingredients. But really, I just love being able to make these different things - I know what's in them & it gives me such satisfaction & pleasure to create useful, healthy items to use myself & to share with family & friends. What could be better?? Thank you again for all you share!
I totally agree!!!
Here here! I love it for all of those reasons too :)
New to soap making and will never again buy from the store, home made is sooo much more moisturizing. Thanks for the videos, your channel was my very first subscription 😁 and I've learned so much
That's wonderful Geraldine, thank you!
I liked your answer.this question was bothering me for long time and finally I found the answer.
Thank you.😊
Thank you I have wondered this many times. I just started making soaps. I am enjoying it very much. Love your videos ❤️
I loved the shaker soap experience.
Great information, thanks for this video!
Wood ash has potassium in it hence we can use it for liquid soaps, but for soap bars we have to use sodium hydroxide
I've tried homemade soaps but they caused itchiness and red patches to my skin. I was really disappointed when that happened and I thought maybe it's because my skin just had been used to synthetic soaps (the ones sold at the grocery stores) or I just haven't found the right one for me or I need to acclimate my skin with it but the homemade soaps are a bit more pricey in our area which is also why I stopped buying them.
I would love to create my own soap in the future. Thanks for another video, Elly! Stay safe 💕 I miss watching your vids they're so calming
Hi Elly! I spent yesterday making your laundry soap for my family and friends! My daughter in law won't use anything else. Hope you're keeping well?
Trish and Nige
Hi Trish and Nige, that's awesome! I love that soap too. We're going well here thanks. Hope you are too :)
I LOVE your questions and answers video! What a great idea Elly!!! Keep them coming. It engages and educates us, as well. My mother, back in the day, in the foothills of Appalachia, made homemade soap out of pig lard and wood ash, in a huge kettle over an open wood fire. Very primitive, but efficient. I now doubt the science process and safety of the soap, but it was used as a laundry soap and for bathing. I also hated the smell....lol!!!! Stay safe!
Oh wow, that would have been amazing to see! I know a lot of the Italian and Greek nonna's here in Australia have similar experience with family soap making traditions, I find it so fascinating! Yes I think it would be a lot harder to get it made accurately and safely, but I'm sure with a lot of experience it would come easily. I can only just imagine the smell...
Thanks for sharing this info. Very helpful.
You're welcome KC, thanks :)
Thank dearest Elly 🌷💚
Hi Elly Nice to see you again with soap Video.
Thank you Prem. Next video will be a recipe :)
Good morning Elly and fellow you-tubers!! Accurate and informative as always dear Elly. To contribute to lye soap for hundreds of years here in Greece soap was made of hardwood ashes. I know the technique it is not complicated but you have to experiment a lot to get it right. So this soap was used for cleaning everything, people utensils houses etc. and it had great medicinal benefits as people used to apply this soap paste on bed sores i.e. sick people that were in bed for long periods of time develop skin ulcers so the best treatment they know was to melt half a spoonful of soap with water and apply it to the ulcers. So I think that we should trust what we call folk's wisdom and as long as we are careful regarding the ingredients we use to make and cure our soap I think it would be safe to use. Sorry for the long post!! Have a nice day from snowy Athens Greece!! Yes it has been snowing for two days now and it is the beginning of Spring!!!
I love that Despina! Thank you for adding your knowledge, it's so great to hear. I would love to try making soap from ashes one day, but I do lack the experience with it so would not be a straightforward process. Thanks for your input as always!
Found this very informative for those that don't fully understand the process. I had to share in my group thats connected to my shop page. Lol not that either are very active. But hoping others will understand how necessary lye is.
That's wonderful Heather, thanks!
Hi, Elly liking your soap making video
You're really generous
Thank you :)
Hi!!!!i started making olive oil soap last year because i live in an greek island and we end up with a lot of olive oil waste (when we make olive oil at the end of the year we have a thick olive at the bottom of the container ) so i thought will be a good idea to make soaps and don't throw it away!!! I also use it it the shower for the Same reason (hate all the plastic bottles) i have a very dry skin and i can tell you that my skin didn't got dryer as i thought and doesn't itch so im going to continue use it!!!! My grandmother all her life was using olive oil soap for hair /body and dishes /clothes they didn't had any alternative at that time !!! I remember her telling me how they were making it in the fire in a big metal barrel and making soap all the neighborhood women together (they were using the method because they can use it the other day when its cold !!!!! I love to continue the tradition 💗❤️💗
Γεια σου Μαρία. Από πού είσαι ; Είμαι από στι Γαλλία και ο άντρας μου είναι από στιν κριτι. 😃 Συγγνώμη , μαθαίνω ελληνικά και δεν γράφω καλά. . I also make soap with greek olive oil and with mountain herb of κριτι.
