Once you try this simple and cheap all natural foaming hand soap recipe, you will never want to buy hand soap again! With two simple ingredients and some essential oils, you can make this over and over and always have hand soap whenever you need it.
Making your own hand soap is quite possibly THE quickest and easiest thing you can start doing to save money and start eliminating toxins in your home.
You probably already know that your skin is the largest organ in the body. But have you thought about how it actually absorbs the things we use on it into your body!? When you start reading ingredients of things we use multiple times a day every day with that in mind, it is alarming to think of how many toxins we are constantly exposing ourselves to.
This includes our delicious smelling hand soaps we all love. Even the “cleaner” brands are usually not all that clean when you start seeing they include things like “fragrance” and other harmful additives.
Enter – this simple and cheap DIY foaming hand soap recipe! It takes about 1 minute to make and there are no toxic ingredients! I am telling you, you will be hooked after making this. I have not bought hand soap in 3 years since I started making this recipe. So let’s get started!
Here’s what you’ll need to make foaming hand soap:
- Foaming Hand Soap Dispenser – these are my favorite
- Unscented Castille Soap
- Essential Oils (optional)
- Measuring Cups
- Waterproof Label Sticker Paper (optional)
First, gather your ingredients!
This foaming hand soap recipe is super simple and easy to make! There are two main ingredients – unscented castile soap and filtered water. You also have the option of adding essential oils (and I highly recommend you do add them!).
This recipe truly could not be easier! I have made this foaming hand soap recipe for many years and hope you will love it as much as we have! My kids definitely enjoy washing their hands more when the soap is so foamy and smooth! And I feel better about them using it knowing exactly what is going on their sweet skin. 🙂
Now, you pour!
After you gather up your ingredients, you will then pour 1/4 Cup of unscented castile soap into your glass soap jar. Add 1 Cup of filtered water straight to the soap and then add your essential oils. Place the soap dispenser back on and then gently shake/swirl the soap, water and essential oils to combine. Et voila! You have hand soap!
If you have dry hands, try adding a tablespoon of fractionated coconut oil and a few drops of Vitamin E oil to make this soap even more moisturizing.
My journey from fragrance to essential oils…
One of the things about traditional hand soap bought in the store that makes it so appealing is the scents! Those scents definitely are delicious. Unfortunately, they come from fragrance which is made by synthetic chemicals known as endocrine disrupters and carcinogens.
When I had my first baby in 2018, it sent me on a journey (and it has been a journey!) to find out exactly what products we were using in our home that could possibly be harmful to him. Once I started digging, there was no turning back. I realized we were going to need to make some serious changes. But even with switching to “clean” brands, I later found out that they still included harmful things, like fragrance! So disappointing!
Enter essential oils! I started using essential oils a year ago when my husband gave me the Young Living starter bundle for Christmas. I have told him so many times this is the best gift he has ever given me! It has been so fun learning about different essential oils and how to use them in so many ways. They even played a huge role in labor during my home birth with my 3rd baby.
So if you are worried about losing your favorite scents when switching to an all natural soap, good news! You don’t have to! I have 4 different essential oil blends that will make your hand soap smell AMAZING. There is one for each season, since I always like my hand soap to smell like whatever the scents of the season are.
You can use any of these blends, or try making some up on your own! It is so fun playing with essential oil blends to see what fragrances you can come up with. It’s even better than buying scented soaps!
Seasonal Essential Oil Blends for foaming hand soap:
Spring
- 5 drops lemon
- 5 drops eucalyptus
- 5 drops lavender
Summer
- 5 drops geranium
- 4 drops orange
- 4 drops northern lights black spruce
- 3 drops grapefruit
Autumn
- 5 drops orange
- 5 drops cardamom
- 4 drops vanilla
- 1 drop cinnamon bark
Winter
- 5 drops Idaho Grand fir
- 2 drops peppermint
- 2 drops vanilla
- 1 drop cinnamon bark
Foaming Hand Soap Essential Oils:
Cardamom – has a warm, fruity and spicy scent that instantly warms your space and brings focus and calm to the atmosphere.
