Homemade foaming hand soap recipe - So Easy to make your own! (2024)

By Karrie on | Updated | 31 Comments

Homemade foaming hand soap recipe - So Easy to make your own! (1)

Fun Fact: Making your own homemade foaming hand soap is frugal, fast, and insanely easy! And you can feel good about the fact that you’re taking an easy step to protect your family from toxic chemicals.

How many times do you wash your hands in a day? Between cleaning chicken coops, diaper changes, potty helping, preparing food, running errands, etc.. etc.. I feel like I’m washing my hands aaaaaaaall day long. Think how many times you expose yourself to those nasty chemicals! Umm… No thanks. And especially no thanks for my kids.

Homemade foaming hand soap recipe - So Easy to make your own! (2)

We love foaming hand soap around here, so I was excited to find this super easy recipe to make your own. Foaming? Check. Kills bacteria and germs gently? Check Toxic level? Zero. Homemade for the win! MAKE YOUR OWN HOMEMADE FOAMING HAND SOAP people. Trust me, you’re gonna love it.

2 T Castille Soap
2 t Coconut Oil, Fractionated
5 drops Malelucaessential oil
5-10 drops other essential oil for fragrance (optional)
water
foaming hand soap dispenser

Add castile soap, coconut oil and essential oils to a foaming hand soap dispenser. It’s important to use a foaming dispenser, since the dispenser is what creates the actual foam. They’re kind of pricy online, so just use an old empty one, or ask your neighbor for their used ones. I guess you could always go dumpster diving, but that’s probably not first choice. Gently swirl ingredients together. You can see below how far the non-water ingredients come up on the bottle I used.

Homemade foaming hand soap recipe - So Easy to make your own! (3)

Add water to the top of the bottle and twist on the lid. Gently swirl ingredients together again. I pulled the label sticker off of my empty dispenser. It came off really easily. Someday I dream of accessorizing my naked bottle for my guest bathroom and making it all cute and stuff, but today is not that day. Mommy-hood calls.

And that’s it. Push the dispenser a few times and just like magic, homemade foaming hand soap appears! Bam.

The fractionated coconut oil provides some moisturizing benefit and the melaleuca oil is great too. I chose Citrus Bliss essential blend as my fragrance because I love citrusy scents for my hand soaps.

Honestly, you could even bag the essential oils and coconut oil and go with just the castile soap and water. It would still foam just fine and come out even cheaper. You can even buy already scented castile soap. My hands get super dry and I love to shake up the scent of mine every once in a while, so that’s why I use the coconut and essential oils.

Also, sometimes I find my ingredients have separated, so a quick swish around and it’s good to go again.

So, how does our homemade foaming hand soap cost compare to what you would find in a store?

Castille Soap: $0.60
Fractionated Coconut Oil: $0.35
Melaluca Essential Oil: $0.38
Citrus Bliss Essential Oil: $0.30
Water: Free
Empty Foaming Dispenser: Free

Total Cost: $1.63

Bath and Body Works sells their foaming hand soap for about $6.50, so our version is 75% cheaper!! And the best part, our version comes toxin free.

Homemade foaming hand soap recipe - So Easy to make your own! (4)

Homemade for the win again!

If you’d like to get your hands on some pure essential oils you can order some here!

Homemade foaming hand soap recipe - So Easy to make your own! (5)

Homemade Foaming Hand Soap

It's so easy to make your own foaming hand soap!

Print Pin Rate

Course: Cleaning

Cuisine: DIY, Wellness

Keyword: essential oil hand soap

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Author: Karrie

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp Castille Soap
  • 2 tsp Coconut Oil Fractionated
  • 5 drops Malelucaessential oil
  • 5-10 drops other essential oil for fragrance optional
  • water
  • foaming hand soap dispenser

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Add castile soap, coconut oil and essential oils to a foaming hand soap dispenser. It’s important to use a foaming dispenser, since the dispenser is what creates the actual foam. Gently swirl ingredients together.

  • Add water to the top of the bottle and twist on the lid. Gently swirl ingredients together again.

  • Push the dispenser a few times and just like magic, homemade foaming hand soap appears!

  • Honestly, you could even bag the essential oils and coconut oil and go with just the castile soap and water. It would still foam just fine and come out even cheaper. You can even buy already scented castile soap. My hands get super dry and I love to shake up the scent of mine every once in a while, so that’s why I use the coconut and essential oils.

