Why do some sites and books say you MUST use lye?

[nebetmiw]

The :my soap does not have lye : thing comes up alot. Fact is all soap has it at the start of the process. For those people that are clue less it is best to have the sheet in front of you to point too. If you ask someone what they use and you have a print out of what is in their soap they use then show your........ Fast sell there. Ignorance is bliss but knowledge is power.

 

[songwind]

One could list lye as "sodium hydroxide" or "potassium hydroxide," which sounds less scary to the ignorant than "lye." And no one's grandma made sodium-hydroxide-soap that burned their hands.