Cinnamon Bark – warm, spicy and woody aroma that cleanses the air, fights sickness and creates a comforting and inviting environment.
Eucalyptus – refreshing and invigorating, brings peace and calming while promoting clear breathing.
Geranium – fresh, sweet and floral with an uplifting and soothing aroma.
Grapefruit – bright, citrus and sweet scent, with cleansing and energizing properties.
Idaho Grand Fir – bring nature into your home with this essential oil, with scents of a freshly cut Christmas tree and grounding, calming aromas.
Lavender – one of the most tranquil and soothing oils, scents of peace and calming.
Lemon – cleansing and purifying with bright, zesty and citrus aroma.
Northern Lights Black Spruce – rich, woodsy and smokey scent, calming and serene.
Orange – bright, citrus scent that cleanses and refreshes the air.
Peppermint – fresh and minty with an invigorating aroma and promotes clear breathing.
Vanilla – warm, rich and lightly sweet aroma, promotes a comforting and sweet environment.
FREE Printable Labels for the best simple and all-natural Foaming Hand Soap!
You can personalize your soap bottles by signing up to receive these free downloadable printable labels for each seasonal essential oil blend. When you sign up below and they will be sent straight to your inbox. There are also labels without the scent name if you decide to make your own blends!
To make the labels…
Simply download the pdf sent to your email and then print! THIS waterproof sticker label paper is super great for DIY bath and beauty products. It does not smudge and looks so chic with the matte finish.
Pin it for later!
More Essential Oil Natural Home Posts to Check out:
- Essential Oil Diffuser Blends for Winter
- DIY All-Purpose Cleaning Spray with Castile Soap & Essential Oils
- 6 Simple Swaps for a Non-Toxic Kitchen
- DIY Hair Detangling Spray without ACV!
If you try this DIY recipe and love it, I would love to know! Come back and leave a review! Tag me on Instagram @oursimplegraces
DIY Foaming Hand Soap
This DIY foaming hand soap recipe with essential oils is so simple and easy. You will never need to buy hand soap again!
Materials
- 1/4 C Unscented Castille Soap
- 1 C filtered water
- 15 drops Essential Oils (optional)
Instructions
- Pour 1/4 C Castille Soap and 1 Cup filtered water into your foaming hand soap dish.
- Add essential oils if using and put the lid on. Gently shake bottle and it is ready to be used!
Notes
Don't forget to sign up for your free printable labels to be sent to your email!
Hi Hollyn! This is Winnie from Texas. I just spent some time reading your blog and looking at the great ideas you have in so many different areas. A TON of information! I really like the recipes you’ve posted.
I already know I will enjoy your Beef Stew and Sausage and Kale soup.
Also, thank you for the fantastic spice blends! I definitely love that and will use them.
Recently your Mom made your Pumpkin Spice Granola and passed out large jars to those of us on her Kids Praise ministry team. It was such a great gift. I have this really crazy sweet tooth that seems to never be satisfied. Seriously! Never! However, I found this delicious recipe actually did curb that craving for sweets throughout the day. And, I also found it makes a great cereal. I look forward to making this myself sometime in the future.
You have such wonderful and unique ideas for the home (LOVE the soap recipes). Thank you for sharing your thoughts and life lessons on being the mother of 3. I look forward to your future posts and keeping up with your adventures and youthful wisdom. Blessings to you and your sweet family.
Hi Winnie! These are the sweetest comments I have ever received! Thank you so much! I am so glad you enjoyed the granola, and yes I love eating it as cereal as well 🙂 Thank you for your support and and kind words, it means so much!
Hollyn
Hi Hollyn,
I just discovered your website today and I love it! I will be turning seventy years old next week and I am sad-to-say I am just now (better late than never) taking the steps to turn my home into an all natural environment.
