For many years I made our own liquid hand soap from just a few simple ingredients. I’m not as diligent with it as I once was, but I still enjoy how quick and easy this recipe is.
These are the ingredients I use:
Glycerin (tall bottle–I only use this if I’m using homemade soap…more on this later)
Essential oil (small bottle–I prefer peppermint or tea tree)
Bar of Soap (purple bar–this is homemade castille)
A little bit about each ingredient and how you can change it up a bit:
I purchased the glycerin from Hobby Lobby for under $4 and it lasts me at least a year. I only use this when I am making soap with homemade castille soap. Otherwise, you will end up with a very thick product that will not pump very well.
The essential oil I prefer to use is peppermint oil and/or tea tree, but this is really up to you and what fragrances or healing properties you like. I purchase my essential oils from a local Frontier coop.
The soap shown here is a castille soap our family made during a soap-making party. You can use any soap, but I recommend something natural like Fels Naptha, castille, or even Ivory. (although, this is a great way to use up all those old hotel soaps you’ve accumulated over the years!)
Now, you need to grate your soap:
Put 1 cup of soap flakes in a pot.
You can choose to only grate 1 cup of soap at a time or you can grate the entire bar and save the rest for your next batch (that’s what I do).
Cover the soap with 4 cups of water. Add 1 Tbsp of glycerin and about 5 drops of essential oil. Warm the pot on the stove until the soap flakes melt, stirring regularly.
And you’re finished!
From here, all I do is fill all my old soap dispensers with the warm soap (a funnel comes in quite handy here!)
You may need to experiment with the glycerin amounts depending on the bar soap you use (a castille will possibly need more, a regular bar of soap may not need any at all!)
Try it out and come back and let me know how it turned out!
Ktietje85 says
Interesting…soap making is something I’ve yet to try but would like to!
Tania @ Larger Family Life says
Looks good! I think it’s something I’ll need to try. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Sandpiper says
Thanks for sharing! That sounds so easy! I’ve just recently started making my own laundry soap and baby wipes. I hope to put both things on my blog soon.
frugalfarmfamily says
So awesome! I make my own laundry soap similarly. Do you mind if I repost on my blog, giving you credit of course! http://www.frugallyfarmingfamily.blogspot.com
Shannon says
Thanks for this “recipe”. I can’t wait to try it. I have to buy all natural hand soap because of my son, and it tends to get rather expensive! This looks like a great alternative.
Raven says
What a great idea–and so simple, too! I will definitely try this out soon. Thanks for the directions!
Alicia says
Hmmm – this looks interesting. I think my kids would love to do this as a “craft” We may give this a whirl!
September says
oooohh-la..la! I am going to try this asap! I normall buy Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap, but I bet this is cheaper. Thanks bunches!
Cheryl says
That is very cool! I had no idea it could be so easy.
Jasmine says
Amy, this is great. Thanks for the tip. xox
Sherri says
Had a quick question about the glycerin… You mentioned using more or less as need with various soaps… What is the glycerin suppose to do exactly???
I made my 1st batch with Fels-Naptha (‘cuz it’s what I had on hand) and just the 1 tbsp. of glycerin & once it settled in the pumps it was VERY thick. Does that mean it needs more glycerin???
Thanks Amy!
.-= Sherri´s last blog ..Homeschooling Lesson #23,647… =-.
Amy says
Sherri,
LESS! Glycerin is what thickens it, so try not using any and see what happens. Then work your way from there. 🙂
Heather says
Hi there! I happened upon your blog as I was looking for a natural liquid hand soap recipe! I made this tonight, and it turned out great!! Thanks so much for sharing!
I’m doing a little post about it on my blog, and will of course link it to your blog, as it was my inspiration! Thanks. 🙂
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Me in Threes! =-.
Amy says
Wonderful! So glad it worked for you!
Kristen says
I tried this with less than a Tbsp of glycerin (maybe I didnt need it). My soap is really thick like slime :)Do you think more water will fix the problem? Or do you think I could make another batch and combine the two to counteract the slime?
Amy says
Try not putting any glycerin in. Some soaps have plenty of “gel” in them already. 🙂
Serenity Summers says
I was wondering: I use goat milk soap which is made from raw, organic goat milk. It smells wonderful so can I skip the essential oil? Thanks for this recipe! My hubby is an RN and does not care for anti bacterial soaps which are so popular. We will LOVE this!!!!!!
Amy says
Sure! The essential oil is not necessary to the recipe.
Amy Walker says
Is the glycerin necessary? I’m making some and don’t have that on hand.
Amy says
Amy,
Hello! If you are using regular soap bars, then no, you do not need the glycerin. I was using homemade castille and it was not setting up without it (and even then, it was a struggle).
Amy Walker says
Oh thank you so much! I was using a bar of Ivory. It did thicken up and seems to be working fine. Thanks for the reply. This is so helpful!!! 🙂
Nicole says
Thanks for the fun recipe! I am making it right now! I have combined a few additional ingredients and come up with this: Dr. Bronners castile soap, glycerin, water, castor oil, almond oil, coconut oil, sweet orange & eucalyptus essential oils, honey. Hoping it will turn out divine 🙂
Emily says
make sure to let your company know about the nut oil, many people are allergic.
Dana says
Thanks for sharing! I just tried it with regular soap without any glycerin but it is still too thick. Do you think I should just reheat it to melt and add more water? or do you think that batch just won’t work? any other ideas? Thanks!
Amy says
I heard this same thing from a friend of mine and I’ve not tried to tweak it. I would try more water before giving up on it…hoping to try it out myself soon!
