I’ve read many methods for making liquid soap. Most people agree making liquid soap from scratch, that is, from oils and potassium hydroxide, is tricky at best. Reports of solidifying and separating are pretty universal. I tried my hand at it a long time ago, and experienced it myself.
I do like the convenience of liquid soap, and don’t want to pay for it at the store, especially considering I don’t really like the product you’ll get there. After going homemade, it’s almost impossible to go back.
Besides, I’ve found an embarrassingly simple way to make my own liquid castile soap, which doubles as shampoo. I use it in hand soap pumps by the bathroom and kitchen sink, and put it in an old plastic dishwashing liquid bottle in the shower for shampoo/body wash. It’s easy to customize with essential oils.
Here’s all I do:
- Grate a bar of homemade or other castile soap with an ordinary cheese-type grater.
- Place in a mixing bowl and add water just to cover.
- Let sit overnight. No need to heat, no need to do anything. Maybe drape something over it to keep stuff from falling in it.
- The next day, the soap will have magically dissolved. Give it a stir. If it’s too thick, add a bit of water, a little at a time, until it is the consistency you like.
You can stop there and use it as is in your preferred containers, or add in essential oils for fragrance and awesomeness. I can’t get enough of peppermint essential oil shampoo. I tell you, it’s unbelievable. The kids like it, too. Also lavender is good for bedtime, and rosemary and tea tree are invigorating and great for skin issues.
Grate it up. Soak overnight. Good to go.
Easy as can be.
If you don’t make bar soap yourself, Kirk’s Castile is a good way to go. It’s hypoallergenic and animal free, a good, basic castile at a decent price point. (Also good for homemade detergent).
I do the same thing, but with whatever soap I have around that I have made. When I trim up the bars or have a bad batch, I toss it in a giant pickle jar and add water. It dissolves nicely and I just refill the hand pumps as needed. I use it to wash the dog, but haven’t tried it as shampoo.
Thank you for this post! I get tired of cleaning soap bar dishes. Silly, yes, but I’m definitely going to try this.
Elise–I don’t think that’s a bit silly! Caked on soap dishes are a bane!
OMG, I’m going to do this! The husband and I have had many “discussions” about his penchant for tossing soap bars that feel too small for his ham hands.
My only query would be whether the liquid version of the soap is still as dry as the bar. I mean, I like shop-bought liquid soap because it feels nicer on my hands. Anyway, I will try this, would certainly be cheaper.
Bobby–For more moisturizing, you could experiment with the addition of an emollient to the liquid, perhaps a few drops of glycerin or a small slosh of oil, like olive or avocado oil, to the liquid to “super-fat” the soap. You’d just need to give it a shake before use.
Does your site have a simple recipe for the castile soap that you used? Or do you know of one? All the ones I’ve seen around the web seem a little difficult to me (I’ve never made soap before in my life).
Hi Naomi–If you roll your cursor over the “CRAFTS” tab beneath our header, a menu will appear. Go down to “Lye Soaping” and click on that to find all our soap recipes. It isn’t as daunting as most people think. Anyone can make soap! It’s quite easy once you know the basics. Let me know if you need help.
We’ve made soap for the first time using the book Making It, which has a very simple recipe using olive oil, sodium hydroxide (lye), water, and a blender. The whole thing took 15 minutes.
So that’s encouraged me to try more of these types of projects. (I can’t wait to try your lotion bars)
The only hiccups I’m running into are these:
1. sodium products (lye, baking soda) are bad for gray water (it’s like salting the earth). We have a septic system, which isn’t exactly gray water, but all our water *does* go out down under the yard, so it’s nonetheless on my mind. I’ve kind of been wondering about baking soda alternatives, anyway, just from the fact that I can’t make or grow baking soda.
2. unlike detergents, in hard water soaps leave soap scum. that’s been deterring me from switching from laundry detergent to homemade laundry soap.
3. with shampoo, soap is not ‘pH balanced’ like shampoo and allegedly requires a vinegar hair rinse to work properly. Has that been your experience?
joss–1. I’ve always heard castile soaps are okay for grey water systems, and for septic systems they are fine. I’m no expert, though, so I can’t give you any chemistry or facts. In terms of alternatives to baking soda, for scouring, you could use Bon Ami, which is feldspar. For shampooing, I use castile soap and vinegar (when I remember it), no baking soda.