@@gaellecastrinos3666 γεια σου !!!! Εγώ είμαι από ζακύνθο !!!!! Και εγώ έχω δοκιμάσει να βάλω μέσα φυτικά υλικά οπως ξύσμα πορτοκαλιού και λεμονιού επίσης λεβάντα ξηρή και κανέλα σκόνη !!!! Τα έφτιαξα πρίν ένα μήνα οπότε δεν ξέρω πως θα βγούν !!! Εσύ δοκίμασες ????
για κανέλα πρέπει να προσέξεις, είναι δερμοκαυστική. Βάζω στο λάδι δίκταμο, φασκόμηλο, χαμομήλι και φυτά του βουνού και το ζεσταίνω λίγο. Αφήνω αρκετές μέρες και φιλτράρω. Προσθέτω επίσης μέλι και κερί μέλισσας. Θαλασσινό νερό. Ελπίζω η Google να έχει μεταφράσει καλά 😃🤣
@@gaellecastrinos3666 δεν το ήξερα αυτό για την κανέλα 😭😭😭 και δυστυχως έχω φτιάξει αρκετά σαπούνια , σκέφτομαι να κάνω και με ευκάλυπτο ή δεντρολίβανο στο μέλλον !!! Χάρηκα που τα είπαμε!!!!
@@gaellecastrinos3666 αν έχετε Facebook θα χαίρομουν να ανταλλάξουμε ιδέες και φωτό από κει!!! Το δικο μου είναι με Maria chiappa και έχω για φωτό προφίλ μια ασπρομαυρη με γυαλιά!!!!!
Thank you so much mam it's useful and explained in a neat way that everyone can understand wanted to watch more video mam. I loved all your soap making video . keep going love from india❤
Thanks Kajol - I will! :)
Don't forget that when soap is fully saponified there is no "sodium hydroxide/peroxide" left in the soap, if you've done it properly and left some super fat as a safety margin
Yes, that's true, but it's still an alkaline product, which many don't like to use on their skin.
Hello Eli! Thank you for the video; always so informative!😊 🧼
Thanks Vivian!
I used it all the time on the farm. My mother made lye soap.
Hello. Elly,
Please understand that I used a translator because I was not good at English.
I agree with you.
In Korea. there is a record that mothers used ash - caustic soda, an alkaline substance - when burning rice shells (hush) when making soap by hand.
Like we can't go back 100 years...
I think it's a good explanation while watching your video.
Thanks.
Thank you
What seems to be lost on some viewers is simply that the lye is “used up” or “consumed” in the process of making soap. In their minds, when you combine two things in a mixture, those two things remain a unique items within that mixture. Thus the confusion. It also confuses some viewer because the various oils that are used in the mixture have their unique properties remain intact…. while the lye doesn’t.
LOVE this!
Thanks Nicole!
Thanks Elly
You're welcome Lily :)
Thanks for this! It's the question I've been wanting an answer to. My son & I both have MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities) to a huge number of chemicals people use & wear in everyday life. Finding soap & shampoo that has no scent or dangerous additives & is safe for our bodies is extremely difficult. I've been wanting to make soap for a while, as I remember my grandparents making soap & how good it was on my skin as a child. My only fear is that the lye will give off chemicals that are airborne that will be dangerous for us! I guess my hubby could do that step outside the house. Any more tips about this would be awesome. I'm certain that making soap would be a game changer for our family as it would mean safer options for soap, shampoo, dishwashing liquid, washing soap etc etc!! Thanks heaps for your great vids which I've just found & subbed to your channel!🥰 Blessings from South Australia💕🐨
Kerryn, I hear you! I would definitely try making a simple olive oil soap (liquid or bar - though bar soap is easier) and yes, get your hubby to mix the lye outside and all of you wear masks. It only gives off fumes for the first minute or so after the water comes into contact with the lye. Make sure you all watch my safety video before you start though ruclips.net/video/EZTsW9UvNmU/видео.html
@@EllysEverydaySoapMaking Thanks for the tip!💕🐨
If you keep the lye solution very cold the whole time the lye is dissolving it won't fume nearly as much. If you're worried, I'd use ice instead of water, and cool the mixing container in an icewater bath once the ice cubes melt from the heat of the dissolving lye.
