DIY Homemade Liquid Hand Soap: From One Bar of Soap
Many people enjoy saving money! However, some ideas can end up costing more than the savings. So, when you try to save, make sure you really save money!
Liquid Hand Soap
This DIY homemade hand soap recipe will save you money by replacing the more expensive Softsoap refills, plus it is fun to make! I have been making this recipe for years to save money!
Here are the step-by-step, from-scratch instructions with natural ingredients. This is one of the easiest liquid hand soap recipes ever!
To simplify your DIY projects, find ones that are proven to work. This method of making liquid soap from a bar of soap is effective, and we use it regularly. If you would rather make your own foaming hand soap, then try easy foaming hand soap; here is a recipe for that, too!
I recommend choosing your favorite bar of soap and trying this method. If you prefer foaming hand soap, there’s a simple recipe for that too! If you enjoy making your own soap, you might also like to try making your own laundry soap.
1. Can’t Beat the Price:
Did you know that store-bought liquid hand soap can be very pricey?
Even at the dollar store, small pump bottles of hand soap can cost a lot. Plus, those plastic bottles end up in landfills.
Keeping your hands clean is important for good hygiene, so having plenty of affordable hand soap is essential.
It makes sense to turn one bar of soap into half a gallon of liquid hand soap for all your refills.
Here’s what you need to make your own liquid hand soap:
The savings are great, but if you enjoy making things yourself, this DIY hand soap project is perfect for you!
- You need one bar of soap, either homemade or store-bought. I prefer this type of soap in any form.
- You also need half a gallon of water.
- Gather a wooden spoon.
- Use a 4-quart kettle or a large pot.
- Have a cheese grater ready.
- Finally, get a pump bottle or jar dispenser.
Kirk’s Soap costs between $1.25 and $2.00 per bar. I haven’t tried using olive oil or Dove soap in this recipe, but it could be interesting to test!
Optional Ingredients:
- Vitamin E Oil for skincare
- Essential Oils : use drops of essential oils for fragrance
- Glycerin for moisturizing
- Tea Tree Oil
Related information: Tea Tree Oil: Benefits and Uses
2. Instructions to Make your Liquid Hand Soap
Super Easy Recipe Quick Overview…….
- Boil 8 cups (1/2 gallon) of water in a large kettle. You can use distilled water if you prefer.
- Grate or chop a 4-ounce bar of Kirk’s Castile soap into small pieces.
- Add the grated soap to the hot water and stir until it dissolves completely.
- Place the kettle on a hot pad or cutting board to cool.
- Once the mixture thickens, stir it again.
- Note: It can take 12 to 24+ hours for the mixture to thicken.
- Now you can add optional Vitamin E, essential oils, and glycerin. Mix well.
- Use a funnel to pour the liquid soap into your pump bottle, leaving about an inch at the top for water to adjust the consistency.
- Store any extra soap in glass jars or a plastic bottle at room temperature in a dark place. Refill as needed.
- That’s it! One batch lasts a long time!
This is a wonderfully easy but useful recipe.
*If you are adding the optional ingredients, start with the following amounts:
Vitamin E Oil – 4 tablespoons per 1/2 gallon batch
Glycerin – 4 Tablespoons per 1/2 gallon batch
Castile Soap smells fresh and pleasant. You can add different essential oils to create your own scent.
In my last batch, I added 8 drops of essential oil, and I love how it turned out! It’s simple and very refreshing!
- Lavender
- Lemon
- Peppermint
For an Anti-Bacterial Hand Soap add 1 teaspoon of homemade Thieves Oil or Tea Tree Essential Oil to your 1/2 gallon batch
To Begin:
First of all, gather your materials and bar of soap:
While the 1/2 gallon of water is coming to a boil, you will need to grate your bar of soap like this:
Remove the kettle from the heat when it has reached the boiling point and place it on a cutting board or hot pad.
Now, carefully add the grated soap into the hot water. Stir with your wooden spoon after all particles have completely melted, and then allow the mixture to cool.
As your soap mixture cools, it will start to semi-congeal.
When it has cooled completely, mix it up with your wooden spoon or use a hand beater like this.
This congealing process can take between 12 and 24 hours, so have patience.
Add the vitamin E oil, essential oils, and glycerin, then mix well.
At first, it may seem like nothing is changing, but it will start to thicken suddenly.
This hand soap recipe is thick and may feel slimy when you pour it into your dispenser.
Your semi-thick soap mixture is ready to pour into the bottles.
Use a funnel to fill the bottles, but be careful as it can come out in globs!
You’ll understand what I mean, and soon you’ll get better at filling your dispenser!