2. You could use Soap Nuts or experiment with a recipe that doesn’t include sodium products–not easy, I know, but . . . Kermit was right 😉
3. Yes, to some degree. Here’s Ivory’s take on that issue: https://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com2009/04/quick-natural-head-to-toe-clean.html
Glad you had a good experience you first time making soap. It’s kind of addicting.
I’m going to try this tonight! Thanks for all of your great ideas!
Hi! This looks amazing, I’d love to try it 🙂 I do have a question though. When adding essential oils – something I haven’t done before – how much would you recommend using? If I just wanted to use one, what would you recommend vs if I wanted to blend 2 or 3 together.
NocturnAlice–Thanks! For this amount (one 4-ish oz bar of soap, grated, I use about a tsp of essential oil. So, for two, 1/2 tsp each. It won’t really change the consistency of the soap if you experiment and decide you want to add a little more, though. Just play around with it and figure out what you like best.
You rock! We need baby soap so tomorrow I shall be picking up some baby friendly castille soap (is there castille soap that is not baby friendly? hmmm…) About how many hours did it sit? Wondering if I set it up in the morning will it be ready when I go to bed?
Suzanne–Several hours, all day should do it. Especially if you use a finer side on your grater–that’ll speed things up considerably.
I’m having trouble… my grated castille soap won’t dissolve! Its been sitting for days now… its pretty chilly in our house- is that affecting it?
Jen–Wow, I’m surprised. Maybe because I’ve only used my own homemade soap in this, which tends to be a little softer than store-bought. Try a little heat. Pop it in the microwave for short spans, giving it periodic stirs, and please report back. I want to know how it goes.
As I was asking the question I was heating it in a pot over low heat until all the shavings were dissolved. Now i’m waiting for it to cool again to AT&T the consistency. I’m hoping to start making bar soap… where do you recommend ordering lye from?
Jen–Lately I’ve been seeing it at Lowe’s (Roebic Drain Cleaner–the fine print has to say 100% sodium hydroxide). If you can’t find it there in your area, try Camden Grey. Glad your soap finally dissolved!
Thanks for all the help! Now that its cooled its a pretty solid gel… I guess I need to add more water?
Jen–Right! Just a little at a time until it’s just the way you want it.
I’m making mine now! Super excited! I added 1 1/2 tsp of olive oil to my bar of lever 2000. I still need a few things to make my own soap, but I have no patience and wanted to try it! Thanks to all who contribute, I’ve learned so much and am working on making a bunch of things I’ve never even bought at the store (I.e. Special soap)!
This is a great idea…if I could get it to work. I have a homemade bar of soap and it must have sat for 24 hours and only dissolved a bit in the water. As soon as I put it in the microwave – for just a little bit, it dissolved completely. Once it cooled, I had a bowl of gel so I zapped it in the microwave again and added more water. I have done this over three days, adding more and more water…with the original batch. Now I have a batch about 3 times the size I started with…but I still have a half jelly/half liquid product! Can you help? I have read that glycerin may help but I don’t want to add another ingredient if I can help it.
crystal–You may have discovered Perpetual Soap. In the tradition of the loaves and fishes, you could clean the hands of thousands! Seriously, though,I can only suggest you keep adding water a bit at a time until it decides to stop gelling, and try to remember how much water it took for the next time you make a batch–if you ever do run out, that is!
I greatly appreciate your prompt, thoughtful, and humorous comment. I eventually got something that was stringy and so watered down that it would not lather. Hmmm. Wondering whether anyone else has had this experience.
crystal–So sorry about your experience with the soap. The bar you used–it was homemade, do you remember what oils went in it or anything else about that particular soap that might give any clues about the outcome? I’d love to get to the bottom of this!
Raw goat milk; Saponified natural fats, coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil. I purchased it from a local homeschool family. You can see their products at http://goatmilkstuff.com/home.php I greatly appreciate your knowledgeable and experienced input.
crystal–Thank you for your kind words. This is just a stab in the dark, but if you decide to try it again, try a non-milk soap, and maybe a small batch, like half a bar, to see how it goes. If you need to heat it again, use very low heat as well. You probably did so last time, but for anyone else reading this, try short spurts in the microwave or simmer on the stovetop.
Hi. I have tried making the liquid soap from castile bar soap. I keep adding water but it keeps almost solidifying. Is there a particular type of castile soap to use? Your picture is an amber / gold transparent color. Mine is solid white. ???? Any suggestions?
Thanks!!!
Bonnie–I used my own homemade soap. I will have to try using a store bought to see how much water it takes. All I can suggest is to keep adding water a little bit at a time until you’ve found the right amount for your soap.
