I started making my own foaming hand soap pretty early in my switch to a more natural lifestyle. With concerns over antibacterial ingredients in many hand soaps and potty-training little ones who found the need to wash their hands/arms/the counter with soap a thousand times a day, I needed a healthy and frugal option.

Thankfully, there is a natural, homemade and incredibly simple option that works just as well and doesn’t cost $3.59 a bottle like the foaming versions at the store.

The recipe itself is literally so simple that I now have my six year old refill the bottles and it takes just seconds to make. I keep the few simple ingredients on hand and we never have to buy hand soap or worry about running out…Surprisingly, this foaming version also makes a decent shaving cream in the shower…

Before you begin, you’ll need a foaming hand soap container. I originally ordered this pretty but pricey foam dispenser online before I realized that there was a much more frugal and inexpensive option: Buy a bottle of foaming hand soap, pour it out if it isn’t natural, and reuse after the soap is used up.

4.11 from 67 votes

DIY Foaming Hand Soap Recipe

This easy foaming hand soap contains only water, organic liquid castile soap, a moisturizing oil, and optional essential oils for a simple and frugal homemade soap.

Prep Time5

Author: Katie Wells

Materials

12 oz water (distilled or boiled is best if not being used within a few weeks)
2 TBSP castile soap
½ tsp olive oil (or almond oil)
essential oil (optional)

Instructions

Fill the soap dispenser with water to within about 1 inch of the top.
Add at least 2 tablespoons of liquid castile soap to the water mixture. NOTE: do not add the soap first or it will create bubbles when the water is added.
Add the oil and any essential oils if you are using them.
Close and lightly swish to mix.
Use as you would any regular foaming soap.

Notes

You will need a foaming soap dispenser for this soap. Either buy one online or reuse the bottle from a store-bought foaming soap.

Do you make your own soap already? If not… will you start now? Share below!

This easy foaming hand soap contains only water, organic liquid castile soap, a moisturizing oil and optional essential oils for a simple and frugal homemade soap.

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

290 responses to “DIY Foaming Hand Soap”

Jenny

September 22, 2015

I love this recipe and have used it for years. Thank you!!! What are you ideas for helping with the separation of water, oils, and soap in the foaming dispenser? It is unsightly and makes my family not want to use my homemade soap 🙁

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Jodi

September 2, 2015

I just bought a Tom of foamer bottles on clearance at Elements Bath and Body… I googled DIYs stored in foamer bottles to see what options there are…. And WellnessMama was one of the first links!! Katie, your blog pops up 9 out of 10 times when I am looking for info! Thank you so much for all your hard work and for sharing your knowledge! I read your blog regularly and it’s so cool to have it randomly pop up when I ask a question.

You are fantastic!!

Jodi

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Laurie Robert

July 15, 2015

Has anyone found a foaming dispenser where the pump doesn’t get stuck in the down position? We use empty Method foaming bottles and have ready many reviews of pumps that can be found online, where the pump eventually gets stuck. TIY!

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Yvonne

July 8, 2015

Lovely! Tried it this afternoon, and will never buy that horrid smelling store bought chemical-perfume stuff again! 😉

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Laura

June 28, 2015

I bought foaming hand soap at the dollar store, dumped out the soap, and used the bottle to make this soap. Worked great and I love the recipe.

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Amy

May 5, 2015

It seems like almond oil is the go to oil for DIYers when it comes to face & hand wash… Is there a reason for this?

Reply
1. Jodi
  
  September 2, 2015
  
  Almond oil is very moisturizing. It’s used in skin care DIYs bc of its anti-aging properties. It has a great consistency and is very neutral. Also easy to find. I think olive oil is a great choice too bc ts uber moisturizing. It’s great for a hand soap you keep by the kitchen sink. I wash my hands so much when cooking or cleaning in the kitchen that having a super moisturizing hand soap right there is going to be used.
  
  Reply
Brenda

April 20, 2015

A quick question: is there a quality difference for the end product in using distilled versus boiled water for this (or other) diy recipes? Is there a certain amount of time it’s necessary to boil the water to remove impurities or just bring it to a full boil? I like to make several bottles of foaming hand soap in advance and have them ready to go when I need them, so they are stored for a while. Thanks so much for all the wonderful ideas & resources you have on your site!!

Reply
1. Wellness Mama
  
  April 20, 2015
  
  I feel like if I can get distilled and it is cheap, it’s a better option, and generally will last longer.
  
  Reply
Kristina S.

April 8, 2015

I made this a few days ago and it works perfectly. I reused a Clean Well soap pump I got from Whole Foods and it really foams up the soap well. I used vitamin E oil based on readers’ comments about olive oil making it yellow (due to a nut allergy in my family I couldn’t use almond). Also I wanted to make it a bit more antibacterial so I used Dr. Bronners Tea Tree and added lavender essential oil. At first my husband said it sort of disappeared so I added more Dr. Brunners to make it more emmolient and now it’s perfect. I noticed that something white settles at the bottom (maybe the vitamin E?) so I just swirl it a bit. Love this recipe; I’ll be making this from now on! Thank you Katie for all you do for this new mama 🙂

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Jennifer V.

