On Wed, 04 Jan 2006 15:15:41 -0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

Lanolin won't truly be a grease unless your sheep have been rolling in
ashes (and if they're loose fleeces, they may well have been). Things
feel "greasy" (as opposed to merely fatty) because they have had some
saponification going on. Don't stick your hands in caustic soda, but
washing soda or potash lyes have their distinctive greasy feeling
because the oils in your skin are getting saponified.

More importantly your skin proteins are being hydrolysed. Because caustics
do not denature protein, they penetrate flesh more deeply than the strong
mineral acids (I excluse HF because it is technically a weak acid). 0.88
ammonia is another surprisingly nasty customer. Alcoholic solutions of
sodium and potassium hydroxides go for flesh in a *big* way. Above all
avoid getting the stuff in your eyes, it will penetrate to the retina and
permanently damage it.

John Schmitt

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