Wood ash lye vs commercial lye?

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narnia

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While living in Asia, I remember that my grandmother, who made soap for us, used ash to make lye. I just researched it, and I saw that wood ash lye is potassium hydroxide (KOH) instead of the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) which is commercial lye that is normally used to make soap.

I wonder if that makes a difference? I wonder if KOH is more gentle? If so, why are we using NaOH to make soap? Why are we not using KOH??
 

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