Homemade liquid hand soap
I hate the way bar soap gets all gummy and sticky in the soapdish, and prefer liquid soap for handwashing, leaving bar soap for the shower.
Storebought liquid hand soap usually has quite an impressive (not in a good way) list of chemicals in its ingredients list. Even a brand like Ecover, which one would think would be “pure and natural” simply isn’t. One ingredient in Ecover Liquid Hand Soap is 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol which, according to its MSDS, has the following attributes:
* Toxic
* Harmful if swallowed & in contact with skin
* May cause serious damage to the eyes
* Severe eye irritant
* Very damaging in the environment
* Toxic to aquatic organisms
Well, I am so NOT going to use a product with that in it!
Fortunately, it’s really easy to make your own liquid hand soap. I found this recipe at enviromom… the only change I make is to add a few drops of essential oil. I like lavender, but using tea tree oil would make the soap naturally anti-bacterial.
I buy Dr Bronners liquid castile soap and vegetable glycerine at Summer Naturals. If you buy the bulk sizes of these ingredients, then this quantity of hand soap (310ml, or 10 ounces) costs around 60p.
Homemade liquid hand soap
| British | American | |||
| 250ml | water | 1 cup | ||
| 60ml | liquid castile soap (eg. Dr Bronners) | 1/4 cup | ||
| 1 teaspoon | vegetable glycerine | 1 teaspoon | ||
| 4 drops | essential oil | 4 drops |
1. Combine everything in a pump bottle and shake gently to mix.
Makes 310ml (10 ounces).