DIY All-Natural Foaming Hand Soap

I think foaming hand soap is so much FUN! And the great thing about making your own is that its super easy, super cheap, and you get to actually see what’s going into your hand soap.

Think about how often you wash your hands. Every time you use the bathroom, eat a meal, or get dirty or sticky for any reason, you head to the sink and pump a nice big glob of hand soap onto your skin. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that the substance you’re slathering onto your skin multiple times a day is safe and all-natural? I think so.

Ingredients:

• Foaming soap pump
  • You can reuse one from an old bottle of hand soap, but if you want to include essential oils you need a glass bottle (read more about how to safely use essential oils here). I use this soap pump from Amazon (currently $12.99)
• Distilled water
  • Tap water will grow mold or bacteria pretty quickly, so distilled/boiled/purified water is important!
• 3 Tblsp liquid castile soap
  • I use Dr. Bronner’s unscented as a neutral base, but if you’d rather skip the essential oils, you can use a castile soap that already contains plant/herb essences like Dr. Bronner’s lavender, peppermint, or citrus)
• 20-30 drops essential oils (optional)
  • You can choose oils based on cleansing power and/or smell. I try to have one powerhouse oil full of anti-bacterial/anti-fungal/anti-microbial properties and then two or three others to add a nice scent. Here are some ideas for fun seasonal combos:
    • Summer: 8 drops lemongrass, 8 drops orange, 4 drops peppermint (gives a refreshing citrus scent with a hint of mint)
    • Fall: 6 drops cinnamon cassia, 4 drops clove, 4 drops orange, 3 drops cardamom, 3 drops ginger (gives a nice spiced chai/pumpkin spice latte smell)
    • Winter: 8 drops balsam fir, 6 drops cinnamon cassia, 6 drops orange (gives a festive Christmassy scent)
    • Spring: 7 drops lemon, 7 drops lavender, 3 drops geranium, 3 drops peppermint (gives a nice, uplifting floral scent with traces of citrus and mint)
• 1/2 tsp Optiphen + (or another preservative)
  • Optiphen + is a natural preservative that should be used when water is an ingredient (even distilled water) UNLESS products will be used within 1 week.

Instructions:

• Fill the soap dispenser about three quarters of the way full with distilled water
• Add 3 Tblsp castile soap
  • Adding the castile soap AFTER the water prevents over sudsing/foaming
• Add 20-30 drops essential oils and 1 tsp of Optiphen +
• Put on cover and shake it up!

And there you have it! A yummy-smelling, bacteria-killing, good-for-your-wallet-and-the-environment hand soap!