- #1
peppertea
- 2
- 0
Hello everyone!
I'm into home soapmaking but have no background in chemistry. I read enough about how soap is made so that I largely understand what I'm doing, but lately i got into an argument with a friend about weather or not there is still active lye in soap after ...let's say- two weeks of curing. From what I know, saponification starts at 'trace' and ends in 24-28 hours , when soaps are unmolded (if it's well insulated and it goes through gel stage), and that the purpose of the rest of the curing time is only to let the water evaporate. How much active lye can there be left after a couple of weeks of curing?
Thank you and I apologise if some other crazy soapmaker already asked that somewhere, sometime.
Happy hollydays!
I'm into home soapmaking but have no background in chemistry. I read enough about how soap is made so that I largely understand what I'm doing, but lately i got into an argument with a friend about weather or not there is still active lye in soap after ...let's say- two weeks of curing. From what I know, saponification starts at 'trace' and ends in 24-28 hours , when soaps are unmolded (if it's well insulated and it goes through gel stage), and that the purpose of the rest of the curing time is only to let the water evaporate. How much active lye can there be left after a couple of weeks of curing?
Thank you and I apologise if some other crazy soapmaker already asked that somewhere, sometime.
Happy hollydays!