What is Lye Soap?

Here is the answer to your next soap making question:

You will learn all about the use of lye during the course, but very simply, it is the mixture of lye with oils and fats which causes the chemical reaction that produces soap, called saponification. There is actually no other way to make soap, it has to be a result of the combination of a solution of alkali (lye in this case), with one or more types of oil or fat.

As you will discover, there are many other techniques to make your own soap creations - Melt & Pour, Rebatching, Cold Process and Hot Process, but only the last two of these utilise the combination of oils and lye and can therefore be called soap making. The first two techniques involve remaking soap that has previously been manufactured using either the hot or cold process.

More soon.