Liquid Hand Soap

     My very first endeavor into economizing for my family was liquid soap. I compared liquid hand soaps at my local major grocery store. All those little plastic bottles left on the sink, each one cost anywhere from $1.49 to $4.99 on average-at that's for a mere 12 ounces! There was always a little left behind and it was like searching for the lost city of Atlantis to find one that wasn't full of chemicals, dyes and perfumes! I needed to start small and here was my chance.

     I had researched various recipes. Some called for essential oils, but that defeated the purpose, in part. My oldest has severe eczema and needs the purest soaps she can get. Most utilized high end bars in their making, again, I was trying to save money, a lot of money. Why would I start with a $8 bar of soap? I played around with a few recipes. Tweaking some as I went, which led me to my fool proof liquid hand soap and a separate body wash (future post)!

My Fool-Proof Liquid Hand Soap

(No, really, I promise. In fact if you can't manage this your hands should probably just stay dirty )

You Will Need:

A large stock pot (like a soup pot, or lobster pot)

A cheese grater (or sharp knife...but the grater is so much easier)

A funnel is helpful not certainly not needed.

You probably already have these. Splurge for a grater at the dollar store if you don't already have one. And don't feel weird about using these items to cook with later...you're making soap. They will just be extra clean when you're done.

8 oz of Pure Glycerin bar soap.  ( I use Clearly Natural-usually Aloe-$1.49/bar) ****

1 gal distilled water ($1.79)

**** The bars typically come in 4oz sizes so you'll need 2 bars for this recipe.

**** Always be aware of what you need for projects. Keep a list on your phone or in your wallet of some items you typically use. If you come across these items on sale somewhere you can capitalize. I found my bar at a dollar store, randomly, when I ran in to buy a gift bag. $1 a piece!!!! I bought 20 bars. NOW THAT IS A SAVINGS!

1. Pour gallon of water into pot and turn heat on med-high. Reserved the empty jug for end product. Yes, you can use tap water but I prefer working with the purest water I can, and being on city water I know it already has some minerals in it (and who knows what else).

2. Grate 8 oz of soap. This will be a little sticky, and you're welcome, in advance, for the bicep work-out.

3. Add soap to warming water. Stir occasionally until ALL the soap dissolves. It will just look like soapy water.

4. Take off heat and let pot stand for 6-8 hours. Soap will now be a thicker, opaque color, more like the liquid soap you're used to seeing.

5. Pour soap into reserved gallon jug.

You're done! What's great about this product is that you don't need to add your own glycerin like most of the other recipes you'll find. Also, because you don't have to add your own glycerin, this product never actually fully "sets" like most of the others will and therefore will not have a "mucus" like consistency. However, it still won't give you a huge lather either. Get over it, bubbles do not equal cleanliness.

  

For $3.79 I made 1 gallon (128 oz) of liquid hand soap that my whole family uses and loves! I haven't bought liquid hand soap in over a year and am so glad for it.

Good luck I hope this help!

Simple City Sam