Ekko Score shows many soaps as being chemical free and toxin free. Anyone who knows anything about soap making knows that you can't make it without Lye. Lye is a highly corrosive, but once soap is made, there is no lye left. No lie. The facts are that when you see a soap claiming to be organic, chemical or toxin free, there is every chance it is - as long as it is soap. In fact, a personal cleanser made without lye, it is not soap, but a detergent.
Soap is made in a process called saponification. (Please don't go to sleep, this is really interesting). And it's pretty much high school science. Maybe even junior school. All you need to make soap is Oil, Lye and Water. The rest - smells, colours, bits of stuff like oats and rose petals, are all additives.
Soap is made through Saponification, the chemical reaction between an alkali (lye / sodium hydroxide) and a fatty acid (usually an oil like coconut, avocado, castor etc). Almost any natural oil or animal fat can be turned into soap.
When making soap, the reaction between the lye and fatty acids sees both substances chemically transformed, creating soap and natural glycerin. Neither of the original ingredients exists anymore as they are consumed in the process to become new chemicals. A great example of a natural product also made of not so toxic chemicals is table salt. Sodium Chloride. Sodium is a highly volatile element which explodes on contact with water. Chlorine is a highly poisonous gas. And yet together, they make something many of us eat every day.
So, while soap is made with lye, it doesn’t contain lye. Modern methods and measuring scales allow soap-makers to use more precise mixtures of oils and lye, ensuring that all lye is consumed. Many soap makers add more oil or fats than is required for the chemical reaction, to add to the soap’s moisturizing qualities, but it also has the effect of ensuring all the lye is consumed.
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