Make your own zero waste foaming hand soap with this simple 2 minute DIY recipe, and stop buying liquid soap in disposable single-use packaging.
Using Castile soap, Coconut Oil and Essential Oils, you can create your own hand soap, like this Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime blend which smells like summer. (Oh, and if that still sounds too hard, I have a fabulous lazy cheat too!)
I've included some links to products below that you can purchase online with minimal waste, from reputable places. These are affiliate links, so if you do make a purchase, the price is the same to you, but I may receive a small commission. This all goes towards keeping the website up and running, as always - thanks for your support.
Liquid soap was one of the first things we gave up in our house on the journey to zero waste. We used so much of the stuff and even though we refilled our pump bottles, the refill containers were taking up loads of space in our recycle bin.
These days, we mostly use bar soap BUT there are times I really love the convenience of liquid soap, especially in the kitchen when my hands are covered in food and I don't want to get it all onto a solid soap bar.
This recipe is super easy, literally anyone can do it and if you have access to a zero waste or bulk store then you can almost always obtain Castile soap in your own bottles (you can see below, I use an old plastic soda water bottle for this purpose, but glass is better).
Castile Soap is a biodegradable soap in a more natural form than store bought soaps and comes in both liquid and solid form. It does need dilution, especially when using on hands, body and hair and makes a great substitute for many bathroom and laundry products.
You don't need Essential Oils, but I do like having a fragrance and this Grapefruit, Lemon Lime is a favourite.
Foaming Hand Soap Ingredients
1/4 Cup of Unscented Liquid Castile Soap
1 Cup of Boiled Water
10 drops Lemon Essential Oil
10 drops of Grapefruit Essential Oil
10 drops of Lime Essential Oil
1 Teaspoon of Liquid Coconut, Almond or Olive Oil
A Foaming Pump Dispenser
If you don't already have an old foaming pump dispenser lying around, ASK your friends and family if they have an empty one.
It will keep the item out of landfill and you can always make them a batch of soap for them too. Small conversations with people we know make a difference to the planet, one step at a time.
Directions
>Boil and cool 1 cup of water to set aside.
This will make sure you have no germs hiding in the water. You can use distilled water but I'm going zero waste, so personally prefer to skip the bottled water.
>Add the Castile soap, coconut oil, essential oils and stir.
>Now add the water and mix gently.
It's now ready to add to straight into your soap dispenser and use.
Any remaining soap can be stored in an empty bottle or container. I do recommend opting for PET plastics or glass due to the essential oils.
Now, I know some of you are reading this recipe and saying yeah, that sounds great but I probably wont get around it anytime soon. If that's you, and you want the absolute simplest option then I have some CHEATS for you.
>You can get scented Citrus Orange Liquid Castile Soap which can be used in place of essential oils. Simply add around 40-60mls to 1 cup of water for foaming hand soap.
>If you like a little variety and don't want to commit to a large bottle, then check out this sampler pack which comes with 6 mini bottles of scented castile soap. This is more expensive than a larger bottle but does provide a great opportunity to try out several at a time.
If you can't even be bothered mixing ingredients together, then head straight for this one - A castile based organic pump soap that can be used as hand and body wash. It comes in recycled and reusable bottles and is VERY eco-friendly.
At the moment, we have the Grapefruit, Lime, Lemon foaming pump soap in the kitchen AND a cheat version using Rose scented Castile Soap from the sampler pack above in the bathroom.
It also doesn't leave my hands dried out, which is super important considering how many times a day I have to wash my hands! I still prefer to mostly use bar soap, but the family are REALLY enjoying having liquid soap again, so this will be a regular thing for us (me really) to mix up.
I hope you give this recipe a go and let me know how it went. Don't forget to save or pin it for later!
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