That would apply when making soap from scratch using lye, which all soap is made with. It saponifies the fats. But since this is a melt and pour recipe, you won’t have to worry about that as the soap itself is already made. You’re just melting it down, and mixing it wither additional ingredients, pouring it in molds, and walah! Easy peezy soap.

As a melt and pour, the situation with using lye has already been taken care of for you. This is what is meant by this recipe. It isn’t that the soup is “lye-free”, it’s that you don’t have to handle any lye yourself when making it. I have made soap and mixing the lye with water is no big deal as long as you know how to do it – which of course is very specific. You have misunderstood what the meaning of the article is about. She hasn’t misled you in any way. There is a difference between “lye-free” and not having to handle the lye yourself.

She did mention this when explaining what melt and pour soap actually is.

All pour base soap contains lye.

“ DIY Shampoo Bar Without Lye”

Looks misleading to me.