@@diablominero Thanks for the great tip!
🥰 Blessings from South Australia💕🐨
I love everything thing you do! I would love to see you do a dog wash bar of soap for my very dirty Westie with sensitive skin. Do you have any great soap recipes for dogs?
Anything gentle and unscented would be good. Castile soap maybe?
I love your videos so much
you are the best !!! big hug Love your videos
The reason why we have 'natural' things and 'synthetic' things is that ash is a combination of different chemical components. Making soap out of ash will be more unpredictable. You can't reproduce a recipe if one of your ingredients is already made up of a mix of ingredients, the ratio of which is very variable. This is why we have started to extract, concentrate, synthesize and so on. You end up with a 'clean' product, like costic soda, which is a pure thing. This means it is stronger, because it is not diluted by other things like calcium and phosphorus. Not 'natural' means it wouldn't be found pure like that in nature. But, you can now start to make recipes and quantify a reliable method of how to do things, so that we can all make soap at home, without having to practice over and over again, until we become observant enough to adjust a soap as we go, to cater to whatever type of ash we have at hand that day.
It makes soap-making accessible to all of us! Provided, we use the proper ppe. ;)
Hi, new to soap making. Is glycerine based (melt) also healthy/biologic? I want to start out with doing that way cause it looks a lot more simple. Thank you for the great vids!!
Melt and pour soap is made in a factory and then sold to the consumer.
It is made with sodium hydroxide as well and the ingredients used are supposed to be listed on the website of the company that makes it.
Oh such a pleasure to see your video what s Elly
Thank you Joya!
Hola buen día soy de Lima Perú, por favor podría poner escrito en español para poder aplicar lo que enseña. Muchas gracias.
Hi, thanks for your comment. I have just enabled closed captions so you should be able to view them in Spanish once they finish loading. Thanks for your comment!
Question, what determines the pH level of a soap, can it be adjusted down(/up) in pH.
People asking about natural ingredients and safe, no vegetable oil is natural, they all go through numerous chemical processes to get to what you get in the bottle, canola oil is probably the worst from a process standpoint(why anyone would use it cook with and ingest is beyond me or use in a soap recipe either). Oils like coconut/lard/tallow/avocado/olive oil are probably the cleanest and purest as far as I know.
The mined lye in Africa is interesting. Does it come from human civilization, from burning over many years? I am going to check that out. Thanks Elly.
I'm not sure! It's a very valuable ingredient, used worldwide for fertiliser due to the high potassium.
I would tend to believe the African method would be more natural coming from wood ash, would that be charcoal? Which would be even better or activated charcoal which has many many health benefits, thank you for a very informative upload.
Hi David, no charcoal and wood ash that you can make lye with are entirely different.
very interesting. makes me want to look for volcanic ash soap recipe. i used the acv shampoo recipe for honey and oatmeal. need to wait for weeks to cure. I really like your features in your web site.
Thanks Terrie
Caustic soda is not a synthetically manufactured product, it comes from passing electricity through salt brine (electrolysis), so it could be still considered natural as it's derived from Salt and water
MA, please I want to deviate a bit, can sodium pamitate replace lye in bar soap production?
Sodium palmitate is the chemical term for palm oil soap (saponified palm oil), it's already soap :)
If you're worried about your bar soap being too drying just grate some up and dissolve it into some water and mix a few drops of nice face oils and boom you have a nice face wash. I put mine in a foaming dispenser and it's awesome.
Great idea!
Hello Elly am back again. My question is, can I use sodium lactate as a preservative in my cold process soaps? Thanks
It's not a preservative, but luckily enough CP soaps don't need preservative.
Oh sorry. I meant, can I use sodium lactate as preservative in hot processed liquid or bar soaps? Thanks
I think I assumed this video was going to be about more lye heavy soap. I guess I really should know the answer as a soap maker.
This page might help you if you have more questions www.ellyseveryday.com/soap-making-terms
Hello Elly, please is potassium hydroxide measured the same way as one would measure sodium hydroxide? Thanks
Yes, you would weigh it the same way, but there are some different ways it needs to be calculated. This video explains liquid soap calculations using potassium hydroxide ruclips.net/video/dBPmh4UpoHk/видео.html
I know this varies from person to person, but for me personally - Ive had life long skin issues that only cleared up from my recent switch to homemade soap bars. On my skin, every syndet I've ever used has caused irritation.
