DIY Foaming Hand Soap: Easy Homemade Recipe

QUICK SUMMARY

To make DIY foaming hand soap, fill a foaming soap dispenser three-fifths full with unscented liquid Castile soap, add aloe vera gel until it is four-fifths full, then add 10 drops of essential oils for every ounce. Thin it with a little water if your aloe is thick, shake, and use it like any hand soap.

The foaming pump makes the bubbles, so you get a rich lather without the sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) many store-bought soaps use to foam.

Foaming hand soap is a fancy staple in many homes. Regular hand soap gets the job done, but there’s something extraordinary about seeing the suds wash away the dirt! Foaming hand soaps can contain many toxins, but my DIY Foaming Hand Soap With Nourishing Essential Oils is all-natural.

I keep my bathroom stocked with this moisturizing soap, and we always get compliments on how amazing it smells! I know your family will love it just as much as mine does.

How to Make Foaming Hand Soap

Whenever people ask me what DIY they should start with, I always recommend liquid hand soap! It’s one of the easiest things to make, and it has a significant impact since it’s used often. After washing your hands, use my moisturizing hand cream to keep your skin feeling extra smooth.

DIY Foaming Hand Soap With Nourishing Essential Oils

Author Mama Z

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Quantity

2x4x6x

Ingredients

• Organic unscented liquid castile soap
• Fresh frozen aloe or aloe vera gel
• Essential oils*
• Purified OR distilled water (optional)

Supplies

• Glass foaming soap dispenser OR foaming soap pump to use with a jar

Instructions

 

• The exact measurements depend on the size of your foaming soap dispenser.
• Fill the dispenser 3/5 of the way with liquid soap.
• Then, add enough aloe to fill the dispenser ⅘ of the way.
• Top off with essential oils (10 drops for every ounce of your mixture).
• Be sure there's enough room in the bottle to place the pump without overflowing.
• Depending on the thickness of the aloe vera, you may need to add a little water.
• Secure the lid and shake vigorously.
• Use as you would any hand soap.

Notes

* Use any of these combinations or create your own:

Christmas Blend – Fir needle (Balsam fir, Douglas fir, white fir), peppermint, and vanilla absolute

Deep Breathing Blend – Cardamom, eucalyptus, lemon, peppermint, rosemary, tea tree

Focus Blend – Cedarwood, frankincense, sandalwood, and vetiver

Good Bye Allergy Blend – Lavender, lemon, and peppermint

Healthy Digestion Blend – Anise, caraway, fennel, ginger, lemon, tarragon

Immune Boosting Blend – Cinnamon leaf (bark would be too strong in this recipe), clove, eucalyptus, rosemary, orange, and lemon

Happy Blend – Orange, lemon, bergamot, grapefruit, and vanilla absolute

Sleepy Time Blend – Roman chamomile, lavender, and vetiver

Step One: Add Castile Soap

The exact quantities of this recipe will vary based on the size of your jar. Fill your soap dispenser 3/5 of the way with organic unscented liquid castile soap.

Step Two: Add Aloe Vera Gel

Add enough aloe vera gel to fill the dispenser 4/5 of the way.

Step Three: Add Essential Oils

Next, add your essential oils. This is the fun part and where I like to let my creativity shine! You should use 10 drops for every ounce of your mixture.

For a soap little ones will use, cut the essential oils in half, and leave them out for babies. Our guide to diluting essential oils gives the amounts for every age.

Step Four: Add Water

If you used an aloe vera gel that is extremely thick, add a little water to your jar. This will help thin the mixture and make the DIY Foaming Hand Soap easier to dispense. Place the lid on your jar and shake vigorously. Use as needed.

Once you add water, make small batches and start fresh if the smell, color, or texture changes. The FDA warns that water can bring germs into a body-care product. (1)

If you’d like an on-the-go option, I highly recommend trying my Hand Sanitizer With Essential Oils. It’s moisturizing enough to use often!

Safe & Natural Foaming Hand Soap Ingredients

This hand soap comes together with only a few ingredients. Here’s what you need to make this DIY.

Organic Unscented Liquid Castile Soap

Organic unscented liquid castile soap is an excellent base for foaming DIYs because it’s ultra sudsy! Stocking this soap in your cupboard is a perfect move for budget-savvy people because you can use it on your hair, face, and body.

