Why Buy Lye Soap

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Why Buy Lye Soap

Probably the simplest soap available anywhere today. what do I mean by "the simplest". Most soap, even natural handmade soap has many ingredients, including essential oils as well as many bas oils. the list of oils can run up to 10 and sometimes more. Lye soap in its simplest form has just one oil(or sometimes caleed fat). This is lard. Some lye soap may also contain coconut oil so the soap provides a good lather. That is it, no other oils. The glycerine that is produced by the saponification of lye soap is among the richest you can find anywhere. it si ver high in two key ingredients. Oleic 46% Palmitic 28% acids are the components that make for such an amazing bar of soap.

Enough with the chemistry lesson. Just remember, you lokk high and wide to find any tyoe of soap that is as rich and good for your skin as handmade lye soap.

Why did we decide to start making lye soap?

There was so much misinformation about lye soap. The qualities that made lye soap so attractive to our colonial ancestors still apply today. The main difference is that with modern science we can take the basic idea of mixing lye/water solution with lard and make a spectacular bar soap that is neither harsh to touch nor pungent to smell. Yet we are able to keep all of the soothing properties that make for such an extraordinary bar of soap.

Can you make a bar that is comes from 100% lard.

Yes you can and some soap makers do. We use a recipe that is very heavy on the lardbut also incorporates some vegetable oils for lathering properties.

Lye Soap Folklore

Though there is no medical evidence that old fashioned lye soap cures poison ivy, it is sometimes called poison ivy soap. It has also been clamimed to cure dandruff, psoriasis, itchy skin, acne, eczema, bed bugs, poison oak, moquito bites, mites and head lice. Some settlers would only stir soap mixes with a sassafrass stick. Why? Was rain water better than creek water, many soap makers thought so. In Appalachia it is called the Appalachian cure all. A common cousin of lye soap is pine tar soap that was also made with lye and from the readily available pine tar settlers were using in many ways.

Red Devil Lye Soap

Red devil lye was used for years in the home made soap making process, but has recently been discontinued because the formula is no longer pure sodium hydroxide.

Kettle Soap

Yes another name for lye soap as many a back yard had a large black kettle used for making soap.

Modern Lye Soap

Today most soap makers offer lye soap with essential oils and herbs infused into their soaps as part of their product line to compliment their plain pold fashioned lye soap.