sodium hydroxide
what it is
Also known as lye or caustic soda — INCI name Sodium Hydroxide. On its own it is corrosive, and seeing it on a skincare label reasonably raises eyebrows. Here is the chemistry, plainly.
why we use it
Carbomer, our gelling polymer, is acidic and only unfolds into a gel when neutralised. Sodium hydroxide does that neutralising. The acid-base reaction consumes it: what remains afterwards is neutralised polymer and water, not lye. It also lets us set the finished pH exactly where we want it.
where you'll find it
In cloud at 0.15% — and that figure describes what goes into the batch, not what remains. At cloud's final pH of about 5.5, mildly acidic like the surface of healthy skin, none of it survives as free sodium hydroxide.
evidence
Acid-base neutralisation is verifiable with a pH meter, and we verify it on every batch. Few claims in skincare are this directly checkable.
safety
Ingredient lists are legally required to show what went into the formula, not what a reaction leaves behind — which is exactly why this line alarms people, and why we explain it rather than hoping nobody reads this far. The finished product contains no free caustic, and its pH sits in skin's own range.