Should We Continue Listing Lye on Our Soap Labels?

At Arsai Soap, transparency has always been one of our core values.

When we launched Arsai Soap in the United States in 2024, we spent countless hours researching soap-making regulations, labeling requirements, industry standards, and best practices. During that research, we consistently found guidance suggesting that lye should be listed among the ingredients used to make handcrafted soap.

As a result, we chose to include lye on our ingredient labels because we wanted our customers to know exactly what goes into every bar we make. We believed that complete transparency was the right thing to do.

Now, as we move through 2026, we're seeing a noticeable shift throughout the handcrafted soap industry. Many soap makers, industry educators, and labeling resources now recommend not listing lye in finished soap ingredient declarations because no active lye remains in properly made soap after the soap-making process is complete.

This has prompted us to revisit an important question:

Should we continue listing lye on our labels, or should we remove it when our next batch of labels is printed?

Before we decide, we wanted to explain exactly what lye is, how it's used, and why this conversation matters.

Not at all.

The discussion around whether to list sodium hydroxide on a soap label is not about the safety or quality of the soap itself.

Regardless of whether lye appears on the ingredient declaration, the soap-making process remains exactly the same.

The real question is how best to communicate the ingredients and manufacturing process in a way that is both accurate and easy for customers to understand.

In other words, this is less a debate about soap and more a conversation about labeling philosophy.

Lye is the common name for sodium hydroxide.

Sodium hydroxide is an essential ingredient used in traditional soap making. Without it, true soap simply cannot be created.

When lye is combined with oils and water, a chemical reaction called saponification occurs. During this process, the oils and lye are transformed into soap and naturally occurring glycerin.

The important thing to understand is that the lye is not simply mixed into the soap and left there. Instead, it is consumed during the saponification process and converted into an entirely new substance: soap.

No.

Every true bar soap, whether handcrafted, artisan-made, commercially manufactured, organic, natural, or luxury, is made using lye.

If a cleansing bar was not made with lye, it is technically not soap. It is typically a detergent-based cleansing bar made from synthetic surfactants.

Even melt-and-pour soap bases were originally made using lye before reaching the soap maker.

In other words, every genuine soap you've likely used throughout your life was made with lye at some point during production.

This is a question we receive from time to time.

Sodium hydroxide can be produced through industrial processes, but the raw materials used to create it are naturally occurring. Today, nearly all soap makers purchase commercially manufactured sodium hydroxide because it provides consistency, purity, and safety.

At Arsai Soap, we source our lye from a reputable local company in Lebanon that supplies high-quality sodium hydroxide suitable for soap production.

Just as importantly, we carefully measure and formulate every batch to ensure the finished soap is safe and gentle for everyday use.

No.

A properly formulated and fully cured bar of soap should not contain active lye.

Every Arsai Soap bar is carefully crafted using tested soap formulations and curing practices that allow the saponification process to complete properly.

The result is a gentle, cleansing bar made from olive oil and other carefully selected ingredients—not a bar containing active sodium hydroxide.

In fact, many people with sensitive skin specifically choose traditional olive oil soaps because of their simplicity and mildness.

No.

The sodium hydroxide used during manufacturing does not remain in the finished soap as an active ingredient.

Once saponification is complete, the lye has already done its job.

Our soaps are formulated with skin-loving oils and are cured properly before being offered for sale. When used as intended, they are designed to cleanse the skin gently while preserving the qualities that make traditional olive oil soap so beloved.

This is where things become interesting.

There are two common approaches to ingredient labeling within the handcrafted soap industry.

Some ingredient declarations include sodium hydroxide because:

• It was used during the manufacturing process.
• It provides maximum transparency.
• Customers can see every ingredient involved in creating the soap.
• It avoids any perception that an ingredient is being hidden.
• It reflects the actual soap-making process.

This was the philosophy we followed when Arsai Soap launched.

Another commonly used approach to soap labeling focuses on the ingredients present in the finished product rather than every material used during the soap-making process.

