BeBopBaby
One Too Many
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KittyT said:Lye soap is GREAT! I used to use it to clean the dirty, pomade-caked collars of my ex's undershirts and it's incredible, though a bit labor intensive. It definitely requires scrubbing. You can buy it at (surprise, surprise!!) the Vermont Country Store.
There are gentle lye soaps that ladies used to use on their skin as well, since they leave no residue. My mom has been using lye soap on her skin and she loves it.
Even though lye itself is caustic, properly made lye soap is actually very gentle because it's mostly made from rendered animal fat. But, you have to get the mixture correct in the soap because too much lye and the soap will burn your skin.
I've made lye soap from scratch in the past. I've even made my own lye from wood ashes. When done properly, the lye soap makes your skin very soft.