do you have to use lye in soapmaking?

[kathyo]

Hi new to this forum. Have made soap with goats milk and lye but wondering if there is any way to make soap more natural without using lye?

 

[Guest]

Soap, by its very definition, is lye + oil/fat. Without lye, you don't get the chemical reaction that results in soap.

PS. Lye is a naturally occuring substance

 

[Tabitha]

The definition of soap is lye + fat saphonified =soap.

No lye, no soap.

 

[Stacykins]

Save up your ash?

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapm ... -Ashes.htm

But lye is a naturally occurring substance, as has already been stated. Without the NaOH (or KOH), then saponification would not happen. Soap is a fatty acid salt. The strong alkali is needed to break the bonds of the fats (triglycerides) and rearrange them into fatty acids salts and glycerol.

Wiki does a great job of explaining it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saponification

 

[I love soap!]

Properly

When the process is done properly there is no lye left in the soap