How to Make Hand Soap
Week 19
The average household goes through 11 hand soap bottles every year. Instead of wasting all that plastic (and money), why not make our own with two easy ingredients, castile soap and water.
Castile soap is non-toxic, vegetable based jack of all trades. It can be used on your body, your house, your pets, and even your plants! Castile soap comes unscented or in a variety of all natural scents. You can find it at many grocery large grocery chains including Target and Whole Foods, or buy online. Package Free Shop sells a half gallon bottle for $32. Or, Dr. Bronner's sells gallon jugs for $65. Yes, castile soap comes in a recyclable plastic bottles, but it is still a natural, low-waste alternative to many little hand-soap bottles.
Now, let's talk price comparison real quick. One gallon of Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap makes this recipe 128 times. If a gallon costs $65, then each bottle of home made hand soap costs about $0.50. That's half the cost of a small bottle of popular brand, Softsoap.
What you'll need:
- 2 tbsp liquid castile soap - I like Dr. Bronner's and Vermont Country Soap
- 1 cup water
- Small bottle with pump. I used an empty bottle that I already had.
- Funnel for pouring
- (Optional) 5-10 drops essential oil. I think this is only necessary if using unscented castile soap.
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Clean and rinse your old bottle. If you'd like, remove the label.
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Using the funnel, add 1 cup water and 2 tbsp liquid castile soap. If you are using essential oil, add 5-10 drops.
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Screw the pump back on and shake well. That's it!