Can you still purchase lye?
Can you still purchase lye?
Lye used to be available in the supermarket but not anymore. You might be able to find it in some hardware stores often in the drain cleaning section next to the Draino. In order for that lye to be effective in soapmaking, you need to make sure that you are getting 100 percent sodium hydroxide.
What is the best lye for soap making?
Technical grade lye (non-food grade) is the lye of choice for soap making. Other household uses for this powerful lye are drain clog cleaning, oven grease removing and as a cleaning agent. Lye has traditionally been used as the main ingredient in soap making.
Which drain cleaner has lye?
Instant Power Crystal Lye Drain Cleaner 1650.
What is lye powder used for?
Uses of Caustic Soda or Lye Lye is used for soap making, candle making, homemade biodiesel, frosting glass, making several foods, and for chemistry experiments.
Can you make your own lye?
To make lye in the kitchen, boil the ashes from a hardwood fire (soft woods are too resinous to mix with fat) in a little soft water, rainwater is best, for about half an hour. Allow the ashes to settle to the bottom of the pan and then skim the liquid lye off the top.
Is there a substitute for lye in soap making?
Here are some great options for melt and pour soap bases: Goat’s Milk Soap Base. Shea Butter Soap Base – this one seems to perform very well and has great reviews. Glycerin Soap Base.
Is lye better than Drano?
Compared to solutions of lye, bacterial drain cleaners are safer. They require less eye and skin protection. But you still should be careful not to ingest or splash the product.
Is baking soda same as lye?
Lye is a stronger alkaline than baking soda or sodium bicarbonate, with a pH reading ranging from around 13 to 14. Its base of sodium hydroxide is created commercially by the electrolysis of sodium chloride solution, as well as reacting calcium hydroxide with sodium carbonate, according to the FDA.
Is lye harmful to humans?
Lye is a caustic substance that can certainly damage your skin if you’re exposed to it. It can cause a number of problems, such as burns, blindness, and even death when consumed. But, and this is a big but, soap that is created with lye (which is all real soap) will do absolutely no harm to your skin.
How do you make homemade lye?
Does lye expire?
The shelf life of lye, sodium hydroxide, when properly stored is one year. After a year it is possible for your lye to work, but you should do a small batch to test whether the lye is still good. If it is actually expired, then it may not come to trace quickly or could separate after it is poured or set up.
What can replace lye in soap?
The main way that you can make soap without handling lye is by using melt-and-pour soap. The part of it that’s real soap has already been through saponification (oils reacting with lye) and is safe to use and handle straight out of the package.
Does homemade soap need lye?
NO, chemically-speaking, soap itself cannot be made without lye. Soap is made by blending oils (like olive oil or coconut oil), a liquid (water, goat’s milk, etc.), and an alkali (lye). Lye is needed to convert oils into soap.
What is soap without lye called?
You can buy pre-made bases to make your own soaps that have already gone through the saponification process and no longer contain any lye. These soaps are known as melt and pour soap.