Make Your Own Foaming Hand Soap

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Foaming hand soap is super easy to make at home, and swapping out harsh commercial soaps for a simple DIY option made with just a few natural ingredients is easy on the body and on the budget.

We’ve been making our own foaming hand soap for several years. Free from harmful fragrances, parabens, sulfates, and triclosan, this soap is an easy way to reduce exposure to harmful chemicals on a daily basis.And at around a $1 per bottle (or less), it’s a healthy swap that actually saves you money!

 
 

What You’ll Need to Make DIY Foaming Hand Soap

Castile Soap

Castile soap is a natural soap made from fatty oils from plants. Olive oil, coconut oil, nad hemp oil are the oils most commonly used. Castile soap can be liquid or in a bar. We use Dr. Bronner’s unscented liquid castile soap for our foaming hand soap.

Vitamin E Oil

Because castile soap can be a little bit drying, I like to add a tiny bit of vitamin e oil to our hand soap. It makes all the difference. Alternatively, you could use a bit of olive oil or avocado oil, though I personally prefer the vitamin e. We use Jason’s brand.

Essential Oils

You can add scent to your hand soap with natural aromatic essential oils. Many essential oils also have properties that are beneficial for the skin, so they bring and added bonus to the hand soap. With three young kids in the house, we go through a lot of hand soap, so I regularly refill our soap containers and have fun changing out the aroma with the seasons. Lavender in summer. Lemon and clove in fall. Pine in winter. Patchouli whenever I need a little grounding amidst the chaos, which, let’s be honest, is always. This addition is optional, but it’s the most fun part.

Water

We go through soap pretty quickly around here, so I just use water from the sink, which is well water. But if you won’t be refilling your soap every few weeks, consider boiling the water before making the soap or using distilled water. Just to keep your soap as fresh as 

Foaming Soap Pump

You’ll need a foaming soap pump. They’re easy enough to find online or in stores. We use these and have been very happy with the consistency of the foam and with the durability of the bottle. We’ve filled them over and over and over again.

You can get fancy if you want, with something like this. Or, if you have commercial foaming soap lying around, just re-use that bottle when you’re ready to switch to DIY. 

Need Supplies? You can grab them here:

 
 

How to Make Foaming Hand Soap

I make my foaming hand soap with a 1:2 ratio of castile soap and water. This is the ratio I prefer because I like the consistency and texture when I use a bit more castile soap that is actually necessary. You can make this foaming soap with much less castile soap if you’d like to stretch your dollars a little farther. It could be reduced to as low as a 1:6 ratio of soap and water.

Ingredients

  • 3 oz liquid castile soap

  • 1 tsp vitamin e oil (optional)

  • 10-15 drops essential oil (optional)

  • 6 oz water (distilled or boiled if you don’t go through soap quickly)

  • 1 foaming soap pump

Directions

  1. Combine liquid castile soap, vitamin e oil, and essential oils in a foaming soap bottle.

  2. Add the water, pouring slowly so it doesn’t cause the soap to bubble. Be sure to leave enough head space at the top of the bottle for the pump insert. If using boiled water, allow the water to cool a bit before.

Yield: 1 bottle foaming hand soap, 10 oz. 

Do you make your own hand soap or other personal care products? What are your favorites to DIY?

 
 
Natural WellnessJanine BurganDIY, Natural, Toxin-FreeComment