I am certain that we have all encountered those dear ones who exclaim with fear - "LYE?!!!". "I don't want to use LYE on my skin!!!!".
I have tried for years to explain why lye, or sodium hydroxide, the official name, is integral to soap making. In the words of soap angel, Kathy Miller: "You can't have soap without lye".
I have failed miserably to get the point across that after a nice long cure of handcrafted soap, the lye is rendered 'benign', no zip, no zap.
Oh well........let's not even go to that place where I try to explain about the lathering agents and scads of toxic chemicals in the detergent and 'cleansers' that many folks embrace for bubbly fun.
Sigh.
One point to this post is that I saw a new, mass-marketed, anti-aging cream. A "breakthrough" miracle worker. Of course, I had to check it out. The list of ingredients revealed that one of the main components was .... LYE!
Here is the ingredient list:
WATER, GLYCERIN, GLYCOLIC ACID, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, PANTHENOL, PALMITOYL PENTAPEPTIDE-4, CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, VITIS VINIFERA (GRAPE) SEED EXTRACT, ALLANTOIN, PEG-100 STEARATE, CELLULOSE, XANTHAN GUM, CELLULOSE GUM, BENZYL ALCOHOL, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, MICA, IRON OXIDES, PRO-VITAMIN B5, AMINO-PEPTIDE, GREEN TEA
Now, THAT is scary.
What? Huh? Why? ????
Why would lye be in a overnight face cream?
Any ideas? (besides the fact that the 'resurfacing' happens due to burning your skin off?)
In Love, Truth and Beauty.....
hmmm..less costly than cosmetic surgery and quicker? (if you like the micheal jackson look...oh dear me, forgive ..)
ReplyDeleteAll soapmakers know what a lye burn feels like....I have no idea why sodium hydroxide would be used in a leave-on skin formula!
ReplyDeletePerhaps used to saponify some oil or butters, but - huh?!
I am tempted to post a foto of the ingredient label here.
It pays to read ingredient labels!