Body Wash

     So when I said before that my first foray into DIY products and saving money was my liquid hand soap, I lied...kinda. It is true that the first thing I attempted was liquid hand soap, but there are so many recipes out there that trial and error has got to be a part of the process. This was one of the first recipes, albeit now modified, that I ever tried as a liquid hand soap. It was successful in many ways. It was liquid, it was soap, I could use on my hands. But it was unsuccessful too.

     Don't get me wrong, I know there are properties of homemade soaps that one must get used to. It will not lather in your hands like we are used to. No biggie, I know bubbles don't equal cleanliness. It may congeal or separate between use, again, I can handle shaking the jar every once in a while. What I couldn't get past was the consistency. Ick! I could rationalize it just fine, but I just couldn't get over the "mucus" feeling. I blame it on having to wipe little noses all day. Regardless, I was not comfortable with it so I knew the rest of the family would be a hard sell. That's when I started experimenting with different soaps, recipes, and ultimately came up with my own liquid hand soap that takes care of all those issues. Problem solved.

     What was I going to do with the gallon of soap I had made though? I'm clearly not a waster, I couldn't just toss it out. I was determined to use it somehow, so I started using it in the shower as a body wash. Switching venues didn't solve any issues, go figure. Then I started using it with my loofah. Wait a minute. Hold the phone. Something was different. Gone was the mucus consistency. Present was this amazing lather. Was it really that simple? Yep. That was it, the loofah was magic. I still wasn't crazy about the bar brand I had chosen but now I had direction. After a few more attempts I had it mastered (and several non-picky friends had gallons of trial soap to use). I have specifically chosen this bar of soap because it is mild on our skin and has a faint fragrance. I don't like messing around with essential oils, honestly, but I also don't want a lot of fragrance or any perfume in the bar. This bar works great for us and our kids AND it's only $1.79 for the 3 pack. So here goes, my homemade body wash.

Body Wash

You'll need to break out those trusty liquid soap making items: stock pot, grater, and funnel (if you've got one).

Ingredients

1 gallon purified water                                                                                               8 oz Dial Basics bar soap                                                                                           2 tablespoons liquid Glycerin    

Step 1: Pour the gallon of water into the stock pot and turn heat on med-high. (Don't let the soap boil.)

Step 2: Grate 8 ounces of bar soap. The soap is found as a 3 pack of 3.2 oz bars, so use 2 and a half bars. Add the shavings to the water.

Step 3: Once the shavings are completely melted (will just look like soapy water), add 2 tablespoons Glycerin.

Step 4: Remove from heat and let set 8-10 hours. Do not cover. Once set you'll be able to leave fingerprints by pressing on the soap gently, but not breaking through. (There's no way to let it sit too long.)

  

            

Step 5:  Whisk it up! I use an immersion blender (a.k.a. stick blender, shaft blender) because I have one and it makes this process quicker. All you need to do is stir up the soap with a wooden spoon and/or whisk to get it back to it's liquid consistency. It will still be a little on the "mucusy" side but that's ok.

Step 6: Funnel soap into the empty gallon container and/or an old empty squeeze bottle for the shower. Remember the secret trick: use the loofah!

     There you have it. What originally started as a mistake I wasn't willing to waste turned out to be a perfect, simple recipe for homemade body wash. I gave this body wash and my liquid hand soap as gifts for Christmas this year and have received excellent feedback. I prefer this mixture to using, say, just my hand soap as a body wash. This wash leaves your skin feeling clean and soft without feeling stripped. I hope you have as much success as I have had with it.

It just goes to show that sometimes great things come from mistakes.

Simple City Sam