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.Â
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.Â
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.
Pat
I do this too – works great! Recently I bought 5 bottles of “out of date” kids bubble-bath from the dollar store for $1 a litre (a little less than a quart). The liquid had thickened a little but worked perfectly for making foam soap and at about 10 cents a 500ml bottle (a little less than a pint) I was very happy.
Pat
PS Forgot to say that’s Aussie dollars so even less than yours.
Lydia Beiler
So smart! And what a great deal. Wow!
Chris Johnston
To be frugal and eco friendly,there is a brand of castle soap made for Wal-Mart called Equate that is reasonably priced.
ThriftyFrugalMom
That’s good to know, Chris! Thank you!
Carol
I crumble the small pieces of old soap bars into my foaming dispense and add water. Uses every last bit of the soap.
ThriftyFrugalMom
I’m curious, how do they dissolve? I’d be scared that the little pieces would clog the dispenser. I love the idea though, for sure!
Leigh
I love the idea of non-antibacterial liquid hand soap with simple healthy ingredients! I’ll be trying this very soon, maybe the Mrs. Meyers Basil scented for that fresh smell!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Mrs. Meyers works wonderfully for this!
Jenny
I’ve done this, too. Works great! 🙂
Emily
Yes, my 4 year old also uses quite a bit of soap. It’s much easier to take when it’s the cheaper homemade soap!
ThriftyFrugalMom
I know! I used to bite my tongue all.the.time when my kids were washing their hands. Now it’s not such a big deal!