Under this perspective:

• No active lye remains in properly made soap after saponification is complete.
• The finished bar does not contain sodium hydroxide in its original form.
• Excluding lye can help prevent confusion among customers who may be unfamiliar with the chemistry of soap making.
• Many labeling resources and industry professionals support listing ingredients that remain in the finished product.
• This approach can simplify ingredient declarations while still providing accurate information about the soap itself.

As we've continued researching ingredient labeling practices, we've noticed this approach becoming increasingly common in recent years.

One of the things we appreciate most about being part of the handmade soap community is that there is always something new to learn.

When we started Arsai Soap, we thought our biggest challenges would involve sourcing quality ingredients, perfecting recipes, and creating soaps that our customers would love. While those things remain at the heart of what we do, we've also discovered that some of the most interesting conversations happen in places we never expected.

Who knew a humble bar of olive oil soap could spark thoughtful discussions about chemistry, regulations, transparency, ingredient labeling, and customer education?

The truth is, we're confident in the quality of our soaps and the care that goes into every batch we make. What we're carefully considering now isn't the soap itself, it's how we can best communicate the soap-making process in a way that is accurate, transparent, and meaningful to our customers.

One of the reasons we value the handmade soap community so much is that there isn't always a single "right" answer. There are often multiple thoughtful perspectives, each rooted in a desire to create safe, high-quality products and build trust with customers.

That's why we welcome conversations like this one.

We're grateful for the opportunity to continue learning, growing, and refining our approach. Most of all, we're grateful for customers who take this journey with us, ask thoughtful questions, share their perspectives, and trust us as we navigate decisions like these.

After all, handmade soap is about more than ingredients and labels—it's about craftsmanship, community, and the relationships we build along the way.

And if there's one thing everyone can agree on, it's that a well-made bar of soap should leave your skin feeling clean, not leave you worrying about chemistry homework.

All of our current product labels were professionally printed in 2025.

As we prepare for future label updates, we're evaluating whether our ingredient declarations should continue listing sodium hydroxide or whether we should adopt the increasingly common practice of removing it from the finished ingredient list.

No decision has been made.

If we do make a change, it will not be because we've changed our ingredients or our soap-making process.

The soap itself would remain exactly the same.

The only change would be how we communicate the soap-making process on our labels.

No matter which labeling approach we choose in the future:

• Our soap recipe will remain the same.
• Our olive oil will remain the same.
• Our commitment to quality will remain the same.
• Our commitment to transparency will remain the same.
• Our dedication to traditional soap-making methods will remain the same.

Only the wording on the ingredient declaration may change.

Whether we continue listing lye or decide to remove it from future labels, one thing will never change:

Our commitment to honesty.

We believe customers deserve clear information about what they're buying.

We believe transparency builds trust.

We believe education is better than fear.

And we believe our customers are smart enough to make informed decisions when they're given accurate information.

That's why we're sharing this conversation openly.

We're genuinely interested in hearing your thoughts.

When you look at an ingredient label, do you prefer to see every material involved in making the product, or only the ingredients that remain in the finished product?

Would you prefer that we continue listing sodium hydroxide (lye) on our ingredient labels for complete transparency?

Or would you prefer that we remove it from future labels since no active lye remains in the finished soap?

There isn't necessarily a right or wrong answer, and we're genuinely interested in hearing your perspective.

Feel free to leave a comment, send us a message, or reach out directly.

Your feedback helps shape the future of Arsai Soap, and we're grateful to have such thoughtful customers as part of our community.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about how our soap is made and why we're having this conversation.

Whether lye remains on our labels or not, our goal remains the same: to create honest, high-quality, traditionally crafted olive oil soaps that you can feel confident using and sharing with your family.

And regardless of where this conversation leads, we promise we're still spending far more time making soap than debating soap labels.

Thank you for trusting Arsai Soap.

💚  The Arsai Soap Team