Simply put, sodium hydroxide is what turns oil into soap; without it you will just have a lump of fat.
It is a strong alkaline substance commonly referred to as lye.
Our great-grandfathers made lye from wood-ash, which was very unreliable, making each batch of soap a delicate guessing game. This is why the soap often was so harsh that it took off the skin, giving lye-soap a bad name. By contrast, the sodium hydroxide used today is made by running an electric charge through a saturated salt solution. This produces a consistent strength lye which gives a predictable result each time.
After the soap-making (saponification) process, there is no lye remaining in the soap; it is all used up in the chemical reaction that produces the soap.
Here at Au Naturel, we only use food-grade sodium hydroxide, the same quality and purity that is used to cure olives, make pretzels, and more.
This gives you the best quality, all natural soap which is gentle on the skin and deliciously carefree, because you know you are as clean and safe as nature intended you to be ❤
I Don’t Use Soap Made with Lye …
Did you know that ALL SOAP is made with lye, whether it is disclosed or not? Many people claim that they use lye-free soap, but that is impossible. The only ‘soap’ that is not made with lye is a bar of detergent, which cannot be classified as ‘soap’ at all. These bars are often referred to as ‘beauty bars’ instead.
Sometimes it is listed, but in a hidden way. Sodium palmate, for instance, is the sodium salt (soap) made by combining lye (sodium hydroxide) with palm oil. The same can be said for sodium olivate (olive oil soap), sodium palm kernelate (palm kernel oil soap) etc.
People often claim that their glycerine soap contains no lye. That is a lie (pardon the pun). They are using a commercially available soap base to make their glycerine soap, and that is why they believe there is no lye in it. However, the truth is that the factory that made their soap base, used lye to make it. There is no getting around it.
And personally, I would not want to use soap that has undisclosed, hidden ingredients…
