# Lye Vendors?



## Dennis (Feb 11, 2018)

Yes, I know I should do it myself and this is a part of my searches.   It has been quite a while since my last  foray into soap making and the landscape has changed some.  I used to get most of my oil out of Ohio and lye here in Florida.  Lye was getting a little tough to find thanks to all the crack heads.  Now I see Amazon sells lye for soap making.  What are some suggestions as to lye and oil suppliers?  Thanks all.​


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## toxikon (Feb 11, 2018)

Lots around the forum like The Lye Guy. I just buy in local hardware stores.


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## dibbles (Feb 11, 2018)

I get my lye from The Lye Guy. If you belong to a Costco, that's where I buy my olive and avocado oils - and when they have it by the bucket, coconut oil. HO sunflower from Trader Joe's. Lard from WalMart. Those are pretty much my basic soaping oils. Others like Soaper's Choice and Essentials Depot, but I haven't used them yet. I usually order castor and coconut (if I can't buy it locally) and any other oil I might want to have from BrambleBerry or Wholesale Supplies Plus - depending on where I might need something else from.


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## Dennis (Feb 11, 2018)

.Thanks Dibbles and toxicon.  Things seem to have loosened up a bit on the lye supply front.  Good to know.


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## shunt2011 (Feb 11, 2018)

I get lye from essential depot in Florida.  Olive Oil from Costco, everything else Soapers Choice.


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## Zany_in_CO (Feb 11, 2018)

Since you are in Florida, you might want to check out

http://www.camdengrey.com/
http://www.chemistrystore.com/

You can get just about everything you need from either one of those. Camden Grey is in FL and the Chemistry Store is in SC.

The Lye Guy is in NY - Good company to do business with; quality products, good prices; excellent customer service. Containers fit on my shelf better than the tall ones from other suppliers.

https://www.thelyeguy.com/index.php

Soapers Choice/Columbus Foods in Chicago is the best supplier for bulk soap & cosmetic oils, fats, butters, and other stuff. The 35 lb. Pomace Olive Oil "Cubetainer" lasts a long time and is a bargain, especially since very few suppliers carry pomace OO.

https://soaperschoice.com/
HTH


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## SoapAddict415 (Feb 11, 2018)

I like the Lye Guy when I can buy in bulk (to me, 5+ lbs is considered bulk). I live near a Lowe's & I've been buying this brand.


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## earlene (Feb 11, 2018)

My two favorite places to buy sodium hydroxide lye are here for $3.96 per 2-pound bottle and no shipping and Essential Depot when they have a sale on lye.  I really like the bottles the ED lye comes in because I use them to store my masterbatched lye solution.  You can't do that in those flimsy bottle the Lye Guy uses.  But ED only has those sales maybe once or twice a year.

For me I always do a cost comparison when I need to make a purchase and include the shipping costs in the total cost, then based one the results make my decision.  If it's only a few pennies difference, I might go with a different vendor because I want to order something else from them at the same time.  But usually it is only those two.

When traveling I will buy the Roebic lye at Tractor Supply Company (as pictured above by SoapAddict415), but that's only when I run out of whatever lye I brought along on my trip.  The cost of 2 pounds of Roebic runs about $14 to $15 a bottle (with tax) so prefer to bring lye from home.

*Dennis*, the oil from Ohio you used to order was probably Soaper's Choice aka Columbus Foods.  They moved out of Ohio to Des Plaines, Illinois sometime last year I think (or maybe the year before).  They still do offer in store pick-up but for me shipping is far cheaper than driving to Des Plaines and back.  Maybe one day when I take another trip to Chicago, I'll put in an order for pick-up just so I can see the warehouse. 

How far are you from Sebring?  I have not been to ED yet, but one of these days when vacationing in Florida, I'd like to see their place if I can fit in a little side trip..


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## CaraBou (Feb 12, 2018)

Dennis! Where you been?


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## SoaperForLife (Feb 12, 2018)

I had been buying my lye from the Lye Guy but either his prices went up or Wholesale Supplies Plus decided to cut theirs....either way they seem to be the cheapest as of February of 2018.


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## earlene (Feb 12, 2018)

SoaperForLife said:


> I had been buying my lye from the Lye Guy but either his prices went up or Wholesale Supplies Plus decided to cut theirs....either way they seem to be the cheapest as of February of 2018.



I do see that if you buy 18 pounds at once, the cost is 3.99 per 2 pounds and free shipping, which is comparable to my source.  If I needed it in bulk and had other things to order from WSP, that's a good enough price that I might put in an order for NaOH from WSP.  But for the hobbyist, their 2 pound bottles are $4.95 each and you don't get free shipping unless you spend more than $25.00, which is why I have never ordered lye from them.  

*Dennis*, I forgot to mention that I have been fortunate to find that my local grocer carries Pomace Olive Oil, so I started buying it there rather than pay shipping elsewhere.  However, other than in New York City, it is the only time I have ever seen pomace OO for sale in a grocery store.  Perhaps if you check your local grocers you might discover some really good finds as well.  Also, I have never purchased CO except for Fractionated CO from any of the online vendors, because I have been fortunate enough to find really good deals on it in nearby stores.  Since CO has such a long shelf life, I don't worry about how old the CO might be in a big box store. 

