Why homemade liquid hand soap? Well, I have a little secret. Shhhh…. Don’t tell my mom, but I secretly hate washing my hands at her house. Don’t worry, I do wash my hands… I just hate how rough her soap feels on my skin. And I feel like no matter how hard I try, I can’t get it off my hands. Nothing against my mom, it’s just that I’ve come to love my homemade liquid hand soap so much that all commercial stuff seems “icky.”
But this homemade liquid hand soap? No “icky” whatsoever. It’s good. It’s gentle. Effective. Toxic-free. And doesn’t leave my hands feeling like they just got a chemical bath. Looks like another win for DIY toxic-free living.
Making your own liquid hand soap is awesome.
There are a lot of recipes online for handmade liquid hand soap. Some are very “hippie” oriented for those of us who love our essential oils and herbs. Others are for the frugal type who love making something for pennies. My homemade liquid hand soap is both non-toxic (aka: “hippie friendly”) and cheap. It’s also really, really easy.
In fact, it’s so easy that I’m giving you TWO recipes for the price of one. (Wait. What do you mean nobody is paying me to do this!?) The first recipe is more of an actual homemade liquid hand soap “recipe.” The second one is more of a “here’s what we’ve been doing for years because it’s so easy” tip.
UPDATE: I really recommend ONLY doing the second recipe here and using a foam dispenser (like this) for the easiest, best natural liquid hand soap ever. You can still try the first recipe if you want, but I promise the foaming soap will last you longer, get that lovely lather we all love, and is so easy you’ll maybe wet your pants. Maybe.
Ready?
Homemade liquid hand soap recipe #1
Ingredients:
Two 5 oz. bars of pure castile soap (Like this. I love to use the Baby Mild for my whole family, but there are lots of fun “flavors” out there).
1 gallon of filtered or distilled water
Essential Oils or Vanilla Extract (optional) (learn how to get my favorite essential oils at wholesale prices here.)
(Note: When using pure castile soap there’s no need for the glycerin that so many other recipes call for as castile soap has natural glycerin in it.)
Directions:
1. Grate your little soap bars until you have a nice giant pile of shredded soap.
2. Heat up your water in a very large pot. (I’d get it to a boil if you’re not using distilled water to kill any bad guys. Then turn the heat down until it’s no longer boiling… just hot).
3. Stir in the soap. Keep stirring until all the little flakes are dissolved. Depending on the size of the grater, this can take a few minutes or go pretty quickly.
4. Remove mixture off heat and let it sit for 12 – 24 hours. This mixture will thicken during this time. (Stir occasionally throughout the day, but don’t stress about it.)
3. Stir in your essential oils or vanilla extract, if using. Start small and put in enough until you get the right amount of “smell” for you.
(I personally don’t like smelly soap. I hate going to restaurants and washing my hands before sitting down to eat only to find that my hands wreak of some flavor that doesn’t “go” with dinner. I need clean hands, not perfume hands. /rant)
4. Pour mixture into containers. This will make quite a bit. I was able to fill three soap dispenser and five other fairly large storage containers.
Enjoy your toxic-free, frugal, and easy homemade liquid hand soap.
What’s that? Not easy enough for you? Well okay!
Homemade liquid hand soap recipe #2
(DO THIS RECIPE!!)
Ingredients:
Liquid castile soap (Like this…again, pick a “flavor” to suit your fancy)
Distilled or filtered water
Foaming dispenser (optional, but it’s the best, so just try it.)
Directions:
1. Fill soap dispenser with a small amount of liquid castile soap… roughly 1 Tbs (give or take depending on the size of dispenser and the “thickness” you enjoy).
2. Fill the remaining space with your water. Shake gently.
EVEN BETTER: Use a foaming dispenser to make this ‘homemade’ liquid hand soap even more amazing! (like this)
Yup. That’s it. The end.
Now, I’ll admit that this lazy version isn’t nearly as thick as most commercial hand soaps. In fact, one of my friends came over and commented on my “funny soap.” But honestly, it works. And it’s easy. And my husband hates all other soaps now (and he’s the most OCD hand washer I’ve ever met). And if you trust me and try the foaming dispenser, you’ll be in love. Pinky swear.
In fact, this handmade liquid hand soap is perfect for the lazy monster inside of me who sometimes gets so sick of making everything from scratch. (Shhh… don’t tell anyone that, either.)
Like this post? Then you might also like these:
-
Homemade mascara: All natural and eye friendly
-
DIY Homemade Body Wash: Oatmeal infused for a soothing touch.
-
All Natural Homemade Foundation Powder: For a happy face.
-
All Natural DIY Shampoo
SIGN UP FOR FREE UPDATES, OFFERS, & TIPS.
Plus I'll send you a free copy of "Your Simply Healthy Handbook." It's your #1 resource to make healthy living easy.Thank you for supporting this site with purchases made through links in this article.