# Is Lye Tested on Animals?



## exoticmango (Jul 15, 2015)

Hi,

I am new to this forum and I was looking over the internet to some vegan recipes to make vegan soaps at home.

I saw that the lye is almost always used in the process of making soap, even vegan soaps. Being a vegan myself, I do not use nor buy products that are made from animals or that have been tested on them.

I have a question for you guys:

Is lye tested on animals?

If so, it couldn't be used in the process of making "vegan" soaps...I have read that people use lye to unblock drains and stuff like that. If we inhale or touch the powder, it can burn and it can be very dangerous... So obviously, in my head, it makes sens that this product (lye) had to be tested somehow?

I tried to look over the internet to find any answers but couldn't find one. Any help? What are your thoughts?

Thanks!


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## Dorymae (Jul 15, 2015)

I do not believe anyone would test lye on an animal. But first let me address the statement that lye is almost always used. Lye is Always, not almost always, Always used to make soap. Soap can not be soap without using lye, it can be detergent, but not soap. Now for lye, lye would always harm any animal it came in contact with, there could be no safe testing on animals. Usually animal testing is used to insure a product is safe to be used on humans. However since lye is not safe to use on humans or any other animal, there would be no sense in testing it on animals. Lye by itself is not safe. However when used to make soap it is consumed in the process leaving the product without any lye. This is why lye soap is safe.


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## Obsidian (Jul 15, 2015)

You should probably make new posts with questions instead of bring a old post back from the dead, you will get more answers that way.

Though I've never seen any literature on lye being tested/not tested on animals I really don't see why it ever would be. People know what lye does to skin and there wouldn't be any practical knowledge to be gained from animal testing. 
Doesn't mean there isn't companies out there that do test it on animals, but I doubt the lye manufacturer themselves would do it.


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## DeeAnna (Jul 15, 2015)

Lye has probably been tested on animals at some time in the past. It most certainly has been tested on humans too, both intentionally and by accident. I certainly don't think there is much reason to do safety testing nowadays on NaOH -- if the body of knowledge about a chemical is abundant and well documented, why would one spend the time and money to test and re-test a chemical that has centuries of use?


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