Many people are confused about Lye. They are even afraid to use soap because it was created using lye. Well let me assure you that Lye is nothing to be afraid of. It is a wonderful, necessary ingredient to All Natural Soap!
Let's first begin by allowing Wikipedia to explain what LYE is. Wikipedia says:
A lye is a metal hydroxide traditionally obtained by leaching ashes (containing largely potassium carbonate or "potash"), or a strong alkali which is highly soluble in water producing caustic basic solutions. "Lye" is commonly an alternative name of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or historically potassium hydroxide (KOH), though the term "lye" refers to any member of a broad range of metal hydroxides.
Today, lye is commercially manufactured using a membrane cell chloralkali process. It is supplied in various forms such as flakes, pellets, microbeads, coarse powder or a solution.
Do you remember Biology class where we would mix things together to create reactions? Well, that is exactly what happens when you make soap. You use LYE to create a reaction when mixed with water and oils called "Saponification". Lye works around the oils and water and mixing, mixing, all the while the oils are reacting with the lye to get thicker and thicker until they solidify and make SOAP. Once that process is complete....... the Lye is gone. The process is complete and therefore the lye is consumed by the soap and disappears. It fails to be caustic anymore.
How was Lye & soap made back in the day?
Well, back in the day, hard working people made lye by using wood ashes, soaking them in water, draining the ash out, and boiling the water until nothing but lye was left, and scraping it and storing it for soap making. It was caustic. Yes. It was powerful. They used it mixed in water and added to rendered pig or cow fat/oils to make soap. It was wonderful soap that was excellent at cleansing the body, washing the hair, and cleaning that hard to remove dirt from working outside off of clothes, etc. It was all Natural.
So what am I actually buying at the local Supermarket?
What you are buying at the supermarket most times is a beauty bar. There is no Lye in those bars. Those beauty bars are made with lab created ingredients and things that are not good for your body. They are basically wet and lather bars. In addition, many people claim those beauty bars actually create dry and flaky skin conditions which force you to have to buy an additional "moisturizer" to tame the issue the beauty bar is causing. Therefore, also creating another revenue stream for the manufacturer and it goes on and on.....
Catalina's Cottage All Natural & Luxurious Soaps are different?
Yes! Our mission is to create the most Natural but also Luxurious and moisturizing soaps we can without using those non natural base ingredients. Our soaps are made with 100% Organic Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, and all kinds of other wonderful natural oils. And because our soaps are All Natural, they leave your skin feeling amazing! Our bars are SOAP real, soap! So you are also cleansing your body and washing away toxins and dirt leaving behind a very clean body.
And, yes, we use Lye to make our soaps. You cannot have Soap, without Lye. Once our soaps complete the saponification process, there is no LYE left. So, you can be assured, you are getting a wonderful bar of soap.
Try one of our wonderful, All Natural and Luxurious soaps today!
Best Regards,
Cathleen Miller
Owner