Glossary
Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)
A strongly alkaline chemical, also called lye or caustic soda, used in drain cleaners, soap making, food processing, and lye-based hair relaxers. It can cause severe burns to the skin, eyes, and airways.
Sodium hydroxide (chemical formula NaOH) is one of the most widely used industrial chemicals. It goes by several names: NIOSH lists caustic soda, lye, soda lye, and sodium hydrate as synonyms. It is used to make soap, paper, and textiles, to process some foods, in drain and oven cleaners, and in "lye" hair relaxers that chemically straighten curly hair.
It is highly corrosive. NIOSH lists health hazards from sodium hydroxide that include irritation and burns of the eyes and skin, irritation of mucous membranes, pneumonitis, and temporary hair loss, and sets a recommended exposure limit ceiling of 2 mg per cubic meter of air. Swallowing products that contain it can cause severe burns to the mouth, throat, and stomach, which is why these products carry poison warnings and child-resistant packaging.
Sodium hydroxide appears in legal claims in several ways:
- Chemical burn injuries from drain cleaners, relaxers, or industrial exposure, which are product liability or workplace claims.
- Hair relaxers. Lye relaxers use sodium hydroxide, and "no-lye" versions use other alkaline chemicals. The current wave of hair relaxer lawsuits focuses on claims that relaxer products increased the risk of uterine and other cancers, a separate allegation from chemical burns.
- Packaging and warnings, such as containers that leak or labels that fail to warn adequately.
See our hair relaxer cancer lawsuit page and the pressure cooker burn lawsuit page for another kind of consumer burn claim. For first aid after exposure, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. This page is general information, not medical advice.
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Sources.
Statutes, court rules, appellate opinions, and bar publications we relied on. See our editorial standards.