If you attend any of the soap gatherings/conferences that Essential Depot sponsors and has a vendor booth at, they seem to always offer discounted prices to attendees and will take pre-conference orders and deliver at the conference with no shipping fee.  Then they tend to reduce the prices of extra products they bring to the conferences making the prices really affordable.  Another good reason to attend soapmaking conferences.  At least that has been my experience at every one I have been to so far, but I don't go to the every high-priced conferences because I can't justify the cost, so I don't know if they do that at all of them.

Also watch the Shopping Recommendations forum here because when members learn about special deals, they often post there.  Riceland had a free shipping event last year that some of us took advantage of for a really good deal on Rice Bran Oil.


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## Steve85569 (Feb 12, 2018)

Ace Hardware or Tractor Supply have Naoh for $4 for 2lbs. Drain opener that works when my supplies run low. If you bribe them with a couple of bars of soap they are very helpful.

Oils have already been covered fairly well. Cash and Carry (restaurant supply) stores are also a good place to explore.


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## earlene (Feb 12, 2018)

Steve85569 said:


> Ace Hardware or Tractor Supply have Naoh for $4 for 2lbs. Drain opener that works when my supplies run low. If you bribe them with a couple of bars of soap they are very helpful.
> 
> Oils have already been covered fairly well. Cash and Carry (restaurant supply) stores are also a good place to explore.




*Wow*, where do you live, *Steve*?  TSC prices (for Roebic) where I live and most places I visit when I travel has never been less than $13.95 for a 2 pound bottle in the past two years, anyway.  And I've bought it in several different states in my travels.  If I found it for only $4.00 I'd be thrilled!  I've never looked in an Ace Hardware, because they are not always easy to find in my travels, so I can't compare.

edit:  Oh, I see you are in East Oregon.  Next time I visit my brother in Oregon, I will search out a TSC!   I had no idea!  Oregon is great for no sales tax, too!  I bought my newest GPS in Oregon when visiting my brother last fall for the 'sales tax' break.  Well, plus I needed it since my previous one stopped working and I was on the road.


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## Steve85569 (Feb 12, 2018)

Oh, I see you are in East Oregon. Next time I visit my brother in Oregon, I will search out a TSC!

I haven't found a TSC up here but the local Ace owner will go into the back room and pick up a couple of two pounders as soon as I come through the door.


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## earlene (Feb 12, 2018)

Steve85569 said:


> Oh, I see you are in East Oregon. Next time I visit my brother in Oregon, I will search out a TSC!
> 
> I haven't found a TSC up here but the local Ace owner will go into the back room and pick up a couple of two pounders as soon as I come through the door.




Okay, I am confused.  You mentioned Tractor Supply.  In my experience TSC is Tractor Supply Company.  Do you have another Tractor Supply store in Oregon that is not a TSC?  Well, I looked it up on the TSC website and they only list one in OR and it's not in the east.  But there are two Ace Hardware stores near my brother, so I will keep that in mind.  Thanks for the information, *Steve*.


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## Steve85569 (Feb 12, 2018)

Yup. Lots of Ace but no local TSC stores.

And so far no white squirrels.
I'm thinking the local predators would snatch them right up.


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## Soapmaker123 (Feb 12, 2018)

USA:  http://www.univar.com/US.aspx

Products (lye=caustic soda)  

http://www.univar.com/~/media/PDFs/US Corp Region PDFs/Products/Univar USA Product Guide.ashx


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## earlene (Feb 12, 2018)

Soapmaker123 said:


> USA:  http://www.univar.com/US.aspx
> 
> Products (lye=caustic soda)
> 
> http://www.univar.com/~/media/PDFs/US Corp Region PDFs/Products/Univar USA Product Guide.ashx




I looked them up the first time you posted about them, but nowhere on their site was I able to find a link to any product being sold, and there isn't in the above links either, so I am wondering why they are included here.

To quote from Univar's site:



> _Univar_ has over 85 years of experience in sourcing, managing, and distributing chemicals. Our long-standing relationships with premier chemical suppliers ensure that we _can_ connect you with the products you need, when and where you need them.



To me that sounds like a broker and not a vendor.


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## jewels621 (Feb 12, 2018)

earlene said:


> I looked them up the first time you posted about them, but nowhere on their site was I able to find a link to any product being sold, and there isn't in the above links either, so I am wondering why they are included here.
> 
> To quote from Univar's site:
> 
> ...



I looked it up, too, earlene, and got the impression that they’d be happy to help you if you needed a rail car load!


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## Soapmaker123 (Feb 12, 2018)

They want you to call.  Univar is all over the place: In my area, they have a distribution warehouse near the airport.  Recently, we've let a smaller, local outfit supply us, as this new rep is hungry and actually drove out the same afternoon with a sack of lye to close the deal for future orders.  It's the same PELS lye from each supplier.   The hardware store nearby now carries pure lye, since he knows I direct people to him who want to buy a bit of lye.


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