If a prize were to be given to the “world’s greatest dad,” I know just the man to win.
Okay, so maybe I’m a tad bit biased, but my father would certainly be a top qualifier. While not perfect (I’m sure he’ll agree), he’s the kind of man that makes the word “father” a warm, cozy feeling of nostalgic memories.
Growing up, my mom worked the weekends at the local hospital which meant my dad was on mommy/daddy duty every Saturday and Sunday. He did his very best to provide me with the weekend adventures every young girl dreams of: trips to Home Depot and the dump yard. (Seriously, I enjoyed every moment of our weekend trips.) And he always made Saturday mornings extra special with Bisquick pancakes and syrup (we didn’t know about real food just yet).
One of my most vivid memories of our weekends together will always be hand-washing. Silly, right? But, it’s true.
My dad was all about hand-washing! In the early 90’s little bottles of on-the-go soap weren’t available, but that didn’t stop my dad. Hand-washing was a habit he intended to instill in me. Along with flossing and brushing my teeth (probably due to his large investment in my pearly whites). Braces are not cheap, folks!
I still have happy thoughts when I look at a bottle of yellow Dial soap. Nostalgia!
Life is different from when I was five. I’ve learned pancake syrup isn’t real (sorry!), but maple syrup is pure heaven. I’ve also discovered pancakes can still be enjoyed every Saturday, made from a delicious homemade recipe versus a yellow box. Of course, with a switch to homemade, I’ve also discovered that orange soap is far from “healthy” or enjoyable (desert-dry hands anyone?).
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not all about natural perfection. But when a natural alternative is as easy as mixing a few simple ingredients in a jar and calling it a day, I’m all over it!
Homemade liquid hand soap is one of the simplest natural recipes you can make. In fact, it really doesn’t even need a recipe, but I’ll give you one. Homemade hand soap is a bit different in consistency (watery) from the orange thick soap my dad regularly squirted on my hands, but it does the job just the same, if not better.
So, suds up the kids and share the hand-washing love. My dad will thank you!
How to Make Homemade Hand Soap Video
DIY Liquid Hand Soap
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup castile soap liquid
- 1/2 cup distilled water
- 1 TB vitamin E oil (optional)
- 1 TB sweet almond oil or olive oil or jojoba oil (optional)
- 15 drops tea tree essential oil optional
- 5-10 drops lavender essential oil optional
Instructions
- In a mason jar or recycled soap dispenser, add the water first (to prevent bubbles) then the liquid castile soap, followed by the oils. Shake the ingredients together.
- Shake the soap dispenser before using, then squirt a small amount on your hands as needed, rinsing with water.
Video
Notes
- Super Versatile: You can make cleaning and body products with the same soap.
- Inexpensive: A 32-ounce bottle of castile soap will cost $17. Yes, this is more expensive than a bottle of all-purpose cleaner, but it will last you for months! Castile soap is highly concentrated so a little bit goes a long way.
- Non-Toxic: Castile soap is made with easy to recognize, simple, non-toxic ingredients. This is why you can use it on your skin and the surfaces in your home.
The “where to buy” links provide you with information on the products I use to make this soap and many other DIYs.
Hi again
I truly appreciate that you took time to answer back.
I did make the soap today and the kids are enjoying using it. I didnt have tea tree oil so I put vanilla extract. What do you think of that. The soap came out fine, not too running nor thick. Perfect!
I’ve ordered castile soap and tea tree oil and peppermint so hopefully next time I will do it properly.
Really love your blog. The only blog that I actually read at the moment.just started so long way to go.
I’m a working mum, and sometimes I think of quitting in order to stay home prepare things for the kids and make more healthy food.
What will your advice be to a working mum who wants to live healthy and make healthy foods?
I am teacher by the way and like you know teacher do take their work with them home so a bit confused.
enjoy your day….
Hey Mona, Vanilla extract probably provides a wonderful scent to the soap. Tea tree is added for the antibacterial properties, but it isn’t 100% necessary to make the soap. When it comes to working and living a healthy lifestyle, I believe it’s important to prioritize. When we started on our journey I was a full-time stay-at-home mom, but now I work full-time (within our home) as a freelance food writer, photographer, and on the blog. It’s tough to “do it all” so I don’t. I priortize what I can make versus purchase pre-made. Here’s a bit more about this topic: https://livesimply.me/2015/03/20/homemade-vs-store-bought-5-important-questions-you-must-ask/.
Hi Kristin
I really like your website,although I haven’t had a deep look on it yet…work+home…but if I have some time livesimply is my favorite site 🙂
I’m trying to live healthy but it seems not affordable sometimes. any tips and advice.
I really want to teach my kids to eat healthy, I didnt grew up like that and I would love to give them that chance.
