Have you ever had a burn from wet wood ash?

I haven not been over for awhile, I pirate my brothers fb quite a bit.. and a resent "conversation " has us wondering how common the use of wood ash for personal hygiene is among people who ... are experienced with real life wood ash. Pertaining to wet wood ash... have you ever had a burn, from wet ash?

Our household has had to deal with minor wet ash burns, mostly from ash resting in the inside folds of the elbow, and sweat activated the potassium hydroxide reaction. Thankfully it has never been worse than mild poison lvy.
We where raised around wood fires, and grandmother's who made their own, lye and soap, so we grew up with the education that wood ash, makes lye, lye burns skin..

Now there is a trend (? ).. to brush ones teeth with wood ash, or to make face mask for cosmetic use..

Would you brush your teeth with wood ash?
Would you put wet wood ash on your skin?

It is so ... less common in most people's modern life to understand that wood ash can cause burns. It makes us wonder is this new... "use wood ash on your body trend" ..  just happening among those who have limited experience... we are dumbfounded,  and curious.. is it like the tide pods thing???

neat question.

I'm very sensitive to alkali on my skin, so I do get a reaction from wet woodash (but not dry for some reason).  

I've read that the lye made from water plus woodash is very strong and great for making soaps, so I think it makes sense to be respectful of it

Would you brush your teeth with wood ash?

I never considered it.  I have thought about using charcoal though, as I find I have a good affinity with the stuff.

Would you put wet wood ash on your skin?  

dry yes.  Wet, not so much.

r ranson wrote:neat question.

I'm very sensitive to alkali on my skin, so I do get a reaction from wet woodash (but not dry for some reason).  

I  know the answer to that, the water activates the formation of  the potassium hydroxide ... the same kind of reaction happens between dry Portland cement,  and wet

Thanks for starting this thread. Great question and thought provoking.

I know that the tread is using activated charcoal to brush teeth and other uses.

How does this differ from wood ash?  Does it not make the potassium hydroxide?  I am assuming that wetting the wood ash forms lye which is what is burning the skin?

Anne Miller wrote:Thanks for starting this thread. Great question and thought provoking.

I know that the tread is using activated charcoal to brush teeth and other uses.

How does this differ from wood ash?  Does it not make the potassium hydroxide?  I am assuming that wetting the wood ash forms lye which is what is burning the skin?

Yes, charcoal activated or otherwise.. are the chunks of black, partially combusted/not fully burned wood, mostly the gases have been driven out and burned (aka smoke)..  ash is the whitish/ gray  powder that does not typically burn up in home wood stoves and camp fires .

Yes, the ash portion makes potassium hydroxide = lye
I have seen small burns from this as my grandmother made soap,  I have had minor burns from ash getting on sweaty skin, and settling into the wrinkles, like on the inside of my elbow. .. it's a lot like getting poison ivy

Knowing this would you use wood ash to clean your teeth?

I live in the Rockies at 8500 ft.  I have heard that it takes ash from hard wood to make lye water for homemade lye soap.  I only have aspen and pine, I will have to buy oak or maple hardwood.  Maybe the kind of wood has a lot to do with the caustic properties of the ash.

Yes, charcoal, and two others: sea salt and baking soda, and H2O2 and soda- which whitens teeth - more than charcoal...retired dentist, blessings

Brie Robb wrote:Now there is a trend (? ).. to brush ones teeth with wood ash, or to make face mask for cosmetic use.

I haven't heard of this trend. Thank you for this thread -- If I do ever see something promoting it, I'll know better, thanks!

Have you seen or heard wood ash promoted for this kind of wet use?

Thanks for correcting my misspell.  I can no longer see the screen when posting so I have lots of misspelled words that spell check does not catch.

I have not used the activated charcoal for whitening teeth but it is the rage.  You can also buy it in a toothpaste form.

https://wellnessmama.com/3662/whiten-teeth-naturally/

When we first moved here and started using the woodstove in earnest I used to get quite sore and dry hands. I thought it was maybe from handling the ash, but now I'm not so sure, as I no longer have that problem. There may have been other environmental changes in moving 500 miles that affected us at the same time, or maybe we're just handling the ash less. I still fish the charcoal out of the (cool) ashes by hand though!

I’ve occasionally used charcoal as toothpaste, but am more likely to use fine salt. I wouldn’t put wet ash on my skin. I never have been burnt much but always wash my hands or any part that touched it.

The alkalinity and causticity might be a good thing for the teeth because teeth are alkaline. When they shift to acid for too long they begin to dissolve.

In the olden days, some kinds of ash would be used as seasoning or medicine—coltsfoot ash for instance. Mugwort ash also tastes salty. (See https://permies.com/p/820729)