One way that my family saves money is by making our own liquid soap from a bar. From 2 bars of Dr. Bronner’s soap you can make over a gallon of soap! It’s super easy and totally worth the time it takes to make it.
Homemade Liquid Soap
What you need:
- 2- 5oz bars of castile soap
- 1 gallon plus 4 cups distilled water (I have used tap water boiled on the stove and it seems to work fine)
- 2-3 T liquid glycerin
- Essential oils* optional (I purchase high quality essential oils at Mountain Rose Herbs)
What you do:
Shred the soap with a cheese grater or food processor with a grater attachment.
Combine soap shavings, glycerin and water in a pot and heat on the stove until the soap is all melted. It will look like soapy water.
Let the soap mixture sit overnight to set.
If the soap is too thick you can use a hand mixer and mix in some more water.
Now you can add essential oils if you like.
That’s it!
I use this soap as hand soap, body wash, and dish detergent (recipe to come soon!).
A few notes:
The soap will be sort of snot like. I haven’t found any way to make it less snotty. Does anyone have a good remedy for the snotty soap?
I have thought about mixing in a blend of oils that I use on my face. Has anyone tried this? I’ll let you know when I give it a try!
If you are using a different sized bar of soap, the ratio of soap to water is about 1 oz of soap to 16oz (2 cups) of water.
Have you ever made your own liquid soap? What is your favorite brand to use?
I have used this recipe to make liquid, and it comes out fabulous. Love IT!
This is nice. I am hoping to try this soon. We are doing a 30 Day Health Challenge over at my blog. Check it out and join in the challenge http://bodyandmindhealth.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/30-day-health-challenge/
Found you at Frugal Tuesday tip and am following you now – making liquid soap is my next project. Would olive oil bar soap work as well, do you think? I know Dr Bronner’s is fabulous quality, but I find it quite pricey here in the the UK.
I think it would work fine. The only thing to keep in mind is that if the soap has a lot of added moisturizers in it (like dove) you will need more bars for the recipe (since each bar has less soap actually in it. Does that make sense?) But olive oil soap sounds like a good choice!
Thanks for your advice Mindy, I’m going to give it a try. It’s really helpful that you added the ratio of bar soap to water. I love this kind of experiment!
I buy olive oil soap chunks at a craft shop. Then melt in glass in microwave oven, add color and scent, and pour into molds, and cool. So, I’m thinking why not use that same olive oil soap chunks from the craft shop to follow the recipe instead of Bonners.?
I’ve used olive oil soap chunks from craft stores to make soaps. So, Alison, perhaps you could get that kind to use instead of Castile soap.
Thanks, I’ll try olive oil soap chunks the next batch I make!
I’ve used several different brands of soap all with the same results. I used a generic rose soap. And Irish spring. Both were slimmy but worked well. I have used the laundry soap mixed with dish soap to extend my dish soaps life I also dilute the ultra concentrated soaps to make them last longer. Diluting the dish soap didn’t seem to affect the quality.
I was just thinking yesterday I’d like to find a recipe for liquid soap. And here it is! Thank you
stopping by from Raising Homemakers
Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the recipe- I have been looking for one!
I go through a lot of hand soap with my kids and I’d love to try this recipe. Thanks very much for sharing on Thriving on Thursdays. I’m featuring this idea at tomorrow’s party. I do hope you’ll stop by again.
Anne @ Domesblissity xx
Wow, thanks! I will definitely hop over and check it out :)
Thanks for the recipe. I usually buy Bonner’s liquid castile soap. It is pretty high price some stores. Your method would cost less.
Mindy,
I found a way to fix the snotty & lathers.
Use the total water of yours by only 2/3 of it, then add 2 cups of light oil. I’ve been on my 6th batch now, using many kinds of soaps and oil (grapeseed, sweet almond, virgin coconut oil, and palm oil.
If you love lather, palm oil works best. Here’s the theory, oil & water don’t mix, but the soap makes them work together. The oil will soften the texture, close to store bought products and you don’t need to use so much water. However, palm oil works differently compared to others. The end result will be creamy (after the last stir when it’s completely cooled), very similar to milkshake which is georgeous to me!
I’ve been thinking to put this recipe in blog, but i’m too lazy hehehe. Hopefully it will help you nd the other in this diy soap.
Owh, if it’s still too thick for your liking, add more water and oil just a little.
I will definitely try this. Thanks so much!
I tried adding coconut oil as directed and it only made it oily. I had to throw it away. What did I do wrong?