Soapmaking Safety Concerns

Lye is extremely caustic!

Safety equipment - The maker should be wearing safety glasses, gloves and long sleeves.

Young children and pets have no place around the lye process! When the time for adding water and lye, it is VITAL that cold water is used and that the lye is added to the water, not the other way around.

You should never mix anything (like borax) directly into the lye water! It should be added after the lye is mixed into the fat. There is a delicate chemical reaction that takes place between the lye and the fats.

Both the fat and the lye should be 100 degrees (+/- 5) before mixing them together. When cold water is added to lye, it heats up instantly to 225+ degrees. A cold-water bath can help in the cooling process.

Never walk around with lye. Inside ventilation is sufficient (open a nearby window) and never use a glass container to mix lye. The instant heat caused by the reaction could crack the jar leaving the holder with caustic lye all over. Use a sturdy pitcher with a lid labeled lye.

If you add any Essential Oil’s, perfume (careful, flammable!) or coloring, it is best not to add them at this stage. The lye and high heat at this point would evaporate most of the smell or colorant. The place for this is after it has cured (dried) for approximately 2 weeks.

Milling the soap - (Again be cautious of touching the soap too soon, the lye is still present until fully dry).

The process is called Milling and the maker would grate the soap with a cheese grater, then remelt it over low/medium heat with enough water to maker it liquefy and then add the Essential Oil’s and coloring. Then let dry for another two weeks or until completely dry.