Id love to dabble in liquid soap - looking forward to your new videos this year!
That's great SK, I've heard that feedback about handmade soap many times! Glad it's working for you. I still love it.
Hi, if I make cold process soap with NaOH without any other synthetic additive, can I call it soap made with ancient babylonian soap method? Because im not saying exact ancient recipe but themethod withod any preservatives detergents etc.
I love the idea, but I don't think so. Ancient soap making was a very different process than today's cold process homemade soap! Just check out some videos on Aleppo soap and you'll see :)
@@EllysEverydaySoapMaking thank you so much for answering
AFRICAN BLACK SOAP'S LYE IS POTASH FROM COCOA PODS OR PLANTAIN PEELS.
Oh yes! Thanks for adding that Grace. I've seen it made in different ways, I couldn't think of the pods at the time of making the videos. It seems to vary quite a lot in how it is made in different regions.
I use flour
Good
Amazing
Hi Elly , can you please teach to make soap for very sensitive skin. Thank you . I am from Sri Lanka 🙂❤️
I think it's best to use oils that don't create drying soap for sensitive skin. And leave out fragrances, colours and other additives. This video would help a lot I think ruclips.net/video/V-uDPifp3n0/видео.html
My soap is too soft What should I do?
A bar of soap I bought says there is no lye left in the product. Where does all the lye go?
This video explains ruclips.net/video/VkgUjjqa-8s/видео.html
Love your attitude and ideas Elly! I make my “bastille” soap for personal use. Mine has peppermint oil and rosemary in it because I love it. I use my soap on my hair, as well as for bathing. Makes my hair feel so clean! I never buy shampoo anymore and a 4 oz bar of my soap lasts for months.
That's so great Michelle - bastille is my fave too!
Assalamu alaikum how are you I was waiting your video thank you
Thank you, I'm well thanks :)
Organic body wash to make
Is lye bad for aquatic animals?
I would say so. It's best to use cleaning products, including soap, as minimally as you can!
So “natural” isn’t necessarily a great way to determine if something is good for us. Poison oak, asbestos, hemlock etc. Mother Nature can be pretty nasty. Anyway, it could be argued that everything is natural if you go back in the process far enough, but sodium hydroxide is an extremely simple substance, so there’s no secret what’s in it. How it’s produced seems sort of beside the point as far as whether it’s ok for us.
I was looking for this comment! Right. Natural can be deadly. Night Shade. Cyanide. Opium, which is heroine. Cocaine. Every single virus, bacteria, mold, fungus... all natural.
Hi from India
Hi :)
Arsenic is natural, still not good in lunch meat. Everything originates from natural ingredients at some level.... Just doing the best I can.
Love this!!!! Yes, And yes the wood ash type was used centuries ago. There is a way to extract Sodium Hydroxide with an electronic charge ruclips.net/video/S4VEZk9ccWg/видео.html however this would not yield the volume needed to make several batches of soap. They make it commercially now using this process on a large scale. I had someone at a market say to me that they make their soap naturally from just salt water but you and I and I know this is impossible, a form of Lye must be used to make soap. And you are absolutely spot on - the Lye after saponification should be used up and chemically transformed into soap - so Lye should not remain.
Yes - perfect! You know your stuff Delizia - spot on.
@@EllysEverydaySoapMaking Thank you but not really Elly. Still so much to learn - every day is a school day :)
@@delizianaturally true we learn every
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I read a long time ago when I started making soap (sorry, can't remember where) that soap was "invented" when people sacrificed lambs in biblical times. The fat from the roasting lambs mixed with the ash from the fire and ran down to the creek mixing lye, water and fat. I have always loved that image.
Hi Elly 😊 Thanks for this video 👍🏻 Tho it is in a way hard to believe, when soap in its own is a relativly old "thing", but soap to clean our bodys is not so old and it was the europeans who started to clean their bodys with soap in the late of 1800's. Just before that, soap was only used to wash clothes etc. And from the start soap was only used for prepering the wool & cotton fibers before they could make fabric out of the yarn. So it is about around only 130 years, we started to clean us with soap 😅 warm hugs from Sweden
🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗👍👍👍👍👍👍👍😘
LOL I always laugh and tell people there is NO SUCH THING AS ORGANIC SOAP !! LOL Unless your out here soaking wood ash in water and separating natures potassium hydroxide, its all made with drain cleaner lol😂
I love your videos so much
Thank you so much Angela!