Just "Plain Lye Soap"

[AngelMomma]

Do you ever have anyone ask you for "Just plain Lye Soap"? I don't sell my soaps. But I am quick to give them as gifts......sometimes wanted.....sometimes I wonder, maybe unwanted. Hahaha!!!! Anyway we went to a cook out and I took a bunch of soaps. I knew a few of the ladies that were going to be there wanted some. But one of my hubbys friends that had never seen any of my soaps before (he was familiar with homemade soaps though) looked at them and says, "I would rather have just a plain lye soap". Hmmm, had me thinking. So I said something about what kinds of oils I use. I was kind of fishing to see what kind of formula would be best for his skin. After all, he is an old guy. (Sorry to any old guys reading this) And again he says the same thing, just plain LYE soap. Well now, I get that he doesn't know much, if anything about formulating with oils. So that is up to me to make something that will fit what he is thinking of. BUT it must be a good formula that will WOW him! I want it to be white so I am avoiding oils that have much color to them, except for the castor which is at 5%. This is a great exercise in restraint for me. Something I do struggle with. So my indulgence with this bar is the # of oils I am using. So this is what I am going to try out.

5% Castor
25% Coconut76
30% Lard
25% GV Tallow/Palm
15% Shea(this one I have is VERY white)
SF @10%

I don't think this will be "PLAIN". But it should come out really white and I think that will fit his bill. I will soap this one a bit warmer than I usual soap. It will be neat to see how it will turn out.

 

[three_little_fishes]

I wonder if when people ask for that if they're referring to Grandma's lye soap. It only includes lard.

That said, I think something like your recipe would feel much nicer on the skin.

 

[AngelMomma]

That's exactly what I assume he meant. But I don't believe that he realizes that is what he meant. (Make sense?) I figure if its white than that is what he will make it "plain" for him. But if its a great formulation, than he will love what it does for his skin.

 

[DeeAnna]

Go for it, AngelMomma! I like your recipe, and I think you have the right idea -- a white/ivory soap with a classic "Grandma's soap" look that will be lovely and mild to use. Yummy!

 

[Ruthie]

The lady that sells my soap in her antique store wanted plain lye soap too. I took her what I had that was unscented and uncolored and she was thrilled but also thrilled with the others I took along.

 

[pamielynn]

The guy who runs our local farmer's market moseyed over to me one day, checking out my wares and told me how you "just can't find good lye soap anymore". Hello? So I gave him my spiel -which is usually reserved for those who are afraid of lye soap. He was so happy!! Kinda threw me for a loop though

 

[AngelMomma]

I guess those rough old guy just don't recognize the soap with all the pretty frills and swirls as lye soap. Or if they do, maybe they are too manly for all that "nonsense" LOL!

 

[Martin]

Most of the guys around here want "plain lye soap" I just make it with Lard...Found out they use it for catfish bait :lolno:

 

[Lucidcat2]

My understanding of "plain old lye soap" is that it's simply lard, lye & water. I have a couple of friends with minor skin problems who will only use "plain lye soap". I like the looks of your recipe though!

 

[AngelMomma]

Martin,.....for catfish bait?! Really? Well, I would only use lard for that. If all they are doing with it is feeding the fish. That's a new one for me.


I was very pleasantly surprised a couple of days ago when my 13 year old started talking about us making a batch of soap together. She has never shown that much interest in actually making it. So this evening we made this one together. It was nice. But a tad stressful because I am always worried about safety. And also her sister kept coming in and you know how things go with a younger sibling. But we made it and everything went very nicely. I did add silk to the lye water. Other than that I did it exactly like I posted in the OP.

Next she wants to make a red and black one with me. Her favorite colors.

 

[three_little_fishes]

Martin,.....for catfish bait?! Really? Well, I would only use lard for that. If all they are doing with it is feeding the fish. That's a new one for me.

It's used on trot lines. The belief is that the soap will make other fish (and turtles) stay away, but the catfish can smell the oils and animal fat because apparently they smell better. This is what my grandfather used to say anyway. I don't know how much of it was true, but we used to have catfish for dinner what seemed like alllll the time (saying that as a person who hated eating it!).

