We go through a lot of hand soap. A lot. From the diaper changes to the “mom come wipe me”s, there is much hand washing in our house.
Ever the DIYer, I’ve been making foaming hand soap for years, and we still use it daily. The only downside of foaming hand soap is that you need a special foaming pump and these eventually wear out (though this one has been going strong for over a year at our house).
Liquid Hand Soap…
I got enough questions about if this would work as a liquid hand soap that I decided to create a recipe specifically for liquid hand soap. This uses the same idea as my homemade laundry detergent of grating a natural bar soap and melting in water to form a natural gel.
This is not only cost effective (a $3 to $4 bar of premium natural soap will make up to a gallon of soap), but simple and more natural than regular soap.
Is it Antibacterial?
As I mentioned before, I avoid antibacterial handsoaps and other products because of their potential to create resistant bacteria and microbiome changes. Plain soap and water have proven as effective as antibacterial soaps without the risk (source) and this natural version is a simple and cost effective natural soap.
What You’ll Need
- A natural bar soap of choice. Homemade bar soaps usually work well and my other favorites are Dr. Bronners, african black soap, and Kombucha soap (available here).
- Distilled or filtered water
- A dispenser: Reuse an old soap dispenser, use a glass one or metal one, or make one out of a mason jar by drilling a hole in the top and hot gluing on the top of a soap pump dispenser.
What You Need:
- 1 ounce of finely grated bar soap (about 1/4 of a bar of soap) I used this one
- 1 quart of water
- Optional: Essential Oils of your preference
What to Do:
- Place the bar soap and water into a small saucepan.
- Turn on medium heat and stir constantly until soap has dissolved into the water.
- Let cool completely and pour into the container you plan to use.
- It will take about 24 hours to completely “gel” but it will not be quite as thick as regular hand soap. You can add more grated bar soap to create a thicker soap but it will be more difficult to pump and will not get hands any more clean, so I stick with this.
- After 24 hours, shake well to make sure it has gelled completely and use as normal.
What type of hand soap do you use? Ever made your own?
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Great article/recipe! I made my first batch of body wash from Dove bar soap last month, and I am planning to make a hand soap next. I used Dove soap because that’s what I had on hand, but I will be using Dr. Bronner’s to make hand soap and body wash next. With the Dove, it cost me $1.50 to make 80 ounces (compared to $4 for 24 ounces of the store-bought stuff). Very eye opening experience!
What’s the difference between the hand soap and the body wash?
What I do is use the remnants of a bar of soap that’s practically a sliver and break it into smaller pieces and fill the bottle with lukewarm water to help dissolve the soap.
Shake before use.
I reuse the Bed, Bath and Beyond soap foam dispenser, save money on both ends.
ive tried so many different bar soaps and it keeps coming out like a slimy snot. I’ve even tried glycerin and salt with no luck. The only one I found that doesn’t is Dove, but I hate using it cus of the SLS. I now use a
foamer and Castile soap and water.
This is what I use, too! I fill a foaming soap dispenser about 10% full of Dr Bronners liquid Castile soap, them fill the rest with water. It may separate a little, but a gentle shake is all it takes to mix it up again. Super easy and cheap!!
I love this too!
try blending it in a food processor or mixer
i kept a 56 fl oz hand soap bottle from equate to add my own home made hand soaps. Does anyone know how many ounces of liquid and for hand soap recipe with a bar, that I would need to use? Thanks.
Just wondering… why use bar soap instead of just using liquid. Im so lazy about grating and heating the bar soap =)
Heating the grated bar soap gives a gelled, thicker consistency.
Mine didnt get gelled… 🙁 what am i doing wrong? I didnt boil it, just heated it enough to disolve.
Thanks for sharing this! Buying natural liquid hand soap can get surprisingly expensive. This sounds like a great way to cut costs. I bet you could also add essential oils to give it a nice scent.
I guess there’s no bypassing the plastic pump?
I use a empty water bottle with a squrit cap. Works great
You can get pump lids for mason jars now – they would work great for this soap!
I love this! Thank you so much for posting, it is the best! I added few drops of Orange Essential Oil and it smells and works amazing. It does separate a tiny bit, but I give it a good shake before using. Thank you for all of your amazing wellness recipes!
Katie,
I was JUST wishing you had a liquid soap recipe. Thanks for reading my mind!! ;0) Just curious why you don’t use glycerine? I have seen some with that. Is it possible to add a bit of Shea Butter? if so how? THANK YOU
I bet you could add shea butter, although I am not sure if it would separate or not. I’d just add along with the soap and stir until all is dissolved. Let me know how it works out if you try it!
Great Recipe. Thank you so much for posting.
Will this clog the soap dispenser like the liquid Dr. Bronners? Love your site!
I find that it does not!
I made this but it clogs my soap dispenser even with me diluting it with more water. Anyone else experiencing this problem?
Yes. Ive diluted and diluted and it still gels as a big lump unusable.
You cannot dilute it after it sets up. Use less bar soap next time you make it.
thought to add Skin So Soft to thin it out. I use to use it for mosquitoes repellent. So I had about 1/4 cup left over. I poured it in with my bar soap. I liquefied it. Next morning totally solid! I”m not one to give up! I’m going to get another bottle and try it again with the same soap. My hands are far more softer and mosquitoes don’t bother my hands ( Pet peeve of mind).
I use a foaming hand pump glass bottle dispenser bought at the container store USA-the castile or handmade hand soap doesn’t clog this way – be sure to dilute properly.
Try adding a teaspoon of vinegar if it’s too thick to come out of dispenser.