Aloe Vera Gel

Aloe vera is soothing to the skin, and it’s a superb moisturizer. Using products that contain aloe vera can help speed up the healing of skin wounds, such as minor scrapes and burns. A 2021 review of 23 clinical trials with 4,023 adults found that aloe sped up wound healing and the regrowth of new skin. (2) A 2022 analysis of burn trials found second-degree burns treated with aloe healed about four and a half days faster than burns given other treatments. (3)

When purchasing an aloe vera product, be sure to get a brand that only uses aloe gel. Many companies add fillers that weaken the overall benefits.

Essential Oils

One of the most appealing things about soap is its scent. Store-bought hand soap brands contain synthetic fragrance, but this DIY contains the real deal: luxurious essential oils. We love filling our home with the scents God put in His creation instead of ones made in a lab.

Favorite Essential Oil Blend Ideas

The sky is the limit for essential oil combinations, but here are a few of our favorite oils to use in this recipe. I love customizing my hand soap to match the season or combat a specific issue.

• Christmas Blend: Fir needle, peppermint, vanilla absolute
• Deep Breathing Blend: Cardamom, eucalyptus, lemon, peppermint, rosemary, tea tree
• Focus Blend: Cedarwood, frankincense, sandalwood, vetiver
• Goodbye Allergy Blend: Lavender, lemon, peppermint
• Happy Blend: Orange, lemon, bergamot, grapefruit, vanilla
• Healthy Digestion Blend: Anise, caraway, fennel, ginger, lemon, tarragon
• Immune Support Blend: Cinnamon leaf, clove, eucalyptus, rosemary, orange, lemon
• Sleep Blend: Roman chamomile, lavender, vetiver

Use cinnamon leaf, not bark, in the Immune Support Blend; bark would be too strong in this recipe, and both cinnamon and clove can irritate skin.

What Creates Foam in Soap?

I don’t know about you, but I would choose a product with lots of bubbles over one with none any day! Kids and adults alike find foaming soap fun.

Many store-bought hand soaps get their foam from a detergent called sodium lauryl sulfate, or SLS. SLS is classified as causing skin irritation and serious eye irritation. (4) In fact, it irritates skin so reliably that dermatologists use it as the control irritant when they patch-test for skin allergies, and a 2024 study notes that up to 20 percent of the people tested react to it. (5) If you’ve ever washed a little one, you know just how easy it is to get soap all over!

Researchers at the University of Sheffield have studied SLS and eczema for years. In a 2022 trial with 49 adults with eczema, they used SLS as the test irritant and concluded that only certain creams “protect against irritants that trigger eczema.” (6) Their landmark 2011 study showed the damage up close: when 13 volunteers with a history of eczema rubbed an SLS-containing leave-on cream into one forearm twice a day for four weeks, it “caused severe damage to the skin barrier.” (7)

Instead of turning to SLS for foam, you can use natural ingredients to create a rich lather. For example, glycerine is a plant-based substance that we employ in many DIYs, such as our Kids Body Wash.

No worries if you don’t want to add another ingredient to your cart! The secret is the foaming soap dispenser: its pump mixes air with liquid soap to create fluffy foam. You can turn almost any natural soap into foam with a foaming pump. No toxins needed!

DIY Foaming Hand Soap FAQs

Does homemade foaming hand soap really clean?

Yes. Soap and water lift dirt and germs off your hands so they rinse away, and plain soap and water work as well as antibacterial soap for everyday handwashing. (8)

Can I refill a commercial foaming soap dispenser?

Yes, if the pump works properly. Wash and thoroughly dry the dispenser before refilling, and avoid topping off old soap with new batches.

Can children use this soap?

Yes. Make their batch with half the essential oils, and leave the oils out for babies or anyone with eczema.

Why is my foaming soap too thick?

Aloe vera gels vary in consistency. Add a little water until the mixture pumps smoothly.

Keep reading: DIY Lotion Bar With Essential Oils for Dry Skin · Heavenly Scent Room Spray with Essential Oils for Safe Fragrance · Homemade Bathroom Cleaner With Essential Oils