Safety Tips When Making Homemade Soap (using Lye)
by
Beth Thompson
Safety Tips When Making Homemade Soap (using Lye)
Making homemade soap is such a great hobby to do for yourself, to give as gifts or to make a little money with. Your soap can be hand crafted to suit your individual tastes and needs in a skin product. However Lye is used in making soap and needs to handled with great care. Lye (Sodium Hydroxide, commonly known as Caustic Soda) is used in the making of soap and is a corrosive chemical in it’s natural form. During soap making, a process known as Saponification (when fat turns to soap) occurs where the Lye becomes neutralized and when the soap cures no Lye remains. Until this stage though it is a reactive and corrosive chemical. Lye is commonly used in household cleaners as it is great at eating though fat, grease etc. When you’re making homemade soap there’s a few good safety tips to follow: — If swallowed: do not induce vomiting, drink glasses of water and seek medical advice — If splashed in eyes: flush with water for about 20 minutes and seek medical advice — If spilt on skin: wash off under water for about 15 minutes and seek medical advice — Remove all soiled clothes straight away *Gloves, safety specs, a mask and apron should be worn. Also cover your working area when handling the Lye as it can eat through work tops etc. Wash off with water well if spilt. It’s a good idea to cover your work area with newspaper etc when measuring the Lye in case of spillage. *Lye should be kept in an air tight plastic container as it can eat through glass. It comes in flakes, granules, powder and liquid form. *Lye can react to many metals and substances. A stainless steel or cast iron saucepan and a wooden or plastic spoon should be used. Not aluminium. *Stand back when adding Lye to oils and water as fumes will occur. Lye should be used in a well ventilated area. To have beautiful homemade soap in front of you in colours, fragrances, oils and moulded shapes that you’ve chosen is such a great feeling. I really didn’t want to scare you off having a go at soap making but as Lye is a chemical you need to be aware that it is corrosive and needs to be handled with care. For more information on soap making please visit: www.cobbylanecraft.com/soapmaking Thanks for reading, Beth
Beth Thompson
http://www.cobbylanecraft.com cobbylanecraft@bigpond.com
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Safety Tips When Making Homemade Soap (using Lye)