Skip to next element

Love The Way You Lye

Some of you soap-savvy folks out there might be wondering if our Zum Bars contain lye, also known as saponified sodium hydroxide. We’re gonna give it you, and we’re gonna give it to you straight: all soap contains lye. Yep, that’s right. Everything from Irish Spring to a good old Frankincense & Myrrh Zum Bar contains lye - if it didn’t, it would be considered a detergent, not SOAP! And your glorious bod deserves the best.

But never fear, ‘cause even though lye is used in the soapy production process, there’s absolutely none left over by the time you get your mitts on a Zum Bar. Let’s throw it back to high school chemistry class - only instead of sending flirty notes to your crush in the back row, we’re gonna pay attention this time. When an acid and a base (remember those?) combine, they neutralize each other to make a salt. Soap is a product of this reaction, also called saponification. Even though it’s weird to think of soap as a salt, we’re gonna blind you with some more science: sodium hydroxide (aka lye) is a base, and goat’s milk (among other oils and butters) contain natural fatty acids. Combine the two, and boom, you’ve got yourself a lovely little Zum Bar.

The best part about making sweet, sweet soap is that the caustic properties of the lye are completely canceled out during the process, leaving nothing but an ultra-moisturizing, knock-your-socks-off bar of Zummy goodness. So don’t let a little lye kill the vibe - after all, it’s an oh so important part of the saponification process. And the next time you’re getting down and dirty in the shower with a Zum Bar, you can thank lye for taking the soap game to the next level.

Share on: