Lye question

[frankmango]

I have available to me with ease
"caustic soda flake" , this flake claims to be 99% pure.
I have never used flake before. It looks different than what I am used to.
Is the stuff OK. If it is OK . Should I grind it finer?
The regular micro pearl sort of lye is difficult for me to come by.
Thanks

 

[gemsupthepoley]

I really don't know but part of my head tells me to try disolving it in 50% water (from a recipe on soap calc). That's the minimum I think. This is common for making a milk based soap. If it disolves in 50% water then I should be okay.

I would wait for some more informed confirmation first though

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

It seems to be just another form of lye. I don't know if you do anything with replacement liquids (such as milks) where there can be issues dissolving lye, but it might well take longer for all of the lye to dissolve - not much more time, but of course it takes longer for a sugar cube to dissolve rather than a single grain.

 

[IrishLass]

As long as you know that it's 100% caustic soda (without other chemicals in it), all should be okay. I've used both beads and flakes and they both dissolved perfectly fine. I would not try to grind the flakes. That's just asking for trouble, if you ask me.


IrishLass

 

[shunt2011]

I too have used both beads and flakes with no problem. I did however strain the lye with the flakes as I poured just to be sure. Especially when using milks.

 

[Seawolfe]

I've used both, the flakes are nice because they dont get static like the finer grind. Takes a few minutes more of stirring to get it to dissolve, but no biggie.

 

[frankmango]

Thanks all I will use the flakes.6

 

[snappyllama]

I'm a flakey woman. Er... I like to use the flakes. Just make sure to strain if you're using an opaque lye solution since you cannot see that they've dissolved completely. Also, watch out for a bit of dust when first opening the container and again towards the bottom of the container.