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Making your own foaming hand soap could not be an easier DIY recipe. It also is an incredibly effective way to save money! No longer do you need to buy expensive, fragrance filled liquid hand soap that is full of questionable ingredients. With this easy natural foaming hand soap recipe, you can whip up several hand soaps in a foaming dispenser in minutes with 3 simple ingredients-liquid castile soap, water and a few drops of essential oils!
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If you’re nervous about making your own skin care or cleaning products then this is the place to start. Making your own homemade foaming hand soap could not be easier! It takes less than 5 minutes! Foaming hand soap was one of the first DIYs I ever tried. I will say, I’ve been making this exact recipe for a very long time! The hardest part about this recipe is finding a foaming soap dispenser and now Amazon has made that easy!
This recipe contains all natural ingredients that are affordable and easy to find. Once you purchase castile soap, you’ll be able to make bottle after bottle of soap before needing more castile soap. Once you make this natural soap, you’ll never go back to buying conventional hand soap again!
So, before we get started I should talk a bit about why you should make your own hand soap. As usual, here is another product that is not good for you. Antibacterial soap is full of chemicals. Namely, triclosan…
The Dangers of Triclosan:
After constant use, our skin can become immune to the germ killing effects of triclosan. Plus, triclosan’s list of side effects are a mile long. Several that stand out are that it is a hormone disruptor and causes damage to liver function. It is also linked to allergies, eczema and asthma.
In a review article published in 2017 it was reported that triclosan has been associated with cancer development and decreased cardiovascular function in mice.
Studies have shown that antibacterial hand soaps are ineffective to viruses like the flu and colds.
Also, it’s been proven that antibacterial hand soaps leave behind strong bacterias such as MRSA.
There is also a theory that we are setting ourselves up for a mega virus that is evolving and becoming immune to antibacterial hand soap.
I say, ditch the chemicals and make your own hand soap! Wash thoroughly and often and practice smart methods of avoiding contact with germs.
You might be interested in my DIY Hand Sanitizer recipe! And if you’re feeling like a more in-depth hand soap, check out my DIY Liquid Hand Soap Recipe.
Make Your Own Foaming Hand Soap and Save $$$!
First, you should know that all hand soaps, face washes, body washes, shampoos etc. are filled with water. Water typically makes up over 50% of these cleansing products! If the information on triclosan doesn’t have you scratching your head, the water content of the expensive soaps you’ve bought surely will.
The thing is, we would never want to use a 100% soap ingredient because it would burn our skin. Soap must be diluted to be safe. So it seems logical to me that cleansers of any kind should be pretty cheap, right? Unfortunately that is not the case. Especially in the skin care world as well as in the fancy hand soap world!
And speaking of face cleansers, I love to the oil cleansing method and always recommend making DIY oil cleansers. They are fantastic for anti aging concerns to acne. If you’re still wanting to use soap, I have a Foaming Face Wash with Juniper Berry recipe that is super easy!
What’s the Difference Between a Gel Hand Soap and a Foaming Hand Soap?
The difference between a gel hand soap and a foaming hand soap is that they both contain around the same amount of soap but the gel soap must contain loads of unnatural ingredients in order to get the gel consistency. A foaming soap does not require extra ingredients to get a fluffy foam, you just need a certain soap dispenser. Foaming washes are not only just as effective as a gel hand soap, they are easier and cheaper for large companies to make and earn a larger profit.
That being said, buying foaming soap refills is a total rip off. Making your own could not be more easy or affordable and once you do it, you’ll kick yourself for not doing it sooner!
What Kind of Soap is Used in Foaming Hand Soap?
Natural Castile Soap is the best option for making foaming hand soap.
Castile soap is made from plant oils rather than animal fats. It was originally made from olive oil but can also be made from hemp oil, almond oil, avocado oil, coconut oil etc.
Castile soap’s name comes from the region it originated in, Castile, Spain.
Castile soap is biodegradable, highly concentrated and a thorough cleanser. It must be diluted quite a bit before use which makes the $15 32 ounce bottle of Dr. Bronner’s extremely affordable.
Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap is my favorite to use due to it’s many different scents it comes in. They make lavender, peppermint, citrus, rose, eucalyptus, tea tree and almond. It also come in unscented and they offer a gentler version for babies and people that have sensitive skin. Dr. Bronners castile soap scores an A on EWG’s Guide to Healthy Living.
You can find Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap literally everywhere. Target, Walmart, Walgreens etc. all carry it. It has become very easy to find.
Technically you don’t have to use castile soap-you can use any soap you have. Body wash, dish soap, regular hand soap all work. However, I don’t recommend this and prefer castile soap but I wanted you to know it does work if you’re out of castile soap and in a pinch.
What You’ll Need to Make DIY Foaming Hand Soap:
- Foaming soap container
- Funnel
- Castile Soap
- Distilled water
- Essential Oils (optional)
- Carrier Oils (optional)
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DIY Foaming Hand Soap
Yield: 10 ounces Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 5 minutes
Learn how to make this simple, foaming hand soap for every sink in your house. Not only will you save on money, you will save your skin absorbing toxic ingredients as well! This soap makes seconds to make and you can customize the scent easily!
Materials
- 2 TBSP. Castile Soap
- 20 drops of Essential Oils *optional
- Top off with distilled water
- 1 tsp. carrier oil like olive oil *optional
Tools
- Foaming Hand Soap Dispenser
- Funnel
Instructions
- First, add castile soap to your foaming hand soap dispenser.
- Next add a carrier oil if needed and essential oils.
- Top off with distilled water.
- Replace lid and shake ingredients.
Notes
- This recipe is based on a 10 ounce foaming bottle. Clearly the amount of soap does not have to be exact. This is a very forgiving DIY which is nice because it's very likely a DIY you'll keep in your back pocket thanks to it being so easy and saving so much money!
- You may need to add a carrier oil such as olive oil, fractionated coconut oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil etc. to your soap dispenser if you are having trouble with the mobility of the pump. Vegetable glycerin is also an option.
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Essential Oil Options:
Essential oils are a great addition to your diy foaming hand soap recipe. Because of their powerful antibacterial properties, they act as a natural preservative in this recipe.
I love to add Bergamot and Lemon to my foaming hand wash. Bergamot is the smell of Earl Grey Tea. Lemon compliments the smell so well. During cold and flu season, I typically add Germ Fighter, Shield Blend or my own DIY Thieves Blend recipe. Tea tree is probably the most potent anti bacterial, antiviral, antimicrobial and anti fungal essential oil which makes it a great choice for your homemade hand soap. It pairs really well with lavender and/or lemon.
Experiment with different essential oil blends to find your favorite scent!
You could also just get Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap in any smell you like and leave out the essential oils!
I just bought the Almond scented Dr. Bronner’s castile soap for my foaming hand soap and it smells amazing with lemon essential oil!
Up your hand washing game with this simple recipe for making your own foaming soap! And please share your scent combos in the comments below! I’ve also used Dr. Bronner’s Rose scented Castile soap and add lavender essential oil!
xx, Jenni
P.S. I found fun mason jar foaming dispensers that are so cute and would make a great gift for friends and family!
PIN IT!!!
