[Ansteorra] need source for real lye soap

[Stefan li Rous]

Do you want/need to make your own lye? Or are you willing to buy it in the store? If you look carefully some of the drain cleaning products are pure lye.

For directions on making your own soap there are a number of web resources. Here are the files I have in the Florilegium on making soap. Some of these recipes add in other items for fragrance or texture, but if you aren't wanting those, just leave them out.

soapmaking-msg (62K) 2/ 3/08 Period and modern soapmaking techniques.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/CRAFTS/soapmaking-msg.html

Soapmakng-CMA-art (24K) 10/ 6/97 "Soapmaking in the Current Middle Ages" by Gillian Fhlaitheamhail (Fraya Davis).
http://www.florilegium.org/files/CRAFTS/Soapmakng-CMA-art.html

Ivory soap is one brand of pure soap without added detergents or other items.

The problem you may be having may have more to do with the oil/fat involved. 'Castile' type soaps, generally imported into the rest of Europe during the Middle Ages used olive oil as their principle oil, while other soaps used tallow or other animal fats. I'm not sure what you are trying to do or the problems you are having but this could be some of the reason.  I think all soaps are going to need a strong alkaline, such as lye (sodium hydroxide, I believe) to work. I'm not a chemist, though.

Stefan

On May 6, 2010, at 2:18 PM, Stephanie Suesan Smith wrote:

> I am looking for a bar of real old fashion lye soap.  The kind sold as lye
> soap in the stores will not work for this purpose.  Please send me an email
> if you know where I can get some.  Thanks.
> 
> Lady Stephanie Lilburn
> 
> -- 
> Stephanie Suesan Smith, Ph.D.
> stephaniesuesansmith at gmail.com
> http://www.stephaniesuesansmith.com
> http://blog.stephaniesuesansmith.com
> Writer and Photographer

--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****