Is there anything I can use besides lye in homemade soap?

Question

I want to start making my own soap with natural ingredients. I would like to find something that I can use besides lye. I have small children and I am kind of apprehensive about using the lye.

I read somewhere that they get it from limestone (which sounds natural) but then it is treat it with ammonia (not very natural). Is this true?

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Answer 1

oven cleaner

Answer 2

dump soy sauce in it

Answer 3

sorry, but the recipe for SOAP calls for ashes and animal fat, or more precisely, lye (sodium hydroxide) and other ingredients. Before modern 'chemicals', lye was derived from ashes..wood ashes, etc.

Properly made 'soap' will have NO lye in it a all, and all the glycerin from the animal fat used.

All of this was EASY to find with Google.

Just Google "why is lye used for soap homemade'

Facts about Handmade Soap

When soap is made by hand, the naturally occurring ingredient glycerin is left completely in the bar of soap.  None of it is removed as in other styles of soaps.  In order to make the extremely hard French Milled soaps, the glycerin must be removed or the soap would be too soft.  More glycerin may be added later, but never at the original level of the soap making process.  Companies may extract the glycerin through a variety of methods and then add a percentage back to say it contains glycerin.

Also, it is our belief that ALL handcrafted cold and hot  process soap is "glycerin soap".  Not simply the clear transparent soap with added glycerin.  Transparency does not make a glycerin soap.  On average - and it changes with the recipe, made from scratch, handcrafted soap contains around 10% naturally retained glycerin.

ALL BAR SOAP IS MADE WITH LYE

(or something similar and just as caustic)

If it is made correctly, there is NO LYE remaining in the final bar of soap.  This includes every major, popular cosmetic soap and every made from scratch, handcrafted soap.  Soap is made by adding water and oils together, along with something to form them into soap.  That ingredient is usually Sodium Hydroxide which is lye.  For liquid soaps, it is Potassium Hydroxide.  Even if soap is made as truly old fashion soap was with burned wood or plant leave ashes, it still forms a caustic solution - using soap made from wood ashes (potash)  is not a gentler soap, if it's made incorrectly, remember Grandma's lye soap stories?

What produces the naturally forming glycerin that is retained in handcrafted soap?  The chemical reaction called saponification.

Water (or milks, herbal teas) + Fat (oils) + Lye = Soap with glycerin retained.

The soap maker must calculate the correct amount of lye for the specific oils used in each recipe.  This controls the amount of "super-fat" or remaining oil in a soap to make it moisturizing to the skin.  If too much lye is used, the bar may be hard and crumbly.  If too little, the bar becomes soft and  will become rancid faster.

Lye must be used to make the soap, but there should never be any remaining lye in the final bar to hurt the skin.  Certain "country" style lye soaps, the hard white bars that some people remember turning their hands red and burn, have residual lye in them.  Lye soap made that way works well for poison ivy and oak and small bug bites. We recommend MoSoap.com for finding that style of lye soap.  The soap maker should always mention your are purchasing strong lye soap.  The reason people think of "lye soap" as being harsh is because grandma didn't have a digital scale to measure ingredients perfectly and was many times making her own lye.  It is a difficult, time consuming process and being able to acutely gauge lye strength can be difficult.  Errors were made at times with this process.

| Mechanic's Hand Cleanser | Recycle Soap Ideas |

Liquid / Gel Soap

    * 2 cups soap flakes or grated bar soap

    * 1/2 gallon water

    * 2 tbsp glycerin

Mix ingredients together in a large pot or dutch oven. Set over low heat, stirring occasionally until the soap has dissolved. Transfer to a jar and cover tightly. For a less thick gel soap, use 1 gallon of water.

Vanilla and Almond Soap

This soap is great for removing dirt and oil from the skin without drying. Vanilla gives it a delicious fragrance and the ground almonds provide a beautifully textured soap. (Makes one bar.)