Notes

The fractionated coconut oil provides some moisturizing benefit and the melaleuca oil is great too. I chose Citrus Bliss essential blend as my fragrance because I love citrusy scents for my hand soaps.

Homemade foaming hand soap recipe - So Easy to make your own! (6)

About Karrie

Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...

Homemade foaming hand soap recipe - So Easy to make your own! (2024)

FAQs

Homemade foaming hand soap recipe - So Easy to make your own!? ›

To make your own foaming soap, combine one cup of water with 1/4 cup of liquid soap. Secure the top and slowly turn the dispenser. until everything is incorporated. And there you go.

What is the formula for making foaming soap? ›

To make your own foaming soap, combine one cup of water with 1/4 cup of liquid soap. Secure the top and slowly turn the dispenser. until everything is incorporated. And there you go.

Can I put regular hand soap in a foaming dispenser? ›

Select your soap You can't just add normal soap into a foaming dispenser as it is generally too thick. So you will have to water it down a little. Measure out the soap & water in equal parts.

Is foaming soap just watered down soap? ›

Foaming hand soap is a diluted version of liquid hand soap that must go through a special foaming pump that adds air into the mix to create an already-sudsy hand soap “lather” when it's dispensed onto your hands. There's not actually anything special about foaming hand soap except that it's watered down.

What makes foaming hand wash? ›

It is made from a diluted version of liquid soap infused with air as it exits the dispenser to generate a frothy lather. Foaming hand soap must be used with specialised dispensers. Some are intended to be used without being replenished, while others are refilled on a regular basis.

What is the best foaming agent for liquid soap? ›

Glycinate SL. Glycinate SL is an amino acid derived surfactant that is extremely mild. It's high foaming and creates a creamy and elastic foam that will leave a silky and very pleasant skin feel.

Why is my foaming hand soap not foaming? ›

When the foaming filter is clogged it will prevent foam from producing. Flush your foaming pump (never soak or submerge your pump) with white vinegar. Once you have your pump cleared, it is recommended to flush your pump with a warm water and white vinegar solution with every soap refill.

How do you make foaming hand soap from Dawn? ›

DIY Foaming Hand Soap

Fill up your dispenser ¼th of the way with Dawn dish soap. Pour in water the rest of the way. Shake for 10 seconds and put the top on. Hand soap ready to go!

How long does homemade foaming hand soap last? ›

Although you may go through your soap pretty quickly, we thought it worth mentioning just in case you use your soap slowly. Using the DIY foam mixture within 30 days is recommended. Once finished or at the end of 30 days, wash your soap dispenser base with clean soap and water and then refill.

How much glycerin do I add to foaming hand soap? ›

Instructions:
  1. Prepare your foaming hand soap dispenser by rinsing out the container and the pump. ...
  2. Now, with your container prepped and ready to go add ¼ cup of lavender Castile soap or a scent of your choice. ...
  3. Next, add 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin to the Castile soap for a thicker foam and added moisturizer.

Can you use any liquid soap in a foaming dispenser? ›

Anything, really, will do… body wash, hand soap, whatever you have on hand. Put water and soap into the container. (About 4/5th full of water and the other 5th soap for a 4:1 ratio water to soap.)

Does foaming hand soap clean as well? ›

Foam soaps are increasingly replacing traditional liquid soaps in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, the food industry and other public spaces, but the trend may carry a risk, a small study suggests. Foam soaps may not be as effective as liquid soaps in eliminating bacteria that can lead to infection, the authors say.

How do you make foaming hand soap with Dawn? ›

Fill up your dispenser ¼th of the way with Dawn dish soap. Pour in water the rest of the way. Shake for 10 seconds and put the top on. Hand soap ready to go!

How do you make foaming hand soap with rubbing alcohol? ›

I have mixed 70% or 90% alcohol with water and Dawn dish soap for years and it works well. Sometimes I replace some of the water with hydrogen peroxide. You can buy foaming soap pump dispensers on Ebay pretty cheap, thank God. I use about 1/8th the amount of Dawn dish soap to the rest, and about 1/4 alcohol.

How do you make hand whipped soap? ›

  1. Place the crystal OPC base and chop into small pieces before placing into a bowl.
  2. Whip the base until it produces a creamy consistency.
  3. Add your preferred carrier oil, essential oils and polysorbate 60 into the mix.
  4. Whip all of the ingredients together in the bowl.
  5. Add your chosen soap colourants to the mixture.
May 25, 2023

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