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Curative
Lye Soap
Woodash
and Commercial Lye
Homemade
Lye Soap: How it was Done
Finding
Lye for Lye Soap Making
Testing
Colorants For Homemade Lye Soap
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Differences Between Woodash and Commercial Lye
When making your homemade lye soap obviously you’ll need
some lye. But is there a difference between commercial lye and lye made
from woodash? Lye made at home from woodash is potassium hydroxide. It
is white crystals. The soap made with it will be softer than soap made
with sodium hydroxide. The woodash lye makes better soap when beef tallow
or lard, which is pig fat is used in the homemade soap making process.
Sodium hydroxide is more difficult to manufacture than
potassium hydroxide lye. Sodium hydroxide is an ingredient in drain openers.
For homemade soap making purposes, if you use sodium hydroxide make sure
if is pure by checking for black or gray pieces in the lye, if they are
there it isn’t pure and isn’t good for making soap. When you make homemade
soap with lye be very careful. Always use plastic gloves and goggles and
don’t breathe the lye fumes. Lye is very caustic. But once it is turned
into soap it won’t be caustic if the right measurements are used.
If you are interested in making your own lye from potash
also called woodash there are several lessons on the Internet to help
you. Some soap makers say that from their experience the woodash lye isn’t
quite as caustic as the commercial lye. You may have to look for some
place to order the commercial lye as it is getting harder to find it because
it has been used in the manufacturing of illegal drugs.
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Granny's
Lye Soap
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