Image source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/5f/c2/80/5fc2805f958c2380c49ba51b4144ee33.jpg
Lye can be purchased from many suppliers, The benefits of lye soap can be amazing and it will do your skin wonders. Although many people still doubt the benefits of lye soap, it is a very natural and gentle product. Lye is caustic, and dangerous so it is very important for anyone making lye soap to be careful and concentrate on what they are doing. Too much lye can cause the soap to burn the skin, and too little can keep the soap from hardening. However, nowadays with easy directions from soap makers, recipes and measurements we can make the soap making process a lot easier.
Up until mid 1800's, Many people use to make their own lye soap from simple household supplies. They used three main ingredients Lye, Lard (pig's fat) and hard labour. Back in these days people had large wooden bins outside their houses, they dumped the ashes left over from their wood stoves into these bins and when the time came to make their soap they would pour water through the ashes and siphon out the liquid, known as lye. Lard (fat) was obtained through an annual hog killing that took place once a year around the time of the first hard frost in autumn. The fat was then saved to make the soap. The third ingredient needed was a good set of hard working hands.
The lard and Lye were then mixed together over a fire and stirred with a long handled paddle for hours, it was then poured into a metal pan and left for anything from a week to a month. Once dry, it was cut and divided out for people to use in cleaning and for laundry purposes, people today still buy the original lye soap.
These days the lard which was once used is substituted for different oils. Fragrances are added for scent, and sometimes natural oils such as aloe, jojoba, or coconut are added which soothe the skin. Oatmeal is also said to be good for sensitivity and redness and lye soap itself is said to reduce the itching caused by insect bites. The health positive benefits of natural soaps are incredible, It can reduce irritations of previous or exciting skin conditions, make you feel cleaner and you get to avoid the harsh chemicals and by-products in most commercially produced soaps.
A fantastic hobby and very cheap to start up, you will find that when you make lye soap yourself you can guarantee that a custom made soap is far better then anything brought of a store shelf.