Having just discovered Young Living essential oils is what has truly inspired me to start living cleaner so your DIY recipes are just what I needed to make great use of my oils. Every one of your DIY recipes are so easy to follow and will be so helpful as I begin this process to make my home a healthier place for my husband and me. Plus, I am hoping that my grown children will follow once I show them how easy it is to make their homes a healthier place by eliminating dangerous chemicals.
I do have some questions for you if you don’t mind taking the time to answer: 1) Do you have a DIY recipe for laundry detergent (liquid and/or powder) using essential oils? 2) Do you ever add anything like safflower oil, Vitamin E, cocoanut oil, etc. to your foaming hand soap? My hands get so dry in the winter. 3) Is it safe to use the lemon essential oil on a granite counter top? 4) Do you ever make DIY lotions, body creams, hair products?
Thanks again for a great website!
Becky
Hi Becky! Thank you so much for your comments and I am so glad to hear you are enjoying the DIY recipes and essential oils! I love using Young Living EO’s, too, and am always looking for more ways to use them. That is inspiring to hear you are making your home a healthier place. I think there is no better time to do it than now. I’m sure your children will be able to learn so much as they see you making these changes in your own home!
To answer your questions: 1 – I do not have a recipe for laundry detergent yet, I have been using up what I had left of my Molly’s Suds detergent and am planning to make up a detergent next week using borax, washing soda, soap and essential oils. I would love to make a post once I figure out what seems to works best. If you sign up for my emails, I will send out a notification when that is up in the future.
2 – You could add fractionated coconut oil and a few drops of vitamin E to your foaming hand soap and that should help to moisturize the soap.
3 – Lemon essential oil IS safe for granite countertops because it does not contain citric acid, which is what would be harmful (ie fresh squeezed lemon juice).
4 – Yes, I make all my lotions, body creams and lip balms and am always trying new things to add into the mix using natural ingredients and essential oils! I am planning to post more on these in the coming weeks/months, so definitely stay tuned! I’ve got 3 little ones, so I have more ideas and recipes planned than I have time to write posts, but they are coming! 🙂
Thank you so much for spending some time on the blog and for taking the time to write me!
Hollyn
How cool!! I have all of the ingredients to make this on hand and can’t wait to try it out! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Yay!! I love when that happens! Hope you love it! 🙂
I’ve made this several times with different essential oils and it’s awesome. The only thing I don’t understand is how you get 16 oz of soap by mixing 1 cup, 1/4 cup and 15 drops. 😉
I’m so glad you love the soap! Oh my, that is a definite typo ! 🙂 I will fix that!
Hi! I’m really keen to try this soap but I do not have filtered water. Is there an alternative? Thanks.
Hi! you could use distilled water.
I love making my own hand soap and this is a wonderful recipe! Thanks for adding all the different essential oil blends, I love that!
Thank you, Arica! I’m glad you liked the essential oil blends! They are some of my favorites 🙂
Beautiful dispenser, and I love the seasonal suggestions! Can’t wait to try this!
Yay!! Thank you so much! Hope you enjoy!
Love to see more natural soap options, I love to make my own soap too. I love that you use the foaming dispenser I will have to invest in one because I think that would be helpful with the littles especially. I also love adding jojoba oil to my soap too just to make it softer on the hands. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Yes, same! I think the foaming part really helps the kids get motivated to wash their hands! Plus, it’s fun for me too TBH 😉 Jojoba oil is a great idea, I will have to try that in my next batch.. it is so dry here right now. Thanks, Tani!
Thank you for the hand soap recipe. I’ve never tried this but landed on your blog based on my search. I have one question though – do the oils separate since water and oil don’t mix well? Do you need to shake periodically. Can’t wait to give it a try.
Hi Lori! Thank you for checking out the blog! I have not had an issue with much separation, but if you do notice any, you can just give the bottle a shake every now and then to mix it back together. I hope you enjoy!
Using liquid soap has several benefits that solid soap bars do not have access to, especially if you create a natural liquid soap.