Liquid soap harsh on skin?

[divyadinesh07]

Hi, I was recently told by someone that soaps made with potassium hydroxide is very harsh to the skin in comparison to a sodium hydroxide soap which is safe. Is this true and has anyone experienced this?

 

[shunt2011]

They are both safe and harshness will depend on how you forumlate them.

 

[Susie]

^ That pretty much sums it up.

You did well coming here to check the facts. You can't believe everything you read on the internet, but you can trust what you read here, because we are wedded to the truth. You may not like what we say, you may hate how we say it, and you may even hate more that we said it at all, but we are going to tell you the truth. Just check your facts here. If someone says wrong, you will quickly see the rest of us correcting it.

 

[Seawolfe]

100% coconut oil soap with 0% superfat will be harsh - whether its a solid or liquid soap.
100% Olive oil soap with 3-5% superfat will be quite gentle whether its a solid or liquid soap.

 

[IrishLass]

Hi, I was recently told by someone that soaps made with potassium hydroxide is very harsh to the skin in comparison to a sodium hydroxide soap which is safe. Is this true and has anyone experienced this?

I don't know who you heard that from (sounds like maybe they had an unfortunate experience with somebody's bad soap formula made with KOH?), but I'm very glad you decided to fact-check by asking here.

Both types of lye (KOH and NaOH) are quite capable of making either perfectly safe soap......or terribly harsh soap- it all depends on how you formulate your recipe.

I use both types of lye on a regular basis, and I can attest that my formulas made with KOH are not harsh in the least.



IrishLass