I always leave about an inch of space at the top of each bottle to add a little water for the right consistency.
For Further Reading on Viscosity. This hand soap recipe actually makes for a fun and interesting homeschool or classroom project, plus it is so practical!
3. Kirk’s Soap is a must…
I find that Kirk’s Coconut Bar Soap is the best soap to use when making your own homemade liquid hand soap; it is plant-based from coconut oil and naturally moisturizing.
Plus, it has natural skin-softening glycerin already in it.
Gentle Castile Bar Soap – with Castile (vegetable based) Soap –
A quote from Kirks’ Website says it all:.
“Our all-vegetable-based bar soap, with 100% premium coconut oil, creates a gentle and creamy lather even in hard water, leaving skin feeling soft and healthy.”
I have never made this recipe with soap flakes, as I have only used the Kirks’ Castile bars. Use one of these types of solid soap bars for your liquid homemade soap:
Kirk’s Soap
4. Pump Bottle | Glass Dispenser
This is one of the most important aspects of liquid soap…having a convenient dispenser.
Being able to more easily dispense your homemade liquid soap is important. I love using a dispenser that fits on a regular-mouth canning jar. The actual pump dispensers come in a variety of finishes to go with any décor.
These make the most perfect homemade gifts for Christmas, birthdays, housewarmings, or any other special occasion.
Plus, if you need a wonderful fingernail brush, try this one!
4. Usefulness Matters
Creating DIY or homemade projects and gifts can be great fun, but when you couple usefulness with saving money and recycling, they are the best!!
- Add vitamin E oil, essential oils, and glycerin, then mix well.
- At first, it might seem like nothing is happening, but it will suddenly thicken.
- Reuse a glass pump dispenser to help recycle!
- You can make 1/2 gallon of liquid hand soap from one bar of your favorite soap.
- It’s great to have on hand for refills.
- You can add your own essential oils or fragrances.
- This avoids toxic chemicals found in store-bought liquid soaps.
- You can create something useful, practical, and perfect for gifts!
- The best part is you can make your own hand soap whenever you need it.
- This hand soap recipe is thick, so it may be slimy when pouring into your dispenser.
- Your thick soap mixture is ready to pour into bottles.
- Use a funnel to fill your hand soap bottles, but be careful as it can come out in globs!
- You’ll get the hang of filling your dispenser soon!
- I always leave about an inch of space at the top of each bottle to add a little water for the right consistency.
Homemade Liquid Hand Soap From a Bar of Kirk's Castille Soap!
This recipe will make 1/2 gallon of liquid pump soap from one bar a Kirk's Coconut Castille soap!
Materials
- Here’s what you need to make your own handsoap:
- One bar of Kirk's Original Coco Bar Soap
- 1/2 gallon of water
- wooden spoon
- 4 quart kettle
- pump bottle or jar dispenser
- Optional Ingredients:
- Vitamin E Oil for skin care
- Essential Oils for fragrance
- Glycerin for moisturizing
- Tea Tree Essential Oil for Antibacterial
Tools
- Large 4 to 5 qt Kettle
- Wooden Spoon
- Grater
- Pump Soap Dispenser
Instructions
This Super Easy Recipe Instructions.......
- Bring the 1/2 gallon of water to a boil in your large kettle
- Grate or chop the 4 ounce bar of Kirk's Coconut Castille soap into small pieces ~ the smaller the better
- Add the grated soap to the hot water
- Stir until all the pieces have melted
- Set the kettle on a hot pad or cutting board to cool
- Once congealed, stir
- Now is the time to add the optional Vitamin E, essential oils and glycerin*
- Make sure to mix well
- Using a funnel, pour the liquid soap into your pump bottle
- Leave about one inch at the top in order to add a little water to get the proper consistency
- Store the extra soap in glass jars in a cool, dark location
- Refill as needed
- That's it........
This is such a wonderfully easy but useful recipe.
If you are adding the optional ingredients, start with the following amounts:
Vitamin E Oil - 4 tablespoons per 1/2 gallon batch
Glycerin - 4 Tablespoons per 1/2 gallon batch
For an Anti-Bacterial Hand Soap add 1 teaspoon of homemade Thieves Oil or Tea Tree Essential Oil to your 1/2 gallon batch
Kirk's Castile Soap has a nice clean, fresh scent but experiment if you would like with essential oils to create different scents.
I added 8 drops of the following to my latest batch of the following and I love it! So simple, fresh and clean smelling!
~Lavender
~Lemon
~Peppermint
Notes
Usefulness Matters
Creating DIY or homemade projects and gifts can be great fun but when you couple usefulness with saving money and recycling, they are the best!!
