Saponification time in Cold Process Soapmaking

[peppertea]

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!

 

[jbsteele]

There is still some active lye in the soap after two weeks of curing, but it is minimal. Most of the lye is used up in the saponification process, which occurs when the fats and oils react with the lye to produce glycerin and soap molecules. After two weeks, the remaining lye will be completely neutralized by the other ingredients in the soap. There will still be some residual lye in the soap, but it will be in such small amounts that it will not be a hazard.