March 25, 2015

Any recommendations of what essential oils to use and what not to use?
Thanks!

Jennifer V.

Reply
1. Jodi
  
  September 2, 2015
  
  For hands, I like an antibacterial blend that I make…. Either a “thieves” blend with clove, cinnamon bark, lemon, eucalyptus and Rosemary or a new blend I’ve been using which is tea tree, eucalyptus and lemon grass. They both smell really good in Dr Brommers rose, citrus and eucalyptus soap. I also do a rose oil and clove oil mix with almond oil and the plain Dr Brommers. Geranium in the Rose scented Castile soap is awesome too. Lavender is great and seems to go with the plain soap or most of the scented ones.
  
  Reply
Sarah

March 24, 2015

Grape seed oil as a preservative: not sure about that. Grapefruit seed extract (GSE) is excellent as a natural preservative that we have used for over a year in my son’s cloth baby wipe solution recipe. GSE would even provide some antibacterial properties without the risk of antibacterial resistance that comes along with using the chemical antibacterials. It is a clear liquid and I use 1 drop per 8 oz. foaming dispenser.

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Brandyb

March 12, 2015

This is an excellent recipe!!!! I used the castile soap from MRH and Dr Bronners and they both worked GREAT, but I made the mistake of using a cheaper castile (that added ingredients to thicken the soap), and it was awful, watery and didn’t foam. As long as you stick to a GOOD castile, this is fantastic.
Thanks for the great recipe!

Reply
Retta

March 1, 2015

This is great! My husband is extremely particular about the sudsing of soap. He always complains about the more “natural” soaps/shampoos/detergents I’ve bought or made over the years. I used this recipe to refill a method foaming dispenser, and he didn’t even notice the change this time. We’ll be using this recipe for all if our hand soaps now. Thanks!

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Lori

February 28, 2015

Can Branch Basics be used for the soap? Also, so many posts and concerns about the plastics and essential oils, but I have never found where anyone mentions the fact that the soap dispensers and spray bottles, even though they may be class containers, use plastic tubes and pumps/sprayers. I am no expert by any means, but it seems to me that these would deteriorate much faster in that they are totally surrounded by the liquid than the bottles. And are they all BPA free? Any thoughts?

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Lila

February 23, 2015

Hi there,
I was wondering if you could use this recipe to make normal pump soap? If I don’t have the foaming pump would it still work ok with a regular pump (obviously without the foaming part).

Thanks so much, I enjoy your blog.
Li

Reply
1. Katie – Wellness Mama
  
  February 24, 2015
  
  It will, but I”m publishing my liquid soap recipe tomorrow 🙂
  
  Reply
  1. Lila
    
    February 25, 2015
    
    Awesome! I was thinking that maybe the foam pump recipe might be too watery for the regular pump – I will look for the new recipe for liquid hand soap!
    
    I’m just having trouble locating foam pumps so I thought I would ask!
    
    Thanks again for all you do – keeps us all inspired!!!
    
    Li
    
    Reply
Lucy

February 19, 2015

I find most everything I need from bulk apothecary and at really great prices.

Reply
Elaine

February 18, 2015

Does anyone know of an organic castille soap besides Dr. Bronners? I don’t want the hemp oil that is in Dr. Bronners. Thanks!

Reply
1. Linda
  
  February 18, 2015
  
  Why not?
  
  Reply
2. Evelyn
  
  August 1, 2015
  
  CVS ( I know…. but yes) has a store brand Castile soap with Peppermint oil and Shea, not hemp. It’s about $10 for 32 oz, but they usually have a sales of some sort on it… BOGO or 30% off or whatever.
  
  Reply
Ivche

February 10, 2015

Hi ,I was just wondering if i can use this soap to wash baby’s bottles ? Thanks a lot

Reply
1. Lucy
  
  February 19, 2015
  
  I don’t see why not, it’s soap and without the chemicals!
  
  Reply
Linda

January 28, 2015

Someone else asked if you can use grapeseed oil and didn’t receive a response. I would also like to know if grapeseed oil can be used. Thank you!

Reply
Donna

January 20, 2015

I’ve just recently made my own handsoap with water, jojoba oil and essential oils. I am using a foaming soap bottle, but it seems that it keeps separating. Is this normal?

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Jennifer

January 20, 2015

Hi Katie!
Thank you so much for all your hard work–I LOVE your blog!! Will you please tell me what size bottle this recipe is for? I scanned the comments and could not find an answer there. Also, do you use citrus essential oils in the plastic foaming bottles? Are they diluted enough so as not to leach chemicals from the plastic? Thank you for your time.

Reply

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