Is this s lye burn?

[SunRiseArts]

I did not even feel it, and I was wearing gloves and long sleeves.

 

[shunt2011]

It certainly could be but hard to tell as the photo is a bit blurry. I've had on mild lye burn the worse was when I was wearing glove and must have gotten some batter on the top of it then rubbed my nose as of course it started itching. I had a pretty good sore for a bit. Otherwise I usually know when I have gotten batter (never lye water) on my skin as it usually itches a bit before burning. Usually it's under the top of my glove from scraping the bowl or pot out.

 

[SunRiseArts]

Thanks Shunt2011, is probably what happened..... I am sorry for the pic being fuzzy, I got of work nearly and midnight, and was making soap at 2 am, and did not want to wake my hubby.

It looks like when you get burn with the iron. Is not so bad. I am putting medicine on it, hopefully there will be no scar.

 

[Sally Scheibner]

Having vinegar H2O 50/50 solution near helps when you get any lye on you. I also have a soft rag that I wet down in the vinegar & wipe my arms face etc. before I start. The vinegar water neutralizes lye immediately. I don’t always wear gloves so I can immediately feel if I’ve gotten lye on my hands arms so I can wipe it with rag.

This is not recommended by SMF.

 

[Lin19687]

NO NO NO NO STOP !!!! This is NOT TRUE. STOP SPREADING THIS !!!

JUST WATER !!! ALWAYS RUN COLD WATER OVER THE AREA FOR AT LEAST 5 MIN !!!

Having vinegar H2O 50/50 solution near helps when you get any lye on you. I also have a soft rag that I wet down in the vinegar & wipe my arms face etc. before I start. The vinegar water neutralizes lye immediately. I don’t always wear gloves so I can immediately feel if I’ve gotten lye on my hands arms so I can wipe it with rag.

 

[Sally Scheibner]

I understand and appreciate your response. It works for me immediately when I splash cooking soap or lye solution on me. Has to be diluted 50/50 white vinegar.

This is not recommended by SMF.

 

[cmzaha]

I understand and appreciate your response. It works for me immediately when I splash cooking soap or lye solution on me. Has to be diluted 50/50 white vinegar.

Using vinegar is just adding another chemical. Read the MSDS sheet on NaOH. It will inform you to run copious amount of cool water. Never use vinegar or anything other than cool water. Please keep this info to yourself and do not spread it to others, especially newbies. I will apologize if I sound harsh, but newbies need to know the correct information. I am not trying to be mean. It is not just Lin's opinion, as I mentioned it is the advice from the manufacturer's of caustic soda.

 

[TheGecko]

I did not even feel it, and I was wearing gloves and long sleeves.

Looks about right. I got some soap under my wedding set while cleaning up. Didn’t realize anything was wrong until later that night and I didn’t think much of it. Next morning, my hand was swollen and I almost didn’t my rings off. Little tiny burn under my rings, was a week before I could put them back on.

I don’t wear my rings when soaping anymore.

 

[Sally Scheibner]

Using vinegar is just adding another chemical. Read the MSDS sheet on NaOH. It will inform you to run copious amount of cool water. Never use vinegar or anything other than cool water. Please keep this info to yourself and do not spread it to others, especially newbies. I will apologize if I sound harsh, but newbies need to know the correct information. I am not trying to be mean. It is not just Lin's opinion, as I mentioned it is the advice from the manufacturer's of caustic soda.

 

[Sally Scheibner]

I understand and am more than willing to learn from the forum members. I got this info long ago from an old site I can’t recall. I’ll be more careful with info I post. I appreciate the safety advice repeated from caustic Soda mfg.

 

[AliOop]

I understand and am more than willing to learn from the forum members. I got this info long ago from an old site I can’t recall. I’ll be more careful with info I post. I appreciate the safety advice repeated from caustic Soda mfg.

Sally, you are not alone... I also was taught to use vinegar to "neutralize" lye. I believe I read that years ago on soaping website from which I also learned my first recipe (with no mention of the need to run it through a lye calculator before trying it).

It wasn't until I came to this forum that I learned that this was the exact opposite of what should be done. Vinegar actually causes the lye to heat up MORE. Water, on the other hand, washes it away. This is especially important if the lye gets into your eye, nostril or other mucous membranes.

Anyway, please don't feel badly... many of us started with that wrong info, and had to be set straight. You are among friends, and as the proverb goes, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend." In other words, we only get tough because we care and are trying to help.

 

[Sally Scheibner]

So appreciate those encouraging words. And I learn still in my many years on earth.

 

[paragon]

Perhaps the key is that eyes and hands are different. A few months ago I got something caustic on my hands, and the slippery feeling seemed like it just wouldn't go away. The nearest acid to hand was a jar of lacto-fermenting vegetables! I splashed a bit of the liquid on my hand and the slippery feeling was gone in a second. There wasn't much lye present, so it could not have created significant heat, and certainly not enough to heat all the water that was present. I'm sure I will use weak acids in this way again, but just as last time, I will rinse the majority of the caustic away with water.