Making soap with lye water

Melt and pour soap, also known as glycerin soap, was made with lye as well, in the beginning. But the glycerin soap base that soap makers buy has already had its lengthy cure time and is fully neutralized.

Often, the natural soap you will see today will have the word 'lye' not on their ingredient list. The INCI regulations allow that soap makers can use the term 'saponified relating to the oils, as in "made with the saponified oils of olive...", etc.

Click the images below to get full pages news on lye, water and the testing of ph levels of your finished bars:

If using lye is a concern for you but you still want to make soap, there are a few varieties of melt and pour/glycerin soap. Check the ingredients carefully, as some are created with vegetable oils only, whereas most are created with petroleum products.

Melt and Pour is better for children (with supervision) and as a quick project for any recreational group. At my soap store, we had a care-worker from a seniors center get melt and pour supplies and scents for a xmas project.

From "making soap with lye water" to more about melt and pour...

Here is some great info on mold and liners...

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