- Reusing glass pump dispenser which is part of recycling!
- Making 1/2 gallon of liquid hand soap from one bar of your favorite soap
- Adding your own essential oil or fragrances
- Avoiding toxic chemicals in commercial liquid soaps
- Making something that is useful, practical and perfect for gift giving!
- I have not tried this recipe with any other types of bar soap
Pro Tip for DIY Takeaways:
You can make your own liquid hand soap easily and cheaply.
You can also use glycerin in the recipe for extra moisture.
Adding this skill to your list of achievements can enhance your Simple Living Natural Lifestyle.
Making homemade and handcrafted products is one of the items on the Homesteader’s Checklist of Skills and Activities today!
Most Asked Question:
Q: Can I make this liquid hand soap without Castile soap?
A: I have never made this DIY recipe for liquid pump soap without the Kirk’s Coconut Soap. So, I do not know if the pump soap will set up properly.
Pin it for Later!!!
Disclaimer: This information is for learning only. Please check for ingredient substitutions and possible allergies to stay safe.
The Food and Drug Administration has not reviewed these statements. According to FDA rules, the information and products on this website do not aim to treat, cure, prevent, or diagnose any illness or disease.
does this need to use distilled water or because boiling water not necessary?
I just use boiled tap water. Distilled water would be great but will increase the cost a little bit. The tap water has worked well for us. Great question…Thanks for writing!!!
Does it separate over time?
Mine has never separated. It actually seem to congeal more and sets up but all that needs to be done is to simply stir to bring the liquid hand soap back to the proper consistency. Thanks for writing!
I have followed instructions, left overnight, but seems to be too thick. Do I add more water?
Make sure to stir your mixture so it becomes more liquid-like. The goal is to have the mixture thick enough so it pumps properly. After stirring, put a little into your pump dispenser with a funnel to make sure it will pump out. The consistency is interesting, we have 2 different types of pump dispensers and it works well in both. But, if yours does not pump out properly, add just a little bit of water and mix well. You do not want it to be too thin. Did you use the Kirk’s Coco Castille Soap? I have not tried any other type of soap so I am not sure how something else would work. I would think it would be okay but please let me know how it goes! Thanks for writing!
I like this idea..it will help me a lot instead of buying expensive hand soap in groscery store. Thank you for the engredients.
Hi Eliza…..yes, me too! I am still amazed that this hand soap recipe makes an entire 1/2 gallon. Sometimes it takes up to 18+ hours to set up so don’t give up! Thanks for writing!
Have seen this few years ago, but with hectic life at the time never got around-to-it. Will do doing it now.
Great! This is a quick and easy recipe…..grate the bar of soap, add to boiling water to melt. Let sit for 24 hours or more. And, it is ready to go! Hope you find the time to make it….Thanks for writing!
I just made this last night and still very liquid. Do I have to wait longer or add anything else?
I have only used Kirk’s Coco Soap…..but, yes, I would wait longer and I am sure it will all the sudden start to gel. It will almost thicken completely but will come back to a pour liquid with stirring. If you store the extra in a jar, make sure to mix it up a bit before pouring into your soap dispenser. Let me know how it turns out…Thanks for writing!
Hi! Thank you for sharing this! I am at the 60 hour mark and still waiting for the soap to congeal. Have you ever had to wait this long? I used spring water and a homemade coconut/olive oil soap. Maybe it’s not congealing because my soap had natural colorants/essential oils? Thanks in advance for your input 🙂
Hi Beth….I have only used the Kirk’s Coco Castile bar soap for this recipe so I am not sure. The spring water is perfect, I just have not tried any other soaps. You might try a small test batch, using your uncongealed mixture instead of water and Kirk’s Coco Castille soap. Maybe 1 quart of the mixture and 1/4 bar of Kirk’s grated soap to see if you can salvage your first batch. Let me know how it goes!!! Thanks for writing.
Did this ever congeal? I’m using a home made bar of canolive II (Coconut, Olive and canola) and after 12hrs had no congeal, was impatient (I know, I know), and added another 4oz bar (hadn’t read enough maybe?) and waited another 12hrs…nothing, waited until 20hrs and checked with a wooden spoon and still watery. Not sure what gives but I’ll wait longer for now…starting to wonder though.
As I have only used the Kirk’s Original Coco Castile bar soap for this recipe, I am not sure how your homemade coconut canolive bar will work. Give the recipe another try with Kirk’s Castile bar soap to see how it sets up and then in the meantime your other batch may congeal. Thanks for writing.