Few questions if it isn’t too personal;
what oil do you use for cooking?
whats your main food source?
where do you live?
cane sugar vs brown sugar?
milk or raw milk? hard to get raw milk here sometimes…
is castille soap same as vegetable soap? I cant find castille soap here
I like the fact that you take time for your subscribers and answer back
Hey Mona,
I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog. I cook with olive oil and avocado oils, mainly. My main food sources are a local co-op, a local health food store, and Whole Foods. I live in Florida. I use both cane sugar and brown sugar for special treats, and honey or maple syrup for regular baked goods. I have a trusted source for raw milk, so that’s my preference. If you don’t have a trusted, safe source for raw milk then low temperature pasteurized (like Organic Valley’s Grass Milk) is a great option, IMO. I’m not sure if castile soap is the same as the vegetable soap you’re referring to. I recommend comparing the ingredients online.
Hi I was just wondering do you need the tea tree oil of if you can use something else. My husband has really fair and sensitive skin I was going to use Dr. Bronners baby Castile soap but then I noticed the recipe calls for 15 drops of tea tree ESO and he hate the smell of that stuff. Is there a fragrance free or a substitute I could use?
Have you done the math to see how much money it costs to make each bottle of soap, and if it is really cost effective?
Hey Kristin,
I’ve been following your website religiously for the past couple of months, and I wanted to thank you for the great recipes you’re publishing! On my quest to live more simply and without plastic they have been an absolute godsend! I tried the hand soap recipe for the first time today and I love it. I put a bit of xanthan gum and blended it together, and it gave it a really nice consistency, so I would recommend it for those who don’t have a foaming pump. Thank you again, and I can’t wait for your next invention!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the blog, Juliette! Thank you so much for sharing–it’s such a blessing to be part of a community of amazing readers. I love that you added xanthum gum to thicken the recipe–great idea!!
I was wondering what the shelf life on this is since you added distilled water but no preservative. I’ve been changing out most of my households products to a DIY version but I hardly ever see anyone adding a preservative to products with water. This makes me wonder how long my DIY products are safe to use since you can’t really see if bacteria has grown. Any help would be appreciated as I’d like to give this DIY version a try.
Hey Linda, I haven’t found a natural preservative that I feel good about using my homemade products. There are a ton of suggestions floating around online, but many of them require very large amounts of the preservative to really work (from my research). You could try adding salt to this recipe, but I’m not really sure it will preserve the finished product, or how much you’ll need. Of course, anytime water is introduced into a product, the chances of bacteria growth increase. There are a few safety precautions I take when making homemade products:
1/ Use distilled water as much as possible.
2/ Use clean containers–many times bacteria is introduced into a product due to a dirty container.
3/ Make smaller batches of homemade products that use water–my laundry soap is my one exception since it makes a gallon, but I’ve never personally had any issue with it.
4/ Keep an eye on products containing water, and toss anything with growth or an unusual odor. I haven’t personally experienced this, yet.
This hand soap recipe is really easy to make, so you could definitely decrease the recipe to make an even smaller container, so you’re making the soap frequently. My soap usually sits for about a month, without issue, but feel free to make the soap in smaller batches and more frequently.
I absolutely love this hand wash. I used jojoba oil, lavendar, and some Oatmeal cookie dough fragrance so my son’s would be more receptive to it since they aren’t fans of lavender. The oatmeal and lavender smell amazing and my hands feel so soft. I can’t wait to make the body wash! Thank you so much!
Sounds amazing, Christine! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the hand soap!
I accidentally added glycerin instead of my almond oil, but I use the kitchen hand soap so fast it probably won’t matter. I put the glycerin back on a different shelf. The bottle is the same size as my almond oil.
Hey Kathryn, It may feel a bit slimy, but the soap should still work :).
Hi Kristin,
I apologize if someone already asked this, but there were a lot of comments to read!
Will this recipe make a soap of “watery” consistency. I mixed up a bit of castile soap, water, and essential oils just on a whim without looking up recipes, and it’s basically like water. I was hoping for a more “soapy” feel if that makes sense.
Do I need to add glycerin for a thicker soap?
Thank you!
Hey Lindsey,
Yes, this recipe will produce a watery soap in the jar, and a soapy feel once you start to rub your hands. Store-bought soap contains thickeners to help give it that thick soap-like texture. There are two options: 1/ A couple of reader had great success using a bit of guar gum to thicken the soap. Another reader said she had good success using a bit of salt…not sure about the method, but may work? 2/Using a foaming soap dispenser (purchased at home stores) will maintain the watery consistency in the jar and produce a lovely foam on your hands vs. an initial watery texture.
Mine separated within minutes. I followed the recipe to a T.
Hey Shae, That’s completely normal :). Separation occurs in natural products (like natural peanut butter). Just give the soap a gentle shake before use.
