Wood ash lye vs commercial lye?

[narnia]

While living in Asia, I remember that my grandmother, who made soap for us, used ash to make lye. I just researched it, and I saw that wood ash lye is potassium hydroxide (KOH) instead of the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) which is commercial lye that is normally used to make soap.

I wonder if that makes a difference? I wonder if KOH is more gentle? If so, why are we using NaOH to make soap? Why are we not using KOH??

 

[IrishLass]

Narnia- here is an excellent thread that discusses the differences between KOH and wood ashes: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=44951


HTH!
IrishLass