UNDERSTANDING HOW TO MAKE A BAR SOAP WITHOUT CAUSTIC SODA
Considering the vast number of questions we are receiving in EngineeringAll we decide to focus on those highly related to our topics of discussion and the most frequently asked questions. One such question is how to make bar soap without using caustic soda. We will try to explain all you need to know about this question and the answer therein.
What is a Caustic Soda?
Caustic soda is a product of sodium hydroxide gotten from the electrolysis of Saltwater known as brine. This chemical compound can be found in chemical shops and is relatively cheap in price.
Caustic soda had been a long age known substance used in the making of bar soaps. Unlike the wrong notion of the synthetic nature of caustic soda, it is actually a biodegradable chemical compound that has no side effects for users when used in the making of bar soaps.
How to Make a Bar Soap with Caustic Soda
Normally, the making of bar soap cannot be complete without caustic soda. This compound forms the main constituents of the entire mixture used in the making of bar soaps. For instance, you need oil, water, and caustic soda to make bar soap.
These three items are the basic mixture needed, while coloring agents, fragrance, and other additives can be added to make special features of the soap.
To make a bar soap with caustic soda, measure out a specific quantity of caustic soda and dissolve it into clean water to form an aqueous solution, and then add a specific amount of oil into it.
After thorough mixing of the mixtures in the aqueous condition, they will be poured into a mold to suit the shape of the intended bar soap.
The solution will be allowed to stay up to a week to cure and be ready for use. At that time it solidified and become a bar soap.
The above explanation is a short and simple description of how a simple bar soap can be produced, However, we are about to address the question of making a bar soap without caustic soda.
How to make A bar soap without caustic soda?
Jackie Ziegler, an author of soap-making tips stated that there is actually no possible practical way you can make bar soap without using caustic soda since the compound is the major ingredient needed to make bar soaps.
“Despite contradictory information on the internet, it’s not possible to make soap without caustic soda/lye” she noted.
She further stated that though ash was used in the making soap in some parts of Africa but the components of other ingredients in the soap contain sodium hydroxide in an organic format.
This could simply mean that quality bar soap may not really be obtained without any support of sodium hydroxide as this compound seems to be the main factor in the operations of the soap.
There are articles and tutorials that claimed to make bar soap without caustic soda but in reality, the details still point to poor quality soap or soap that may not be useful as expected. However, some of those articles point to the making of special soaps meant for special purposes such as the Vegan soap meant for Dogs.
Meanwhile, some other hydroxides such as potassium hydroxide have been reported to be used in making bar soap.
Some also claimed to have used some sort of natural ingredients for soap making but none of such claims has been widely acknowledged by others who sort answer on how to make a bar of bar soap without using caustic soda.
Conclusion
It may really be true that soap could be made without using caustic soda but the evidence so showed that such soap cannot have the same features as the one made with caustic soda and that means lesser quality and lesser usability.
Many people who sort an answer for such have not really seen a claim supported by a third party in making a bar soap without caustic soda.
