Lye

Lye is a hydroxide made by leaching wood ashes with water. It is used to make soap.

Lye is a hydroxide obtained by leaching ashes from hardwood with water. It modern usage, lye most commonly refers to sodium hydroxide, whereas historically it referred to potassium hydroxide.

Lye is used with oil or fat to make soap, with sodium hydroxide used for bar soaps and potassium hydroxide used for liquid soaps.

Links

• Making Wood Ash Lye from Ash to Crystals - YouTube video
• https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/how-to-make-soap-from-ashes-zmaz72jfzfre