    * 1/3 cup whole almonds

    * 1 4-ounce bar Castile soap

    * 1/4 cup distilled water

    * 1 tablespoon almond oil

    * 1/8 teaspoon vanilla fragrance oil

Grind the almonds to a fine powder in a food processor or coffee grinder and set aside. Shred the soap and set aside. In a heavy saucepan bring the water to a boil; then reduce heat to a simmer; Remove the pan from the heat and add the almond powder, almond oil, and vanilla fragrance oil, stirring until well blended. Spoon the soap into a mold and let set for five hours or until hardened...

Coconut & Olive Soap

This recipe has been revised by Christin Ocasio, Owner, Wyndham Soapworks. See her notes in sidebar.

    * 1 cup olive oil

    * 1 cup coconut oil

    * 1 cup melted tallow (animal fat)

    * 2 tbsp lye (heaping) (*NOTE)

    * 1/2 cup cold soft water

has been changed to:

    * 8 oz weight olive oil

    * 8 oz weight coconut oil

    * 8 oz weight rendered tallow

    * 3.49 oz weight sodium hydroxide (pure lye) Red Devil brand 100% lye (*NOTE)

    * 9 fluid oz water

While wearing safety goggles and neoprene gloves, combine solid lye and liquid, stir well. Set aside and allow to cool (100° F to 125° F). This is best done outside while you are standing upwind.

Combine oils and heat gently. Once the fats and oils are melted allow the temperature to drop to 100° F to 125° F.

Combine lye solution and melted oils. Be careful not to splash while combining the mixtures. Stir until the mixture traces. If tracing takes more than 15 minutes, which it often does, stir for the first 15 minutes, then stir for 5 minutes at 15 minute intervals. Tracing looks like a slightly thickened custard, not instant pudding but a cooked custard. It will support a drop, or your stir marks for several seconds. Once tracing occurs...

Pour raw soap into your prepared molds. After a few days the soap can be turned out of the mold. If the soap is very soft, allow it to cure for a few days to firm the outside.

Cut soap into bars and set the bars out to cure and dry. This will allow the bar to firm and finish saponification. Place the bars on something that will allow them to breathe.

Note: If you don't want to mess with tallow and lye, you can substitute shavings from any white unscented soap.

Peaches And Cream Bath Bar

Makes One Bar 1 4-ounce bar

    * Castile soap (or pure white unscented... like ivory)

    * 1/4 cup distilled water

    * 1/4 cup powdered milk

    * 1 tablespoon sweet almond oil

    * 1/8 teaspoon peach fragrance oil

    * 1 drop orange food coloring {optional}

Shred the Castile soap and set aside. Heat the water in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir in the shredded soap until it forms a sticky mass. Remove the pan from the heat and add the powdered milk, Sweet almond oil, Peach fragrance oil, food coloring; stir until well-blended. Spoon the soap into its mold and let set for four hours or until hardened.

From Soaps, Shampoos & Other Suds: Make Beautiful Gifts to Give (Or Keep)

(Gifts from the Home) by Kelly Reno

Cinnamon Soap

    * unscented glycerin soap

    * 10 drops cinnamon oil

    * 1 drop red food coloring {optional}

In a heavy saucepan, melt the glycerin soap over low heat until liquefied. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cinnamon oil and coloring until well mixed. Pour the soap into a mold and let set for three hours or until hardened. Makes One Bar 1 4-ounce bar.

From Soaps, Shampoos & Other Suds: Make Beautiful Gifts to Give (Or Keep)

(Gifts from the Home) by Kelly Reno

Mechanic's Hand Cleanser

Grind up a bar or two of your soap...

    * 1 c. borax

    * 1-2 t. pure turpentine

    * 1 t. sweet orange essential oil

    * 1 c. ground soap

With very clean hands, work the turpentine and essential oil into the borax until there are no lumps left, then work into the soap. Keep it in a wide-mouthed jar or tin that's easy for him to open when his hands are greasy, and which you won't mind getting black on the outside. Don't forget to put a nail brush and pumice stone out with the hand cleanser.

