How to Make Liquid Hand Soap

1 bar of soap of your choice (I used Dove)
1 TBL honey
1 TBL glycerin (you need this-found at Walmart by the gauze and band aids)
1 TBL Rubbing Alcohol
1 TBL Witch Hazel (easier on the skin-found at Walmart next to rubbing alcohol)
Water

Step 1

Grate your favorite bar of soap with a cheese grater. It's ok to buy a fancy soap that you like because remember this one bar of soap is going to make about 7-9 cups of liquid hand soap and that's a lot!!

Comments

[1LavenderLady]

The only thing that you need to consider is that you will either need to use this quickly, or add a preservative since you are adding water. That may be why you wanted to add the honey, however honey in this recipe will act as a humecant, which is great for your skin, but not effective at all in keeping the water from growing nasties. Also, you may want to consider using distilled or reverse osmosis water, especially if you are going the no preservative route. Just remember, you may be able to see mold after it grows, but you cannot see other germs and nasties with the naked eye. So if you are going no preservative you should only make enough soap to last 2 weeks max (extend this by 1-2 weeks if you refrigerate in between use, but decrease by 1-2 weeks if it is hot or if it sits in the sun).

[Ikadeo]

This sounds very nice, and the comments enforce my theory. But, is there something vegan I can use instead of honey? I hear that agave nectar and molasses are good substitutes, but I wanted approval before I tried it.

[ybedull]

Yes! We love Agave Nectar and we use it for a lot of things in our home. Ok so I posted this post a long time ago actually and since then I have tried a new recipe that I will admit I love MUCH better than this one. It's 3 bars of soap of your choice. I use Clearly Naturals Green Apple. You grate the soap, add 7 cups of water and simmer the mixture over low heat until all the soap melts. let cool for about 5 minutes and transfer the mixture to soap bottles or body wash bottles. This recipe will make 5 PINTS! AND it's NOT runny, not at all. It actually thickens up. I just finished one container I filled and actually had to add MORE water to the next batch I had previously stored because it thickens up quite nicely. I also add a little bit of alcohol to my pump to make it a disinfectant. You can use this as a body soap AND hand soap. I will be adding more recipes like this one to my Autism Blog. (A lot of parents that have children with AUtism do a lot of all natural remedies. the less chemicals in your home the better is kind of our theory ;) I just added this recipe label to my blog so there are PLENTY more recipes to come =) http://autismspuzzle.blogspot.com/

[MissSmurfsnot]

Well I just did this and its awesome, my hands are clean and I've filled three 1litre bottles of it, saving me a fortune and being that little bit more friendly to the planet! Thanks ( I grated soap and added boiling water to it then nuked it for a minute and it was fine)

[ybedull]

Great! I'm so glad it worked out for you! =) I have more remedies and such on my food/craft blog @ http://rockinldschefs.blogspot.com/

[mdog93]

i think it would be more like normal liquid soap if you blend the dry soap on it own first to make it into smaller particles then dissolve in the boiling water and stir gently don't blend, then just gently stir in the other ingredients until evenly distributed.

Tell me if i am wrong.

[ybedull]

yeah that sounds like a good idea. I think I will try that and see or if you do let me know how it goes! =)

[mdog93]

hmm i might try it, i doubt i will have time soon though and also, i don't need that much soap! lol

[ybedull]

Just wait until you have kids!! lol ;)

[mdog93]

lol, how long do you think the extra soap will last for?

[ybedull]

The longest I've stored mine for was 2 months and when I opened it I gave it a stir and it was the same as the day I made it =)

[mdog93]

ok, well its good information to know anyway even if i don't use it. Even though i technically already knew :P

[iPodGuy]

Great i'ble!

How long does the remainder in the large bowl last?

[ybedull]

We use a good amount of liquid hand soap around here because of our kiddos but the longest I have stored it before using it all has been 2 months and it was the same as the day I made it =)