Love how simple your DIYs are. Have you tried adding emulsifier so there’s no need to shake before using?
Hey Monica, Thank you! I haven’t tried an emulsifier since this hand soap doesn’t last very long in our house, but it’s definitely worth a try! If you try something, let me know how it goes!
I was so excited to make this!howeever I made it and the next morning woke up to use it and found it had completely separated into two layers. Is this normal, did I do something wrong, or will I always have to shake the soap?
Thanks!
Hey Brandy, Separation is very normal in homemade products like this. You’ll just need to shake the jar every few days (after a while the soap may not separate so easily).
Is the lavender/peppermint oil in the hand soap necessary or could I substitute another scent? I don’t care for either, although I know lavender is soothing. TIA
Hey Mary, Any skin-safe essential oil may be used :). Enjoy!! I’d love to hear what you add.
I appreciate the thought behind this “recipe” but unfortunately it didn’t work at all for me. It felt a bit too runny when washing, but above all it left a residue all over the sink (which other soaps have never done). I think it might have been the oil.
Either way, cue A LOT of scrubbing the sink. Now we’ve finally used up the soap I mixed, and will use something else in the future.
Thanks for sharing, Jo. I’m not sure where the oily residue would come from. The one or two tablespoons of oil shouldn’t make a big difference compared with the large amount of soap and water used. Best of luck!
Hi Kristin,
Came across your site. I recently wrote a post on my new Green Living blog and mentioned this article! It’s awesome. Although I have not had the time to try to make my own soap I do have some ingredients and think I will actually give it a try. I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂
Regards,
Barbara
Hey Barbara, Thank you so much. I look forward to checking out your blog.
I tried this recipe and have even added more oils but still find it drying out my hands. I do have extremely dry skin. How can I make it more moisturizing?
I also have very dry skin with eczema and I was wondering if u recommend anything else to substitute dr bronners unscented Castile soap(too drying for my skin) or anything I can add to mellow it out more? Would vegetable glycerin help? Thank u in advance????from Jen Furtado ..ur very sweet at how u respond to everyone’s questions
Hey Jen, There isn’t a substitute for castile soap in this recipe, at least I don’t know of one. You could reduce the amount of castile soap by half, then maybe add a tablespoon more of nourishing oil.
Hi Kristine,
I’m enjoying many of your home made recipes, and hope to soon be trying more of them.
I was just wondering if you have a recipe for shampoo I have a very dry sensitive scalp and I would like to try a natural option hoping it will be less irritating to my scalp, hope you know of something.
Thanks =)
Hey Ismael, It’s great to hear you’re enjoying the homemade recipes here on Live Simply! I don’t have a homemade shampoo recipe or recommend any on the internet. Shampoo is something I haven’t been able to achieve, successfully. Right now I use Everyday Shea for shampoo: http://amzn.to/1MiFNwZ.
My husband has similar issues with scalp dryness and sensitivity and I find the best natural shampoo/conditioner that works for us is the Carina Organics brand (you can order online). I especially love the Peppermint Cooling Scalp Stimulating conditioner..
I’ve had success using just 1/4 cup of soap with 3/4 water. I’ve been lazy, or just in dire need of handsoap, and left out the other ingredients and it’s worked just fine. Germs are physically removed and washed down the drain anyway. I do try to make a point of adding the other ingredients in winter though since the outside cold and inside heat are already so drying. Lastly, I have reused a foaming dispenser and it works great.
Thanks for everything!
Awesome, Katie! I’m so glad it worked with just the water and soap. Thank you for sharing. I need to track down a new foaming dispenser for my hand soap.
I have heard that Bed, Bath & Beyond has a foaming soap dispenser, but personally haven’t used. If I do I will let you all know!
Let me add that if your kids are not used to a foaming dispenser you will go through a lot of soap at first. You’d be amazed at the mountains of foam they can make in their hands! Hey Mom! Look at this! Lol!
Lol, too funny! Good advice ;). Thank you, Katie.
Awesome, Katie! Thank you for sharing.
I am wondering if I want to leave out the vitamin E, could I add something such as shea butter to the recipe.
Hey Nidya, Definitely–I’ve been playing around with a homemade shower gel using shea butter! I recommend adding 1 TB melted shea butter. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Easy peasy! I just did this with some creative measuring (eyeballed it) and some substitutions and inspiration from your shower wash recipe: a few spoonfuls of vegetable glycerin, a few drops cinnamon leaf oil, a bunch of drops of orange oil, and 3:2 ratio of Dr. Bronners unscented soap and coconut oil to fill my mason jar. I also came across pump top mason jar lids premade at Target and picked one up.
Awesome, David! It’s great to hear the soap-making process was easy peasy!