Sources of  Lye for Soapmaking

The death of Red Devil Lye created a great disturbance in the handcrafted soap industry. Here are some resources that may help ease the transition.

June 2007: I understand that True Value and ACE and  Do It Best hardware stores are now carrying "Rooto", a 100% Lye product and  successor to Red Devil. If you don't see it on the shelf of your local store - ask them to order it for you. You want the "Crystals of 100% Lye" product, and not a version pre-diluted in water. Make sure the label says "100% Lye" which I'm told it now does. Older formulations of a similar product may not have been 100% Lye.

Boyer Corporation has been selling Lye for a long time, and they know soapmaking: www.boyercorporation.com

This fellow from Texas is now selling Lye and asked me to add a link to my website for him, which I have done: http://www.aaa-chemicals.com/  He takes PayPal online!

And a new entrant run by soapmakers: www.certified-lye.com

If you live in California and need 50 LBS or more of Lye, try www.galladechem.com for a very competitive deal.  You will want the form of lye commonly sold as "caustic soda beads." For various OSHA-related reasons, Gallade does not offer low prices on sizes smaller than 50 LBS - so please don't call them if you only need 5 - 10 LBS.