DIY All-Natural Rich & Creamy Moisturizing Hand Soap
Body DIY DIY Skincare & Beauty Natural DIY
Want to know a super-crunchy secret? I bring my own hand soap to work.
I’m telling you this because I figure if there’s anyone out there who won’t judge me, it’ll be someone looking for a DIY all-natural hand soap recipe 🙂
Sup, sister?
Now, it’s not just about triclosan and body burden. I mean, yes, it’s 95% about those things. But the other 5% is all about vanity — harsh antibacterial soaps really dry my hands out! I like to look down at my hands and not momentarily panic that I’ve somehow Freaky-Fridayed with a 95-year-old, thank you very much.
I’m sure you agree that hand soap must be moisturizing.
If you’ve hung around these parts for awhile now, maybe you’ve happened by my DIY antibacterial & moisturizing all-natural foaming hand soap recipe. It’s a good one.
But not everyone is into the foaming action. Or maybe you have a lovely liquid hand soap dispenser that goes super well with your bathroom. So I figured it was time for another option. Because good interior design is not to be messed with.
This DIY all-natural moisturizing hand soap is sooooo rich and creamy.
Now for awhile, I was simply mixing castile soap with water and putting it in my regular soap dispenser. But it’s way too watery. This recipe has a nice thick consistency and seems more like a “normal” hand soap. Plus unlike my foaming DIY hand soap, the ingredients in this recipe will not separate.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup water (filtered or previously boiled and now cooled to room temperature)
- ¼ cup castile soap
- 2 tbs carrier oil of choice (I like almond oil as a body moisturizer, so that’s what I used and suggest)
- 1 LEVEL teaspoon guar gum (if you add too much, your soap will be too thick)
- 15 drops essential oil of choice
NOTE: I like to make and suggest making smallish batches like this in case there is any bacteria growth. Yes, the essential oils will help preserve the soap, but better to be safe than sorry!
Directions:
Measure your carrier oil and put it in a small bowl. Stir in the guar gum until it is an even consistency. This is an important step: guar gum mixes really well with oil, but not so much with water or castile soap. So if you simply mix everything together at once, you’ll end up with a chunky mess. I warned ya!
Mix the water, castile soap, and essential oils together. Add in the carrier oil with the guar gum and continue stirring. After a minute or so, you should notice the mixture thicken considerably into a gel. Congrats! You now have a DIY all-natural rich & creamy moisturizing hand soap — pat yourself on the back while saying “I’m so clever.”
I made this and love it!
What does tbs stand for? Tsp is teaspoon and Tbsp is tablespoon. I’m unsure which one it is.
I just love this recipe! In addition to the water and guar gum (bought on Amazon), my ingredients are rose castile soap and rose massage oil (currently using Plum Island Soap Co.) No additional essential oils needed.
I made this this weekend and it turned out great! I used xanthum gum and jojoba oil because that’s what I had. If you use xanthum gum, I found that 1/4 – 1/2tsp is enough. It thickens considerably after some minutes. Thanks for the recipe!
I was looking for an easy recipe for a thicker type of castile-based hand soap to give as a gift. This was perfect! I did have to make a couple of changes, however.
I didn’t have almond oil so I used vitamin E skin oil, nor did I have guar gum so I used xanthan gum in the amounts specified for the guar gum in the recipe.
I was very careful to mix the vitamin E + xanthan gum separately and stirred it well, then in a separate bowl did the water, castile, and essential oil (in that order) before pouring the oil/xanthan gum mix into it. I stirred it for a while, maybe 2-3 minutes. At first I was worried because there were granules, but they dissolved after I stirred it that long. It also thickened even more as it sat while I was getting the funnel to bottle it up.
I had just a few spoonfuls left of the finished product which I tried out myself and I loved how my hands didn’t feel dry after washing for a change. We all have been washing our hands a lot this year, no doubt. My cousin and her little girl will love this. Thanks for this recipe.
Never tried it so don’t know.
Can I replace the guar gum with xyntham?
Oh no! And you’re sure you included the guar gum??
I love this soap recipe! I’ve used it for a long time now. I use OnGuard blend essential oil and almond scented Castile soap because I love how it smells. My granddaughter is partial to lavender. I make it to refill all of the hand pumps in my home including the kitchen. I purchased pumps for Mason jars & my granddaughter hade made the soap as gifts for her teachers. It’s so creamy and moisturizing. It has been so helpful during this pandemic with all of the extra handwashing, my hands still stay moisturized! Because it’s so rich and creamy, it takes a little extra time to rinse off my hands. I love that about the soap because it ensures I’m spending the right amount of time washing my hands (so important especially at this moment in time. )
Thanks!
I followed your directions to a T but it wasn’t like a gel it was thin any suggestions and thank you for a recipe I’m a beginnefw.
won’t a carrier oil like almond or coconut oil clog your pipes up eventually? What about using vegetable glycerin?
how to use this hand soap
Those who substituted Xanthan gum how much did you use? Did you mix it with oil before adding rest and did it thicken properly?
Hi, May – unfortunately I’ve never used anything else and can’t think of a natural soap concentrate that’s similar.
What can I use instead of castile soap? My daughter is allergic to hemp seeds and I would I assume it would apply to this as well.
Txs
No, it won’t.