Liquid Hand Soap Recipe

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 add the essential oils if using. 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?

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

110 responses to “Liquid Hand Soap Recipe”

Kristy

May 20, 2015

Josie, have you got a response. I haven’t started to make the liquid hand soap but just bought a dr bonners lavendar soap bar…im scared its not going to come out well based on wbat has happened to you.

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Dora

May 14, 2015

I love every thing i saw here. I will try it

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Josie Terrell

May 13, 2015

Help me!!! This is the second time I’ve tried to make this water + bar soap liquid soap recipe. My soap isn’t gelling at all. It’s just a liquid. So frustrating. Please tell me what I’m doing wrong.

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1. cathy bell
  
  October 8, 2017
  
  did you ever solve this problem? my soap turned out the same.
  
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Susan

April 16, 2015

I have collected many bars of soaps. I love soaps. Can I grate these and make liquid hand and body soap using the distiller water recipe. Will these give me the same effect as the original recipe.

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Dragana

April 9, 2015

My liquid soap turned out to be very slimy – we can hardly wash our hands as it runs away from the hand very quickly – especially with children. After you press the pump and take the soap into your palm, it stretches a lot and makes a lot of mess around the dispenser. What am I doing wrong?

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1. Monica
  
  May 30, 2015
  
  This happened with the batch I made a few months ago. I also hated the tacky feeling it left on my hands (although maybe that was the glycerine?) All we had to do was add some oil to jar and wa-la, much better! I can’t give you an exact amount, just add a few “glugs” at a time until you think the consistency is right. We ended up using a mixture of olive and avocado oils because it was what we had on hand in the kitchen, but any stable veggie based oil should do. Only thing to note is that adding the oil might cause the soap to go bad a bit quicker so I wouldn’t make more than about a 4-6mo supply and store in a dark/cool area.
  
  Reply
Corinne

March 19, 2015

Do you have a good recipe for a hand/body lotion that doesn’t contain coconut oil? I have eczema on my hands only, and it seems that the coconut oil makes it flair up. Is there a chance I have an intolerance, or allery to coconut oil?

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1. Wellness Mama
  
  March 19, 2015
  
  This recipe is great and the coconut oil is optional (as the recipe says, just use more shea butter where it calls for coconut oil): https://wellnessmama.com/23619/shea-butter-lotion-bar-stick/
  
  Reply
2. therese
  
  January 6, 2016
  
  I used to have eczema on my hands too. I gave up drinking cows milk and it went away.
  
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Maria

March 17, 2015

Can you tell me how this soap is disinfecting and killing bacteria on my hands, couse I don’t see an ingredient which could do that?

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1. Darla
  
  March 21, 2015
  
  You are not supposed to disinfect your hands, you will kill your normal flora which kills bad bacteria!
  
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2. jill schaible
  
  July 27, 2015
  
  ALL soap will kill bacteria. Soap and water is still the best thing for washing hands. Antibacterial wipes and gels AND soaps will kill both good and bad bacteria. Our world is over-sanitized, which is partly why we have so much spread of disease. Our bodies don’t have enough good bacteria to fight back.
  
  Reply
  1. Ginger
    
    February 21, 2016
    
    I agree 100% Jill. I am a nurse, and when I was in nursing school, we never had antibacterial gels or soaps. We killed germs (bad) with regular soap and water and LOTS of friction. It’s the friction that does the trick.
    
    Reply
3. Jayne
  
  January 5, 2016
  
  I remember seeing a TV program where they tested antibacterial soap and plain soap and there was NO DIFFERENCE to the level of bacteria left on your hands – surgeons have just ‘scrubbed up’ using plain soap for years before performing operations 😉
  
  However, the test between soap and just plain water did make a difference as it appears the bacteria are just distributed over the hands rather than being washed off…
  
  Reply
4. Noweigh
  
  August 24, 2016
  
  Um..the soap?
  The soap is the ingredient that gets the germs off your hands
  
  Reply
Ela

March 16, 2015

Can I use a mixture of 3 tablespoons castor oil + 1 tablespoon olive oil + 1 tablespoon coconut oil? Is it going to be the same effect as with jojoba oil?

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Darla

March 11, 2015

Ok, so boil first let cool, add soap and heat again until soap dissolves? Sorry, mommy brain here 🙂

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1. Katie – Wellness Mama
  
  March 13, 2015
  
  You can just heat with the grated soap until it dissolves
  
  Reply
Darla

March 9, 2015

I made this yesterday but just used water from tap. Should I have boiled it first? Do I need to throw out what I made? I used cucumber and calendula soap from the soap works and it is a nice consistency! Made the powdered laundry detergent too, and it is even effective on cloth diapers. Love it!!!

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1. Wellness Mama
  
  March 9, 2015
  
  The reason to boil the water is just to kill anything in the water so that it does not spoil. It will work fine, it just may not last as long as it otherwise would.
  
  Reply
Liza Smith

March 1, 2015

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!

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1. Holly A.
  
  January 31, 2016
  
  What’s the difference between the hand soap and the body wash?
  
  Reply
lettie

March 1, 2015

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.

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Shelley

February 27, 2015

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.

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1. Cindy
  
  March 1, 2015
  
  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!!
  
  Reply
  1. Mindi Crawford
    
    October 29, 2015
    
    I love this too!
    
    Reply
  2. robin
    
    September 19, 2016
    
    try blending it in a food processor or mixer
    
    Reply
  3. robin
    
    September 19, 2016
    
    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.
    
    Reply
Gaye

February 26, 2015

Just wondering… why use bar soap instead of just using liquid. Im so lazy about grating and heating the bar soap =)

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1. Wellness Mama
  
  March 1, 2015
  
  Heating the grated bar soap gives a gelled, thicker consistency.
  
  Reply
  1. Linn
    
    October 8, 2019
    
    Mine didnt get gelled… 🙁 what am i doing wrong? I didnt boil it, just heated it enough to disolve.
    
    Reply
Stephanie

February 26, 2015

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.

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Catherine

February 26, 2015

I guess there’s no bypassing the plastic pump?

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1. cindy
  
  April 26, 2015
  
  I use a empty water bottle with a squrit cap. Works great
  
  Reply
2. Marcy
  
  June 5, 2015
  
  You can get pump lids for mason jars now – they would work great for this soap!
  
  Reply
Maria

February 25, 2015

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!

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Kenda

February 25, 2015

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

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1. Wellness Mama
  
  February 25, 2015
  
  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!
  
  Reply
Jason

February 25, 2015

Great Recipe. Thank you so much for posting.

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Kelli

February 25, 2015

Will this clog the soap dispenser like the liquid Dr. Bronners? Love your site!

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1. Wellness Mama
  
  February 25, 2015
  
  I find that it does not!
  
  Reply
2. Andie
  
  April 7, 2015
  
  I made this but it clogs my soap dispenser even with me diluting it with more water. Anyone else experiencing this problem?
  
  Reply
  1. Caren
    
    December 20, 2015
    
    Yes. Ive diluted and diluted and it still gels as a big lump unusable.
    
    Reply
    1. Amy
      
      December 20, 2015
      
      You cannot dilute it after it sets up. Use less bar soap next time you make it.
      
      Reply
    2. Renee
      
      August 25, 2016
      
      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).
      
      Reply
  2. Rebekah Baharestan
    
    December 20, 2015
    
    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.
    
    Reply
  3. Amy
    
    December 21, 2015
    
    Try adding a teaspoon of vinegar if it’s too thick to come out of dispenser.
    
    Reply