Ivory and Zote used to be pretty popular too. I remember grandpa cutting up zote for catfishing. I don't even know if it has any animal fats.

 

[MoonCreature]

My boyfriend is exactly like that. I love to make swirls, oatmeal, milk & honey soap, experiment with herbs, moisturizing oils and natural colorants with beneficial properties. What does my boyfriend say? "Couldn't you just make a simple white soap without color, fragrance or decorations? You know, one that you just can wash yourself with". :roll: The funny part is that he often has dry skin (he washes with soap way too often) and skin eczema and all that "fancy stuff" would do him good.

 

[DeeAnna]

Lard soap for catfish bait? Hmmm. We like to fish for catfish, and I'll have to check into that. At least it would smell a whole lot better than "real" catfish bait!

 

[Candybee]

Some time ago I read an article about soap fishing so I'm not surprised. I get this question a lot and just explain that it lye soap. If they want "plain" lye soap I just point them to my unscented, undyed, soap (which just happens to have lard in it!).

 

[Nevada]

This may have opened a "Whole New Can of Worms"

If you thought that lye can be used only for sober applications like soap making, industrial processing and manufacture of petroleum products, vegetable oils etc, think again. Sodium Hydroxide or lye can even be engaged in a fun activity like fishing. For years, the old timers used only special lye soap as bait for catching catfish. Believe it or not, the catfish love the smell of lye soap and are instantly hooked by the bait. Though our ancestors used lye for daily survival and for fulfillment of their stomachs, we, the moderners can use the same for a sporty and abundant fishing activity. This article will explain the step-by-step processes involved in making catfish bait with lye.

http://sodium-hydroxide.com/fishing-with-lye-7-steps-to-make-lye-soap-catfish-bait/

 

[AngelMomma]

Well! Now I am going to make a small batch of plain lard soap!!! Would you like to know why? Because I remembered that he loves to fish. I don't know if that's what he wants if for, or if its to wash off the fishy smell after he fishes. But I do know that I don't want him fishing for nasty, stinky Catfish with the Shea Butter and Silk soap!!! LOL! I guess you learn something new everyday. Fishing with soap.

 

[pamielynn]

That is my dog's favorite soap! Truly, that is the only soap that he goes after to eat. Maybe it really DOES work as bait, LOL!

 

[Bicycle808]

I find that a lot of elderly folks like what I describe as "plain white soap"; OO, h2o, CO, PO, NaOH, and castor. The OP's buddy is proably placing the emphasis on the "plain" rather than the "lye", but he's mentioning the lye b/c he wants traditional, real soap. I don't know the guy, but that's how these things seem to go... Colorants, funky odors, etc are just going to throw ol'fashioned folks off a bit.

 

[Bicycle808]

My boyfriend is exactly like that. I love to make swirls, oatmeal, milk & honey soap, experiment with herbs, moisturizing oils and natural colorants with beneficial properties. What does my boyfriend say? "Couldn't you just make a simple white soap without color, fragrance or decorations? You know, one that you just can wash yourself with". :roll: The funny part is that he often has dry skin (he washes with soap way too often) and skin eczema and all that "fancy stuff" would do him good.

Ya think so? I kind of doubt that "color, fragrance or decorations" will do anything at all for his skin condition, although some "fancy" oils might.

FWIW, it was my desire to make soap without "color, fragrance or decorations" that got me into CP. But, not due to sensitive skin; my skin is pretty much bulletproof.

 

[kazmi]

Funny I just made a 'plain' soap batch last nite as a special request from a friend. He wanted no colors, no scent. I gave him a plain bar a few weeks ago from 60% OO all veg oil batch to try on his dry patchy, sensitive skin and he loves it so much he wants a whole batch. His wife asked is I could make a few bars of the same for her but wanted scent added. So I just made a little extra for her and added scent after pouring his.

Like Bicycle, I got into soaping to make something for myself without color or fragrance or any synthetic detergents, etc. But now always have both an unscented/plain bar AND a scented/color bar in the shower.