Home Made Hand Soap

A few weeks ago, my friend Alli posted a question on facebook wondering if anyone had ever made their own hand soap.  So, today when I was adding hand soap to the grocery list, I got to wondering the same thing.

So after a little research...


This is actually very easy and one gallon cost me 99 cents.  All you need is:

1 gallon of water
4oz bar of soap
big pot
hand mixer
hand soap dispensers (recycled!)

First, heat 1 gallon of water.  While you are waiting for it to boil, grate your bar of soap.  I'm a little bit afraid of those graters that eat your fingers, so I chose to use a closed cheese grater.  So, it has some soap in it?  Throw that baby in the dishwasher.  Save dishwasher soap.

I chose to use a Vanilla Oat Soap from Sprouts which smelled divine while grating and cooking.

After the water is steaming, add the grated soap and stir.  (I never let the water boil and turned it down to simmer while it was melting the soap.)

When the soap is melted or dissolved (what would be the correct chemical term?), take it off the stove and let it sit for 15 minutes.  While it cools, it should thicken a little. 

Some people then pour the mixture into a blender to mix well, but I thought that would make one more thing to clean, and since I have NO Dish Fairy, I chose to use my hand mixer cause those beaters can go in the dishwasher.

After that, let it cool completely.  I was absolutely floored at this point. 

When I left it, it was liquidy and I was thinking this was a bust.  But, a couple of hours later, it had thickened!  So, I mixed it again and decided this was a great consistency.  If you find yours is too thick, add water.  If it is too thin, heat and add more soap.  Make sure you go through the whole cooling time again.

At this point you can add any essential oils that you would like to add.  If you are looking for antibacterial qualities, pick thyme, cinnamon, lemon, peppermint, lavender or tea tree (also called melaluca).  You get a twofer - it will fight bacteria and give a nice scent!

Then, pour it into your recycled hand soap dispensers (I like to remove old labels) and enjoy!

Each dispenser holds 7.5oz.  There are 16 cups in a gallon.  So, I should be able to fill at least 16 containers.  In the store, I can usually get each container for $1, but instead I only spent $1!!!!
I just saved $15!