It’s time to ditch the “clear” hand soap the store offers. Simply because it’s not clear. It’s most definitely got at least one artificial dye in it plus so many more ingredients I can’t even pronounce and don’t have time to research. Learn how to make your own non-toxic DIY hand soap at home in this post.
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What you need to make DIY hand soap
- Castile soap
- Water
- Essential oils (optional)
- Vegetable glycerin (optional)
How do I make DIY hand soap?
Add 1/8 cup of Castile soap to your hand soap bottle. I’m using these bottles and they work great but know that using essential oils in plastic bottles, over time, will weaken the plastic. Glass jars and foaming lids are a great substitute. Add 5 drops of your essential oil if you’d like to use them. Top off with water.
Some recipes suggest boiling your water and letting it cool down before adding to your bottle. That is up to you. I personally do not boil my water first. We have well water which I am aware can also contain contaminates but we also have a filter on our holding tank that removes a lot of possible contaminates before the water comes out of our faucets in the house.
Why use essential oils?
You certainly do not have to and in fact, if you are pregnant, nursing, or have small children using the hand soap, PLEASE do your own research into whether adding essential oils to your creation is a good idea or not. For reference, here is my disclosure statement regarding “health care” posts like this one.
I choose to use essential oils in my DIY hand soap for their many medicinal and therapeutic properties but also for the fragrance.
I like Thieves by Young Living (or On Guard by Doterra) because of their germ fighting blend of a few different oils.
You can also use lavender for a light fragrance and skin soothing properties.
Tea tree is a great addition for germ killing as it contains many compounds like terpinen-4-ol that have been shown to kill certain bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Tea tree oil is also great as an antiseptic for minor cuts and scrapes as it will clean out the wound during hand washing. Additionally, after washing and drying the wound, you can add a drop of tea tree oil to coconut oil (or a carrier oil of choice) and apply it to the wound with clean dressing.
Lemon could make an excellent choice for a kitchen hand soap for a fresh, clean, citrus scent.
Why vegetable glycerin in DIY hand soap?
Vegetable glycerin is optional in your DIY hand soap but it does have a benefit. Though I have not noticed too much drying of the skin on my hands while using this recipe in the summer, the winter is coming. With the dry air combined with lots of hand washing, subtract use of moisturizer each washing could equal cracked cuticle and skin around your fingernails.
I don’t know if you ever experience this but it leads to open wounds on the hands which are very susceptible to germs and infection.
Glycerin is a humectant which means it attracts moisture. When glycerin is applied to the skin, it causes a barrier to lock in the existing moisture in the skin.
Again, this ingredient is completely optional. When you buy a gallon to use in dish soap that only calls for a few tablespoons, you’ll find you have a lot of glycerin left over to use for other DIY body care products.
Other DIY Hand Soap Scent Creations:
Lemon Lavender Vanilla
Use a lavender Castile soap, add 5 drops lemon essential oil, and 1 tablespoon of real vanilla. Perhaps your homemade vanilla? Or unscented soap with 5 drops of lavender oil plus the others listed above.
Peppermint
Castile soap and 8 drops of peppermint essential oil.
Christmas Scent
Castile soap, 5 drops of peppermint essential oil, and 5 drops of cedarwood essential oil.
DIY Hand Soap: the perfect gift
The holidays are right around the corner and what better gift to bring as a host gift or even a present than a DIY gift made of pure love and thoughtfulness like a non-toxic hand soap?
SHOP THIS POST
- Castile soap (there’s a popular brand name of Castile soap many choose to buy. I do not due to conflict of moral values. I try to buy my local grocery store’s brand or this is a good choice linked here to support a small business. You can buy unscented or a lavender one. I have had no issues with scent mixtures using a lavender Castile soap).
Pin it for later!
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Pin this DIY recipe to try later. It honestly takes barely any time at all, maybe 1 minute of your day, to make a non-toxic, safe for your family hand soap without all the harsh chemicals and fake dyes we don’t need.
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DIY Hand Soap
Equipment
- 1 foaming hand soap bottle
Materials
- 1/8 cup Castile soap
- water to top off, distilled water optional
- essential oils optional
- 1 tbsp vegetable glycerin optional
Instructions
- Add 1/8 cup of Castile soap to your hand soap bottle.
- Add 5 drops of your essential oil if you’d like to use them.
- Top off bottle with water.
- Add on foaming pump to the bottle.
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