Liquid Hand Soap Making Procedure

Some store-bought brands are less expensive than the cost of making your own liquid hand soap, but where's the fun in buying soap? Furthermore, many commercial hand soaps may contain harsh additives that can be harmful to the health and condition of your skin. Making your own liquid hand soap gives you a measure of control over exactly what goes into it. What's more, you can do it with ingredients that are readily available in your home.

Learn the Liquid Hand Soap Making Procedure

Manufactured liquid hand soap is simply a liquefied form of the traditional bar of soap. Likewise, making your own is as simple as transforming your favorite bar of soap into a liquid version that you can pump or pour from a soap dispenser. Here's how:

Basic Liquid Soap

Ingredients

• 3 cups of water
• 1 bar of soap (regular size)
• Cheese grater

Instructions

1. Cut or grate your bar of soap into little pieces. The smaller the pieces, the quicker they will dissolve.
2. Bring the water to a boil.
3. Stir the grated soap into the boiling water, letting it fully dissolve.
4. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool down, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
5. Pour the cooled liquid soap into a soap dispenser.
6. Shake the dispenser each time before using it.

Beyond the Basics

If you would like to make your liquid soap from scratch, you would use the "hot process" method. It is a more advanced technique, and involves heating up your soap-making ingredients in a double-boiler. Check out this excellent LoveToKnow article on the Hot Process of Making Liquid Soap to learn more.

More Soap-making Recipes

A definite benefit of making your own liquid hand soap is the ability to experiment with and create many variations. Once you learn the basic method, you can customize your liquid soap with special ingredients– the creative possibilities are virtually endless! Here are two recipes to get you started:

Moisturizing Liquid Hand Soap

Ingredients

• One bar of your favorite soap
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil or glycerin
• Some cold water

Instructions

1. Grate your soap with a kitchen grater and place the shavings into a blender. Alternatively, chop the soap into little pieces.
2. Bring the water to a boil and add it to the grated soap in the blender. Let this sit overnight.
3. Set the blender to its "whip" setting, blending the soap and water. Add the honey. Add the olive oil or glycerin and blend the mixture again.
4. Add some cold water until you get the consistency that you want. Blend the mixture one final time.
5. Pour the mixture in a soap dispenser.
6. Shake the dispenser each time before using it.

Herbal Liquid Soap

Ingredients

• 1½ cups water
• 1 heaping tablespoon dried herbs*
• 2 tablespoon vegetable glycerin
• 1 bar soap, grated
• 1 cup boiled water
• Essential oil (Optional)

Instructions

1. Bring the water to a boil.
2. Place the dried herb or herbs into a mug and cover with half a cup of the boiled water. Cover the mug and let the herbs infuse for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, stir the grated soap into the remaining cup of water until it is completely dissolved. Stir in the vegetable glycerin.
4. Strain the infused liquid and stir it into the grated soap mixture.
5. Add a few drops of essential oil (optional).
6. Let cool uncovered and pour into a soap dispenser.

Tips

• Use a moisturizing brand of soap such as Dove for richer liquid hand soap.
• Avoid using bar soap that contains artificial fragrance or coloring, as these can be irritating to your skin.
• Using distilled, de-mineralized or rainwater gives your hand soap the best clarity. Tap water tends to make it cloudy.
• Collect leftover scraps and slivers of soap and use these to make your hand soap. Hotel soaps would work just as well.
• Never leave your soap-making area unattended, especially if you have children or pets in the house.

Conclusion

Hand washing is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to prevent illness and spreading germs to other people. It is also a quick and easy way to nourish our hard-working hands. Learning the liquid hand soap making procedure is not a trivial pursuit; done right, the result is hand soap that is of as high or even higher quality than commercial store-bought brands.