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Home Uncategorized

How to Make Your Own Non-Toxic Foaming Hand Soap

Updated: 9/19/22

This post may contain affiliate or sponsored links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Seriously…why did I wait so long to do this?  For years I’ve either been buying way over-priced safe hand soap or cheap unsafe soap.  Those days are over.

This past weekend, I used three simple ingredients to make my own non-toxic foaming hand wash.  It is the perfect consistency, smell, and price!  Read on to find out:

  • why regular hand soap is unsafe
  • what supplies you’ll need to make your own non-toxic foaming hand soap
  • how to make non-toxic foaming hand soap in about 5 minutes
  • and how much money I saved!

What Makes Regular Hand Soap Unsafe?

From commons allergens and skin irritants to chemicals that are known to cause brain damage in rats, most soap on store shelves is full of ingredients that can be both harmful to our bodies and our environment.

The great thing about my non-toxic foaming hand soap “recipe” below is that you don’t have to worry about exposing you and your family to any of the unsafe chemicals in store-bought soaps ever again!

Supplies You’ll Need To Make Your Own Hand Soap

You’ll need three simple ingredients (only 2 if you don’t want scented soap) plus foaming soap dispensers.

The supplies I recommend using are an upfront investment but will save you money in the long run, as you’ll see at the end of this post.

1 – Distilled or purified water – About $1/gallon at Walmart in bottled water aisle.  This kind of water has had many of it’s impurities removed.

2 – Dr. Bronner – Castille Soap, liquid – I bought the unscented, mild formula since I figured it is the gentlest on our skin, and we are using it on our kids in the tub.  Check out how simple and recognizable the ingredient list is: Water, Saponified Organic Coconut & Olive oils (w/ retained Glycerin), Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Vitamin E. 

3 – Optional: Tea tree oil (or your favorite essential oil) – Tea tree oil not only adds a fresh, clean scent, but it also lends natural anti-bacterial qualities to the soap.

4 – Foaming Soap Dispensers – I just used empty ones I had previously purchased.

5 – Optional: A funnel – You don’t have to have one, but it helps cut down on potential mess.

How to Make Non-Toxic Foaming Hand Soap

Step 1: Pour enough castile soap in bottle to fill it about 1/5 of the way full.  For a 9 oz bottle, I put in roughly 2 fl oz.  I just eye-balled it.

Step 2:  Fill the rest of the bottle to the fill line or almost to the top with the water.

Step 3: Add 1-2 drops of tea tree oil (or your favorite essential oil).  Don’t go too crazy, though, since it has a strong scent.  Note: If you have sensitive skin, you may want to skip this step.

Step 4: Screw on the lid and give a little shake.

Step 5: Wash hands and enjoy the fresh smell and feel of clean hands!


How Much Money Did I Save on My Foaming Hand Soap?

Here are my finished products–six dispensers with a total of 73 fl oz of foaming hand soap–that took about five minutes to make.  Want to see how much money I saved?

Here’s the cost of the original safe store-bought soaps:

Johnson’s Baby Natural Wash (9 oz): $4.49 x 2 = $8.98

Johnson’s Baby Natural Head-to-toe Wash (18 oz): $7.79 x 2 = $15.58

Clean & Well All Natural Antibacterial Foaming Hand Soap (9.5 oz): $4.33 each x 2 = $8.66

Store-Bought Safe Soap Total = $33.22 ($.46/fl oz)

Here’s the cost of my homemade non-toxic foaming hand wash in the same containers:

9 oz containers: $.90 x 2 = $1.80

18 oz containers: $1.55 x 2 = $3.10

9.5 oz containers: $90 x 2 = $1.80

Homemade Non-Toxic Soap Total = $6.70 ($.09/fl oz)

TOTAL SAVINGS BY MAKING MY OWN = $26.52!!!!!!

Like this DIY all-natural household product? Try this thrifty, non-toxic solution that’s worked for us…

All-Natural DIY Drano – Naturally unclogs your toilet or any drain with only 2 ingredients!

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Rachel Tiemeyer

Rachel Tiemeyer

As co-founder of Thriving Home, Rachel dreams about creating recipes (literally) and uses her husband, her 3 kids, and even the neighbors as guinea pigs several nights a week. She believes that good food has the power to bring families and friends closer together and continues to wake up excited about her job each day, even after 10+ years!

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  1. AvatarKara says

    Posted on 5/8/15 at 6:16 pm

    Have you found that this soap dries out your skin? I love everything about it except the drying factor! My hands already dry (to the point of cracking and bleeding in the winter dry air, and washing tends to make it worse) so I waited to test this soap recipe until now that the weather’s quite warm and humid and my hands are as soft as they ever get. On the first wash, they immediately felt drier and the skin felt tighter. I actually washed again right after in a store-bought version of foaming soap just so they would be moisturized again. Have to apply lotion, too. I LOVE this idea and really want to make it work. I am a special education teacher and would love for my students to make this soap to sell as a vocational activity…but I definitely want to troubleshoot first! Any suggestions for combating the drying aspect of the castile soap? (On my test batch, I did add more than the suggested amount of oils, so I’m guessing that would not be an effective solution.)

    Thanks in advance for any help! I really want to make this work!

    Reply
    • RachelRachel says

      Posted on 5/9/15 at 7:55 am

      Hi Kara,

      I have dry hands too, but I’ve used this soap for so many years that I guess I never really noticed if that was the culprit. I was thinking about your question and I wonder if adding some jojoba oil would help? It’s all natural and I use it in my kids’ baths sometimes to help keep their skin moisturized in the winter. Does anyone else have thoughts?

      Reply
  2. AvatarHickory Nut says

    Posted on 4/8/15 at 10:09 am

    sometimes our hands smell sour (almost like vomit) after we use the soap. I used exactly what you suggested. Do you think my ratio is wrong, or does the soap expire?

    Reply
    • RachelRachel says

      Posted on 4/12/15 at 9:59 pm

      Ewww, that’s gross. I’m not sure what to say. I’ve never ever had that happen and I’ve had a big Bronner’s bottle on my shelf for a long time for refills. Is it possible you ordered a scent you didn’t like? Or did you use an essential oil in it that smells weird? Sorry!

      Reply
    • AvatarCaitlin says

      Posted on 12/12/22 at 11:26 am

      Diluting castile soap like this greatly reduces its natural preservative properties; without adding additional preservative, you will have an unsafe level of bacterial growth in your foaming soap within 2-3 weeks.

      Reply
      • Rachel TiemeyerRachel Tiemeyer says

        Posted on 12/12/22 at 12:40 pm

        Thanks for your comment. Would you mind sharing your source for this? Every recipe I’ve found online is very similar to ours and I’ve used this for years.

        Reply
  3. AvatarDD says

    Posted on 2/26/15 at 8:56 pm

    Dr. Bronners does not work with my very hard water. It makes an awful film that is next to impossible to clean. Any substitutions?

    Reply
    • RachelRachel says

      Posted on 3/2/15 at 4:16 pm

      Not that I know, but I’d love to find another option too. I’ve seen the film you’re talking about. Baking soda works to remove it.

      Reply
  4. AvatarElise says

    Posted on 2/19/15 at 9:29 pm

    Oh my gosh,

    I have to try this right now. I was reading about Dr. Broner online the other day and he sounds like a very cool guy.

    Thanks for sharing your recipe.

    Elise

    Reply
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