DIY moisturizing liquid hand and body soap

Do you struggle with dry skin or eczema?  Do you want a DIY natural hand and body wash/soap?  This DIY is for you!  Back in 2014/2015 I started making the hand and body soap for my family.  I primarily started doing it because of my oldest son.  He can get eczema really easily since his skin is so sensitive.  I had tried so many ‘natural’ and pediatrician recommended hand and body soaps for him to no avail.  All of them ended up drying his skin out and causing a flair up of eczema.  Thankfully, I have come up with a concoction that works for him and my whole family!  I started with this recipe for inspiration: https://pronounceskincare.com/diy-moisturizing-antibacterial-hand-soap-leaves-your-hands-silky-smooth/

I tweaked the above recipe quite a bit until I had ‘made it my own’ so to speak. My whole family loves it!  This soap is gentle and moisturizing enough to use on baby skin.  Not only that, it’s all natural and cheaper than buying an all-natural liquid soap.  That all-natural part is a REALLY big deal to me.  There are so many crazy toxic ingredients in most store bought soaps.  For more information about that, please see the below links:

-https://www.huffingtonpost.com/vanessa-cunningham/dangerous-beauty-products_b_4168587.html

-http://awakeningwillow.com/2010/04/27/11-toxic-ingredients-to-avoid-in-hand-soap-and-sanitizer-and-safer-options-for-your-family/

-https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/18/the-hidden-danger-in-your-hand-soap

So, now that you know why I started making my own soap, lets get to the ACTUAL recipe!

Ingredients: 

9 cups distilled/filtered water

4 cups Dr. Castile soap (I use this: Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap – Baby Unscented, 32oz.)

2 cups glycerin (I use this: NOW Solutions Glycerine Vegetable, 16-Ounce)

1 cup almond oil (My favorite brand: NOW Sweet Almond Oil, 16-Ounce)

1/2-1 tsp (50-100 drops) lavender essential oil

1/2-1 tsp (50-100 drops) tea tree/melaleuca essential oil

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl/container that holds more than a gallon of liquid.  Pour into soap dispensers.  This soap works best with a foaming soap dispenser, like this: mDesign Foaming Glass Soap Dispenser Pump, for Kitchen or Bathroom Countertops- Pack of 2, Clear/Matte Silver

If it separates some, just give it a gentle shake.

Makes 1 gallon

Note: 1 gallon of this recipe lasts my family of six about 2 months.

Tip:  I like using empty Dr. Bronner’s castile soap gallon sized jugs to mix up this soap.  I add in the glycerin and oil first.  Then I add soap and essential oils, topping it off with water.  I have the fill lines marked for each ingredient, as you can see in the main photo for this blog post.

To recap, this soap is baby friendly and eczema friendly.  However, it is not tear-free, so don’t let it get in your eyes!

Have you ever made your own soap before?  How did it turn out?  What recipe did you use?  Let me know in the comments below.  Are you going to try my DIY soap?  If you do, let me know how it works for you and your family in the comments section.