This DIY foaming hand soap is super easy to make, will save you money by making your soap last longer and is better for the environment too! What a genius idea!
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If you are a fan of foaming soap, let me tell you a little secret. You can save yourself a lot of money by making your own homemade foaming hand soap and it only takes a minute to do! So there’s really no excuse not to do it!
Why I Love DIY Foaming Hand Soap
It’s cheap. I typically can get about 4 to 5 “recipes” of homemade foaming soap out of one regular-sized liquid soap bottle. That means one “recipe” usually only costs me approximately $0.25 to $0.35.
Less Stress with Kids. Maybe your kids are different than mine, but mine tend to get a little pump happy and often end up using a lot of soap. I used to get really bothered that we went through soap so fast because it felt like we were just washing money down the drain! Reducing the cost has allowed me to relax about it and just chalk it up as part of having kids!
Keeps my hands from drying out as fast. This one just might be my imagination, but it seems like my hands just don’t dry out as fast since using my DIY foaming soap. I assume it is because it’s more concentrated and therefore less harsh on my skin.
How To Make Foaming Hand Soap
STEP 1: Pour 3/4 inch of hand soap or Castile soap into a foaming hand soap dispenser. I just re-purposed one that I had bought with foaming soap in it, but you can also buy empty foaming soap dispensers as well.
STEP 2: Slowly fill almost to the top with warm water.
STEP 3: Put on the soap dispenser top; gently shake from side to side until soap is mixed into water.
STEP 4. Use and enjoy saving money every time you wash your hands!
FAQ & EXPERT TIPS
Best soaps to use: Almost every kind of hand soap that I have used has worked for this, although I have discovered that some seem to mix up better than others.
Avoid any soaps that have any sort of gel beads or exfoliants in them as this will clog the dispenser. Creamy hand soaps also don’t seem to work as well.
I typically use liquid castile soap but have also used Softsoap, Melaleuca, Mrs. Meyers, and Bath and Body Works.
Use warm water to fill. The warm water helps it dissolve and mix better and filling it slowly is important so that you don’t get a bunch of suds.
Variations. If using unscented soap, you can add essential oils for fragrance.
Can you turn gel hand soap into foaming soap? Yes. While it seems fancy, that’s exactly what we are doing here. Just use your favorite gel hand soap and follow the instructions.
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DIY Foaming Hand Soap Recipe
Equipment
- Foaming Soap Dispenser
Ingredients
- Hand soap
- Warm water
Instructions
- Add 3/4 inch of gel hand soap into a foaming soap dispenser.
- Fill it with warm water slowly almost to the top.
- Twist the top on and shake gently until it's mixed.
Barbara
wondering if the ratio of soap to water is always the same no matter what size container I have. My purchased soap dispensers have been varied in size in the past. Is there a certain size soap dispenser I should use? Thanks.
Lydia Beiler
Yes, I’d say so. It’s not a ratio that needs to be super exact. If you have a bottle that seems like the proportions are vastly different from a typical soap bottle, you can always add slightly more or less. I’d always go with less and then add more if you think it seems to thin.
Arleen
Where can you buy the foaming dispenser? I’m retired and have a strained income so anything to do with cleaning products , replace paper product diy solutions I’m all in for. Thank you AfR tampa
Lydia Beiler
This is really such an easy way to stretch your dollars a bit! You can buy empty foam dispensers on Amazon, but honestly, I just always buy foaming soap at the store (any large grocery store or places like Walmart and Target should have them). Then I use the soap that comes in it and once that is empty, I make my own and reuse the bottles. if it’s more convenient for you, you can buy bottles of Method foaming soap on Amazon as well. This is the kind that I typically purchase. Hope that helps!
Pat
But does the foam eventually settle?
Lydia Beiler
The foam happens when you pump the soap, so there is no foam to settle. The soap occasionally will settle just a little bit in the bottom of the bottle, but it’s never been a problem for me, as in, the soap still pumps out fine.