Did yours ever work with your homemade bar? Still waiting for mine to set (so far at 22 hours) using one of my homemade bars (olive, coconut, palm, and sunflower oils). I know it is still “early” but wasn’t sure what I should should be seeing by this point.
I have only made this liquid hand soap with the Kirk’s Coco Castille Bar Soap….I am interested to see what others are finding with their homemade soap. Keep us posted! Thanks for writing.
Hello, thanks for sharing! Is a preservative needed?
I have not needed a preservative as this liquid hand soap seems to keep real well. After filling my pump dispensers, I simply store the rest in a quart size canning jar under the bathroom sink. So far, so good ☺ Thanks for writing!
Oh My…..This is a great blog, I am happy that I have come across this one. It’s an amazing blog to read about diy handmade liquid hand soap. Thanks for this wonderful content. I loved reading your article, will definitely give it a try to store as per your advice. Great blog to share!!
Thank you for the recipe, tried it last week the only issue is it doesn’t lather. It smells great and works great but I would expect it to lather a bit. Did I do something wrong!
I think you did everything right. This recipe just does not create lather. But, like you said, this hand soap works well and smells great!
Do I congeal with a lid on or off the pot? Thank you.
I usually just leave the lid off but you may put the lid on after the mixture cools. I think putting the lid on too early will cause excess condensation to form. But, having the lid on will protect from anything falling into your Soap Mix!
Great recipe. Would to add a preserative to this recipe if you were going to sell it? If so what kind and how much?
I have just made one batch at a time so I am not a good resource about adding any type of preservative. Please let me know if you find something that works well. Thanks!
Used the soap that you recommended, but it hasn’t congealed. I’m at hour 29 and I have tried stirring it but nothing happens except getting a little foamy. It does not have the milky color like your’s. Just a clear color. I guess I’ll use it and see how it does. I have made homemade laundry soap with bar soap and that congealed. I was expecting this to be the same consistency.
I am not sure why it has not congealed nor why it is clear instead of a milky color. You might simply pour the solution in a jar and set it aside for a week or so to see if it will congeal. Like you mentioned, I would definitely give it try to see how it works as is. Please let us know what happens. Thanks for writing.
I am a sight-challenged woman who absolutely loooooooooooooooooooooooooooves making stuff from scratch, and I’d like to try making this soap one day! I wonder, would it be possible to boil water with my electric kettle, then pour it into a large metal mixing bowl with the grated soap? Would I be able to mix this with my electric mixer? Or would that ruin the machine? If I can’t mix it with the mixer, would I be able to pour the grated soap into a large metal mixing bowl then mix with a wooden spoon? My kettle can safely boil up to 6 cups of water at a time without spilling over.
Sounds like you have a good plan! Yes, boiling your water in your electric kettle should work just fine. Stirring the grated soap into the hot water with a wooden spoon is actually the best method. This is a fun project…hope you enjoy it!
My provider and I made this soap a couple days ago, using a leftover bar of Cetaphil facial soap that I have. We used a handheld cheese grater to grate the soap into my metal mixing bowl. We then poured boiling water from my electric kettle into the bowl, and stirred the water and the soap flakes, which felt like snow, with a wooden spoon. I actually found a refill bottle that’s suitable for soap, which used to have antibacterial liquid soap in it, and I poured it in all by myself, without makin’ a mess! The downside, however, is that it’s a bit thinner than I expected. I think maybe next time, i’ll try to use a little bit less water. How much water should I use to make the soap like the consistency of jelly? I then poured it into my pump bottle, and I’ve actually got quite a bit left in the big bottle! Isn’t that amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing?
Yes, that is amazing! Thanks for your note. I have never tried any other soap than the Kirk’s Castile so it is interesting to know how the Cetaphil turned out. Try a little less water with your next batch. Hopefully, that will help with the consistency. Please let me know what you find out! ☺
I am a sight challenged woman who loooooooooooooooooooooooooooves to make stuff from scratch! My provider, Michelle and I made some liquid soap yesterday, from a bar of Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser, and it actually worked! However, the downside is that it’s a bit thinner than I expected. We let it congeal for at least twelve hours. I made it in the afternoon, and I checked it this mornin’ when I woke up, and it was a bit thin. I poured it into a refill bottle that used to be Dial Antibacterial Liquid soap, and it fits in there! I even poured it all by myself, without makin’ a mess! I wonder if I should use a little less water next time. I mean, I want it to be the consistancy of jelly. I boiled 6 cups of water in my electric kettle. I think that was a bit too much. How much water do you think I should use to make soap that feels like jelly?
I wonder if you have a recipe for home style, salon quality shampoo.