Chris Grosh says
I just made some of the liquid soap and I have two questions: Does it thicken as it cools? How and at what point do you discover you need to add more glycerin?
Thanks for your help! I am excited to see how it turns out.
Chris
Amy says
It does thicken some as it cools. If it continues to be water-like, then add more glycerin or try a different kind of bar soap.
Kiri says
Any suggestions on the castille soap making. I would like to start making my own soap and starting out with less toxins. thanks
Amy says
I’ve only made castille once with some friends. I’d suggest looking at some of the homesteading blogs. 🙂
Melissa says
I made some using dial soap & used glycerin…it is very slimy. And it doesnt lather at all. Help!
Amy says
The dial soap has glycerin in it already and doesn’t work very well with this. Try using a soap that is more pure…like Ivory or Castille.
Melissa says
I used dial because I wanted an antibacterial liquid hand soap. Any other suggestions on how to make an antibacterial soap?
Amy says
Add tea tree oil. 🙂
Melissa says
Thank you so much! Would you know how much tea tree oil to add?
Amy says
The recipe on Mooberry said 12 drops or so. I’m not sure that is enough. I’d be more apt to use around 25 drops.
Melissa says
Thank you for your help Amy! I’ll try it today 🙂
Lisa says
I am totally confused. Please help. I purchased a bottle of glycerin. How do I make soap out of it without using lye? Also, how do I make liquid soap using this liquid glycrin. IT IS NOT A GLYCERIN SOAP BASE, JUST GLYCRIN.
Thanks,
Lis
Amy says
You don’t use the glycerin to make the soap. It congeals the homemade castille soap, but if you are using regular bar soap, you do not need the glycerin.
Diana says
H, I have made a CP castille soap, its just cured and I would like to make it into a liquid soap using your recipe. How long does the liquid soap live before spoiling and do I need to add some preservative if I want it to last more than a few weeks?
TIA
Amy says
I’ve never done more than a batch at a time, so I’m not sure how long it would last.
Diana says
Thanks for getting back to me – guess I’ll have to experiment on that one.
Diana says
My liquid soap seperates in the bottles, I followed the recipe exactly, so is that normal and what can I do to make it hold together evenly in the bottle?
I want it to look pretty enough to give as gifts and don’t want people to have to shake the bottle all the time.
Any solution much appreciated.
Amy says
Hmmm…Might need to try a different soap. Look at this post for ideas: https://raisingarrows.net/2012/04/making-liquid-hand-soap-from-hotel-bar-soap/
Jill says
Tried this recipe and unfortunately it set up like a very firm jello. Totally solid. I’m going to try melting it down into more water, but we’ll see.
Amy says
I’m noticing that with some soaps it takes more water than with others. But even with a more gooey consistency, it does come through the pump just fine. Hope it works a little better for you with more water. 🙂
Jill says
I went back and remelted it with 3 more cups of water. I probably should have done 3 1/2 more, but it seems to be working. The first time I made liquid hand soap I think my soap was to old because it didn’t melt completely and separated, but this batch seems much better.
Amy says
Good to know! It seems to be a trial and error sort of thing, but can definitely work.
terry lipscomb says
Love these homemade recipes, are there any for liquid dish detergent soap or do you use the homemade hand soap for this also?
Amy says
Don’t have a recipe that I have tried for this yet. 🙂
Tracy says
I made homemade handsoap in the summer. I used another recipe because I didn’t find yours until today. I wish I had known about the use of glycerin. The other recipe didn’t mention I probably wouldn’t need it with bar soap. I purchased the ginger soap from Trader Joe’s and my result was like SNOT. It comes out very slimey and difficult to detach from the pump. It’s also awfully difficult to pour into hand pump bottles around the house. I would like a more pourable option. Is yours more pourable? I don’t mind using a funnel. I hope to try your recipe soon!
Amy says
Tracy,
I had to really play with the measurements, but no matter what I’ve done, it does not come out like what you buy in the store. However, it does come out of the dispenser just fine, so I watered it down as much as I could and yes, it still had a snot-like quality.
kikilicious says
Hi!! I was curious.. I noticed your recipe said you can use Fels Naptha or Castille.. Is Fels Naptha ok to use for your hands.. Im new at this so I wasn’t sure and I have liquid Castille (I have 18-in-1 Hemp Citrus Orange Pure-Castile Soap).. does that work!! And how long does this recipe last!! Also do you have a homemade Castile soap recipe or a LIQUID Dish Detergent recipe!!
Amy says
I have made my own castille soap one time with some friends and decided the process was not worth the very little money savings. I’d say your best bet it to just experiment with it. It should be just fine, and yes, Fels Naptha is safe for you hands. Also, I’m sorry, but I do not have a liquid dish detergent recipe…yet. 😉
kikilicious says
Thank you!!
Lloyd Tiegs says
I made my first batch of soap with Dial. Hypo Algeneric bar soap with two Tbs of glycerin to a gallon of water. It did get slimy, but it makes hands feel soft. (I didn’t know that it already had glycerin in the Dial.)
What I found in reasearch:
1. Glycerin absorbs water and therefore is used to keep hands soft.
2. Bar soap is made with sodium hydoxide and liquid soap is made ith postassium hygroxide. The theory is that the differance is the cause of the slime. Does anybody know anything about that?
3. A foaming dispenser shuld help take away the slime feeilng. I ordered a foaming dispenser to find out if this is true.
Amy says
Great idea on the foaming dispenser!
Courtney says
I used fels naphtha and no glycerin and mine is starting to cool into a thick glob. Do I need more water next time?
Amy says
Yes. You can even try adding more now to thin it down.