Please click here to (1) obtain the required form and (2) read about guidelines & precautions for ordering & using Lye/Potash.

WE DON’T CHARGE HAZMAT FEES!!

IMPORTANT: LYE/POTASH ALWAYS SHOULD ALWAYS BE ADDED TO WATER. WATER SHOULD NEVER, EVER BE ADDED TO EITHER!!!

Waiver: Print the and fax the form to 305-500-9425 or scan and email it to us. The order will not be processed until we have the completed and signed Waiver Form in our office. If you don’t have a fax, please mail the form to Camden-Grey, Attn.: Lye/Potash Orders, 3579 NW 82 Ave., Doral, FL 33122. The form must be completed only once and we will retain it in our files. If your information changes, a new form is required. A link to the form appears in the Header of this page, please scroll up.

Sodium Hydroxide (Lye) NaOH, UN#1823, Packing Group II, Class 8. This is 99.9% soap grade for making bar soap. Synonyms: Caustic soda, sodium hydrate, lye, white caustic, soda lye, ascarite. CAS #1310-73-2. INCI: Sodium hydroxide.

Potassium Hydroxide (Potash) KOH, UN#1813, Packing Group II, Class 8. This is 99.9% soap grade for making liquid soap, shampoo and certain creams. CAS #1310-58-3. INCI: Potassium hydroxide.

How to Order:

PLEASE NOTE THAT IT IS THE CUSTOMER’S RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE US WITH A PROPERLY COMPLETED AND SIGNED HAZMAT WAIVER. WE DO NOT HAVE THE TIME TO CONTACT CUSTOMERS TO REMIND THEM WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE FORM. IF THE FORM IS NOT RECEIVED WHEN AN ORDER CONTAINING PRODUCTS OTHER THAN LYE OR POTASH IS READY TO SHIP, WE WILL SHIP THAT PORTION OF THE ORDER AND CANCEL THE LYE OR POTASH PORTION. IF THE FORM IS NOT RECEIVED IN A TIMELY BASIS FOR AN ORDER WHICH CONTAINS LYE OR POTASH, THE ORDER WILL BE CANCELLED AND A $10 CANCELLATION FEE WILL BE APPLIED.

2) Placing An Order: All orders for sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide must be placed on our website, we cannot accept orders for either product by phone or fax.

3) Shipping Guidelines: We will only ship these products via ground (truck) service within the continental U.S.. This means we cannot ship to territories or possessions such as Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands or APOs. Please do not select "air" shipping options for these products. Lye and potash will always ship by themselves and not with other products.

4) How The Products Are Packed: We have chosen to pack these products in individual 2 lb. sturdy containers which meet DOT shipping guidelines and which will save you hazmat fees of $20+ per shipment on shipments heavier than 2 lbs.. You may purchase up to thirty 2 lb. containers to be shipped ground per box, no more than thirty 2 lb. containers may be placed inside one shipping box.

5) 55# Size For Local Customers Only: The 55 lb. size is only available to customers who pick up the product at our warehouse, we cannot ship this size, please don’t purchase this size if we’re to ship to you. This product clearly indicates it’s for local pick up only. If you order this size and you have no intention of picking it up, you’ll have to select other sizes of lye/potash to replace the 55# size, we do not accept cancellations.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE TO SELL SODIUM HYDROXIDE OR POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE TO ANYONE AT ANY TIME.

Regarding sodium hydroxide, hereafter referred to as lye:

If it’s soap, it has lye in it. Lye is what induces saponification to create soap. While many new soapmakers may be terrified of using lye for making soap, it’s the primary ingredient in this wonderful product. Several precautions must be taken when handling, storing and using lye along with lots of common sense. The definition of an accident is "something going wrong unexpectedly" and so many things can go wrong when someone’s not paying attention.

STORAGE: Please store away from children, the mentally challenged, the elderly and pets. Store in a properly marked container indicating that a dangerous material is stored inside the container. Do not store lye, either in its dry or liquid form, in a container where a person or a pet might mistake it for food, i.e. storing a lye solution in a soda bottle, storing lye flakes in a Tupperware container. Please keep lye away from water, flammable liquids, water heaters and stoves. You and you alone are going to be responsible for any accidents arising from the improper storage of this dangerous product.

