Melting Silk

[Carrie]

So...Does anyone really know?

Does the silk melt from the heat of the lye water mixture or does the lye actually break it down chemically?

My bet is on the chemical reaction.

Sorry, editing to say this should have been posted in the soap section.

[eugenia]

My vote is for chemical.

e

[Scented]

Wouldn't the chemical reaction cause the heat? I know if I just put some lye in my water and don't stir, nothing happens though, so I would say chemical too.

[Carrie]

I keep seeing people post that the heat melts the lye. I think the chemical reaction heats the water but the lye itself is breaking down the silk and dissolving it, not the heat. The heat is a by product of the chemical reactions of lye and water and/or lye and silk.

[Meridith]

I think the lye breaks it down, but I do think the heat helps this process. For example, I've noticed that if I don't put my silk in my lye water when it is still really hot, it won't break down/dissolve and will get wound around my SB and whisk when I'm stirring the solution. If I put it in the lye solution immediately, it will dissolve and I don't have any problems with it getting wound around the SB or whisk.

[CareBear]

The lye breaks the bonds in the silk proteins (denaturing the protein). The heat definately speeds things along, as does agitation.