How to Make Homemade Liquid Hand Soap

Go Green in 2014: Week 17

Get one full gallon of liquid hand soap for less than $10

Once you get used to the stringy, egg-white texture and the absence of lather, it's really not so bad. I know this from experience. In fact, I prefer my homemade hand soap to any brand you might find in a store.

Most commercial liquid hand soaps contain toxic ingredients, like sodium lauryl sulfate, which is actually not necessary to get your hands clean. This is why I decided to start making my own soap - using only two ingredients. You only need a couple bars of non-toxic soap (I like using Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap) and a gallon of water.

Alternatively, you could use Dr. Bronner's liquid all-one soap diluted with water for hand-washing; the following recipe just makes a thicker, creamier hand soap.

You can buy the bars here: Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps Pure Castile Soap

List of ingredients and tools

• One gallon distilled water - less than $1
• Two bars Dr. Bronner's (or your choice) castile bar soap - approximately $4 each
• Cheese grater
• Large pot
• Kitchen funnel

How to make liquid hand soap

Note: While this soap is easy to make, it does take a full day to set, so keep this in mind before starting to make it.

Use your cheese grater to grate both bars of soap into a small bowl.

Grating the bars of soap is a bit tedious

Heat the water in a large pot until it is almost boiling (and make sure you save the gallon jug for later!). Reduce the heat to low and slowly add the grated soap, stirring until it is all dissolved.

After the soap dissolves, it will be watery with bubbles on top

Remove from the heat and let sit for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

After 12 hours, it will be thicker and slightly chunky

After 24 hours, it will have completely thickened

After 24 hours, stir one more time and use the funnel to carefully transfer the liquid soap into the gallon jug. I didn't have quite enough to fill the jug because I had spilled some. Oops!  You will definitely want someone to help out with this part.

Label to make sure nobody mistakes it for a gallon of milk, and store at room temperature until needed.

Did you try this recipe for liquid soap? What did you think of it? It can feel strange to wash your hands with it at first, but after using it regularly, it will seem completely normal.

Tip: This soap makes a great gift, and I have given dispensers filled with it as Christmas and Mother's Day gifts. I haven't heard any complaints yet!

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**Disclosure: Although this post may contain affiliate links, all opinions are my own.

Your challenge: This week, make a batch of non-toxic liquid hand soap, and use it to replace your regular soap once it runs out.

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**This post is part of a weekly challenge {Go Green in 2014}, during which the author has challenged herself - and you - to find 52 ways to lead a greener life in 2014. You can follow the weekly posts on this page.**