HANDLING: Unless you have had many years of experience working with lye and know what you’re doing, you should use a dust mask, goggles with full eye coverage and chemical-proof gloves or nitrile disposable gloves. Also recommended are long pants, long sleeves, socks, shoes, and try to have as much skin covered up as possible. Announce to the rest of your family that you will be handling a dangerous chemical for the next hour or so and ask them to stay away from your work area. If pets or children may pose a distraction to you, work on your soapmaking once they’re out of the way.....outside, in school, sleeping, at grandma’s. You and you alone are going to be responsible for any accidents arising from the improper handling of this dangerous product.

TRANSPORTING: It’s not recommended that you drive around with a container of lye in your car. If you must transport lye, most of all a large quantity such as a 55 lb. bag, it must be transported in an enclosed vehicle....no open truck beds, no motorcycles or bicycles.

USAGE: We’re pleased to post below text created by Ela Heyn McAdams, a well known and respected soap and toiletry maker and teacher. Ela runs our list, The Handmade Toiletries List. If you haven’t yet subscribed, please do so by going to our Home page, clicking on the Yahoo! Groups icon and subscribing to Digest. You will learn a lot once you join our list and you will be able to exchange ideas with other toiletry and soapmakers. Our List provides an extensive library of recipes, labeling regulations and other information which affects toiletrymakers.

This is Ela’s post to our list:

Okay, now that you have a recipe, you are ready to actually make soap! :

Your first step will be to mix up your lye water, as it will need time to cool down (from about 215 degrees to roughly 100 degrees) before you can use it. As I mentioned before when I was talking about equipment you will need, you will probably want to have a dedicated container for your lye water. Although it does "smell" a bit, turn milky and heat up a lot right after it is mixed, it resembles "normal" water a lot (visually) after it has been cooled down.

However, it is still very, very caustic at that point, and can cause severe eye and/or skin injuries and be fatal if ingested! To cut down on that possibility, you will want to mix it in a STURDY container (preferably heat resistant glass, and preferably with a lid!), use that container ONLY for lye water, and mark on it clearly that it contains lye water and is dangerous. A few skull and crossbones symbols wouldn't hurt, either.

If you live in an area with VERY hard or VERY soft water, you might want to use distilled water in your lye water. Otherwise, tap water is usually fine, and you can also "get fancy" and use rosewater, orange flower water, or an herbal tea in your lye water. (Keep in mind that these can result in tan soap, though!) Some people like to use milk in their lye water. As milk "scorches" and browns easily, your best bet when doing this is to chill it to a sluggish, barely pourable stage, and then add your lye to it.

So, first fill your container with the amount of liquid your recipe calls for and set it aside. Now is the time to mix your lye.

The way that I mix lye is that I put a "basket" type coffee filter on my scale, set my scale back to zero, and VERY carefully and slowly pour my lye into the coffee filter. Once I have the requisite amount, I IMMEDIATELY seal the container of lye so it can't be accidentally knocked over and spilled.

I then pull my container of water close, and very carefully pick up my coffee filter of lye. I hold the filter so one corner forms a "pour spout" and start to very slowly sprinkle the lye into my water, stirring as I go. It is important that you add the lye SLOWLY as adding a lot at once can result in a "mini volcano" of a reaction that will shoot lye water out of the container! Likewise, adding water to lye should NEVER occur, as this can also cause a lye explosion. LYE ALWAYS NEEDS TO BE ADDED TO WATER. WATER SHOULD NEVER, EVER BE ADDED TO LYE!!!

Once all of the lye has been added and stirred in, you will notice that your container has gotten very, very warm .. about 215 degrees, which is 5 degrees above the temperature of boiling water! If you want to measure it with a candy thermometer at this moment, you can do so ... but you will want to take care to make sure the bulb doesn't touch the side of the container. (This will "throw off" your reading). It is best to suspend the thermometer in the center of the bowl, with the bulb not touching any sides, for a half minute or minute, and then read it.

Now, set the water aside (but keep an eye on it, of course, so that nothing touches it ..), and let it cool to about 100 degrees. It will then be ready to be mixed with your oils ...

If you’d like to learn more about how to make soap and other toiletries, please join The Handmade Toiletries List. Go to our Home page www.camdengrey.com click on the Yahoo! Groups icon and subscribe to Digest. Our list offers an extensive library of recipes and information.

Lye Is Incompatible With: Acids, aluminum, flammable liquids, corrosive to metal, tin, water, zinc. Use a Pyrex or high grade stainless steel container to mix your lye solution when making soap. Cheap or low grade stainless steel containers may not work very well with lye.

Regarding Potassium Hydroxide also referred to as Potash:

All of the storage, handling and safety precautions which we’ve outlined above for Sodium Hydroxide apply to Potassium Hydroxide. This product generates more heat than Sodium Hydroxide.