Recycle old soap!

Here are several ideas for re-using those little bits of leftover soap:

* Use as tailor's chalk - mark darts and hems on washable fabric

* Make bubble bath - shave and crumble and add to bath

* Make new soap cakes - get them wet and stick them together to make a new bar!

* Make shower soap - Put slivers and pieces into the toe of some old pantyhose. Tie a knot in the nylon just above the toe, and another at about the knee. Hang in the shower.

Preservatives & Shelf Life

Most of the recipes offered here have a shelf-life of 2-3 months if stored in a cool place. Did you know grapefruit seed extract could be used as a preservative for soaps and lotions? Recommended usage is .5 - 5% of the entire volume (in ounces) of your batch. Check out this article for more information.

Important Notes on Lye!

Extream cation should be use when using ye to preven alkli burns (*NOTE)

It's better to use weight measurement than volume measurement when working with recipes requiring lye (a caustic alkali).

Oils and fats have different saponification values which must be taken into account when calculating how much lye to use per recipe to convert the oils into soap. This insures there is no leftover lye after the saponification process to irritate the skin, or worse, cause a bad burn.

If you have a recipe which calls for lye, and lists ingredients in cups, etc., you can use the Mountain Sage website Lye Calculator to recalculate your recipe.

Liquid Plumber and Draino are unacceptable sources for lye, because they contain aluminum which will be carried over into the finished bar of soap and then used on the skin. Red Devil Lye is the only 100% lye readily available in small containers and can be found at most supermarkets.

Contributed by Christin Ocasio, Owner,

Answer 4

I know that there's a lot of safe, natural alternatives out there. My father used to make his own soap as well as my aunt and I know that they both had completely different, natural recipes.

Your best bet would probably be google. home made soap recipes.

Answer 5

You can make liquid soap with potassium hydroxide (KOH), but that is definitely not for beginners, as it is truly hard to find a recipe that works.

If you're apprehensive about the lye, why not just go to a crafts store and buy some Melt and Pour soap?  "Life of the Party" has some bases that are good for beginners.

I don't understand the second part of your question.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

Lye is natural.  It's derived from ashes from the fireplace.  

Without lye, it's difficult to find a base that is strong enough to do what you want.

Answer 7

Originally home made soap was made by using wood ash which provided primarily potassium oxide. We have changed ly to be mostly sodium oxide, made from salt.

You can still get potasium oxide by puting wood ash in water, and after a few hours taking the water to make your soap.

If lye were made from limestone it would make the water hard rather than soft. Calcium is essentially insoluble.

Now the process of making soap be it with potassium or sodium oxides is very corrosive.

You would have to be absolutely sure that children would have no access to any part of that process until the soap is ready to mould into bars.

The ashes with water on them are the biggest risk if you use ashes.

By the way, ammonia is a naturally occurring compound. You even find it mined as sal-ammonica. Ammonia in the air in a poultry house can really rip your eyes and lungs.

Ammonia is a greenhouse gas, so I do not encourage its use as a cleaner, but it is effective.

Sodium oxide as lye is made by driving off chlorine, and the chlorine is a powerful destroyer of the ozone layer, so I prefer the lye made from wood ash.

Answer 8

Lye is a very harsh chemical, natural or not.

Try an online site for soap making like

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/soap_maker...

I use http://www.lonestarcandlesupply.com/

for all my candle and soap supplies.

Answer 9

you need lye to make soap, it is dangerous, but if properly stored and used you can make soap with small children around. I have  2 children myself (ages 6 and 3 started making soaps when they were 3 and a newborn) I make my own handmade soaps using lye, I make sure to store all lye out of reach and secured away from my children. I also, make my soap while they are a sleep, away at school, or playing safely outside - I primarily make soap in the evenings after they have gone to bed. If you are apprehensive about having lye around and using it, stick with premade bases check out ebay and wholesalesuppliesplus.com or google soap base