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French to English translations [PRO] Science - Cosmetics, Beauty
French term or phrase:Acide de soude
I am not sure of the correct translation. It is in a context of an artisan soap brand that only use natural (vegetal) products. Context: Je mélange les huiles avec de l'acide de soude. Ça crée la pâte à savon que je vais verser dans 2 gros moules.
Nina, if the soap maker has said that the products are almost all 'végétal' (as you mentioned in Charles's reference comment), I'm wondering if this could mean that they are 'vegan' (no animal fats or other animal products) rather than simply 'natural'. I have come across both 'végétal' and 'végétalien' in French in the sense of 'vegan'.
As far as I can tell, on both sides of the Atlantic lye can denote any caustic solution derived from leaching, and chemically it means either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. Merriam-Webster says it can be either; so does Collins. It is clearly used in American English, as Sheri says, to mean sodium hydroxide, which is commonly called caustic soda in British English, though I have to say that "caustic soda" is in Merriam-Webster and is not marked as British.
Oxford says that lye is "a strongly alkaline solution, especially of potassium hydroxide". Potassium hydroxide (or potash, though this term can also mean potassium carbonate) is used in soap making; I gather it produces a more liquid soap. I don't think it should be used here, because acide de soude surely can't be potash (potasse in French).
Hi, Tony! I think this is an old custom here, too. An old one of course. Maybe still in use in remote places. So potash it is. I'm reading it can be used but carefully since it is, well... caustic, too:)
The big old traditional 'inglenook' fireplaces often have a sort of 'niche' where the white wood ash (potash) would be collected for use in making soap using e.g. goose grease; just as candles would be made from tallow (suet). "Waste not, want not!" as the saying goes.
Natural soap cannot be really natural, although authentic Aleppo soap... is "more" natural: just check this interesting link about Aleppo soap and the history of soap and washing in general, here: http://www.historische-aleppo-seife.de/engl_story.html
Well done to the more expert chemists. It still seems odd the FR uses "acide de soude" but hey, nothing new there. And thanks to the googling, I'm thinking soap-making might be fun!
My mother-in-law makes soap from leftover cooking oil (has done for years) and she uses caustic soda. It's normal practice. Her soap is excellent, by the way; better than any commercial stain remover we've ever found. I co-translated a book about natural soapmaking fairly recently (Sarah Harper, The Natural and Handmade Soap Book). Here is the introductory paragraph to the "Ingredients" section:
"The basic components of handmade soap are the oils, sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and a liquid. Using these items, you can make a very simple bar of soap. However there are a plethora of essential oils, fragrances, colours, exfoliants and botanicals available that you can add to enhance and personalize your soap"
It's arguable how "natural" this is, but home industries traditionally used kelp to produce sodium carbonate and mixed this with home-produced slaked lime to give caustic soda.
http://www.historiography-project.com/…renzsoap.php The most widely used method for the production of soap involves a ... This is not to be confused with soda ash (sodium carbonate) or ***acid soda*** (baking soda, i.e. ...
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Answers
28 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +6
caustic soda / sodium hydroxide
Explanation: NaOH + oil is a standard recipe for soap.
DLyons Ireland Local time: 08:40 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thank you very much, DLyons!
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you very much, DLyons!
(to my disappointment, it's impossible to make soap otherwise:) )