DIY: How to Make Foaming Hand Soap

In a previous article entitled Toxic House, I wrote about the harmful chemicals that are lurking in our homes. My family has been using safer, eco-friendlier products since 2012. To save money this past year, I started to make some of my own products. Here is a very easy recipe for foaming hand soap!

Here’s what you need:

• Soap Dispenser with Foaming Pump 250 mL/8.5 oz
• Castile soap: 2 tablespoons
• Vegetable glycerin or olive oil: 3 generous splashes (optional)
• Essential oils: 5 drops (optional)
• Water

Here’s where you get:

• Soap Dispenser with Foaming Pump 250 mL/8.5 oz: Amazon
• Castile soap: Thrive Market
• Vegetable glycerin or olive oil: Thrive Market
• Essential oils: Email me at hello@herholistichealing.com for the highest quality oils!
• Water: Use filtered water if desired

I used to buy body care and supplements on Amazon, but I don’t do that anymore because I can’t be sure that I am getting what I am paying for. I ended up in the hospital with a bad allergic reaction and I think it was due to tainted products that I bought on Amazon.

Here’s what you do: 

Pour the castile soap, vegetable glycerin and essential oils into your dispenser. Fill the rest of the bottle with water, but do not fill it to the top because you need room for the pump. Shake the ingredients. You’re done!

The vegetable glycerin is optional, but I have found that the soap dries out my skin without it. You can use olive oil, but if you do, be aware that the soap dispenser will have a very noticeable yellow substance floating around inside of it. Also, if you use a plastic soap dispenser with essential oils, please note that the essential oils might degrade the plastic over time. If you are using essential oils for your soap, I recommend ylang ylang or geranium. Ylang ylang contains beta-caryophyllene which is soothing for the skin and geranium contains citronellol which is also good for the skin. Many people also love lavender which contains linalyl acetate and linalool. These chemical compounds provide a calming aroma.

Do you make your own hand soap? What ingredients do you use?

This post was originally published on December 13, 2018 and updated on September 12, 2019.