I have had the same problem as Bonnie. I used Kirk’s castile bar soap and the resulting liquid soap always seems OK at first, but then as time goes on it thickens up. I try to thin it with hot water but by the time it gets thin enough to NOT clog my soap dispensers it no longer is soapy enough to be of any use. Would adding glycerin help? I’ve been working at this for a long time. First I tried pure olive oil castile hard soap from Greece and had the same type of problem, so any insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated! THANKS!
Barb–I’m afraid I’m stumped. As far as glycerin is concerned, it may help to keep too-thick soap at a better consistency for soap dispensers, but likely won’t resurrect soap that is too thin. Experiment with it, and if it helps, please let us know!
Thanks SO much for your quick response. I did find one recipe that uses the same basic ingredients PLUS glycerin and the process is a little more involved, too. (See http://littlehouseinthefoothills.blogspot.com/2009/07/homemade-liquid-hand-soap.html) I will try this to see if it helps the solidifying problem at all. Even though I’m getting a little frustrated, I WILL NOT GIVE UP! 🙂 Thanks again!
P.S. The temp in our house in winter here in Wisconsin is quite a bit cooler than in summer and I’m wondering if this is exacerbating the problem.
Barb–That’s the spirit! Hope the glycerin takes care of the “issues.”
Do you know if you can then use this ‘gel soap’ with additional water in a foaming hand pump dispenser? THANKS!
DL Harmon–I’ve never tried it, but it just might!
Thanks for sharing. Great stuff, I was trying to figure out how to make my own shampoos and shower gels with essential oils etc, but got stuch on how to obtain liquid castille soap without having to go through the irksome ‘manufacturing’ or paying a fortune for it in a bottle.
Just one question, is it better to use distilled or mineral water or just straight tap?
Shauna–I use tap water, but I’m not particular about such things. We have good water here, so if you hate your water, you may want to go with the bottled.
I tried this recipe with some of the soap I make. I used a bar of mango sorbet. Already had the color and scent in it. I did have to use the stick blender after it sat all nite. It’s a little thin for shower gel but still expertimenting with it. Going to let it sit a little longer to see if it separates and maybe add some more scent and a little thickener. Overall very happy so far. Thanks for this.
I’m totally trying this! Shampoo is expensive (especially the natural stuff that doesn’t have phthalates and other nasties) and it comes in plastic bottles. I avoid plastic as much as I can, but shampoo has been my downfall. Now I can make a plastic-free version though! Thanks so much!
As far as shampoo goes, adding some coconut milk to the liquid soap adds some natural surfactants that help tremendously in washing hair.
Check out this awesome website for the details
http://www.crunchybetty.com/not-ready-for-no-poo-try-sorta-poo-with-coconut-milk-and-castille
I tried this with all the leftover bar soap I have that’s too small to use. It’s still in the process of becoming liquid soap but I found that its really time consuming to use a cheese grater. Plus hand and wrist started hurting cuz I had a decent pile. It works better to crush them on a wooden cutting board with a hammer with a heavy metal head. Just lightly tap tap tap. It’s faster and you can deep clean your cutting board while your at it ;p
thought i would share what i have learned 😀 I grate mine and pour boiled water over it, let it sit and voila or i do it on the stove but sometimes demanding toddlers distract me. also i have made basic soap from the cheap purolivia from walmart for $6 recipe-1.89l oil (63.9085)
8.14oz lye
17oz water
make as normal soap this made 24 bars! 33cents per bar. i made hand soap, shampoo, face wash, rebatched into green tea soap etc. 😀
Wonderful!
This is a faster way to do it than I have been using. I’m too lazy to do it the fast way (besides, I have grated my knuckles on the cheese grater so much, my hands look like Mike Tyson’s). I just put a bar of soap in a ziploc baggie, along with about 20 oz of water, and let it sit for about 4-5 days. Every day I squish it around a couple times to stir it up, and when it’s ready,I just snip off the corner of the baggie and squeeze it into whatever container I want to use. I hadn’t thought of using it as a shampoo, though. I have very dry, curly hair, and if I use the wrong thing, I end up looking like a Troll Doll…..ugh!! I wonder what kind of oil would be best to use for this problem…..hmmm.
Thank you for this!!! All the other sites were saying you had to cook it, and I refuse to cook something that I can buy for cheap…but if all I have to do is grate it & leave it overnight, well, shucks! Anyone can do that 🙂 I’m excited to try it. Thanks!
I’ve been trying to be a little greener and make what I can! I’m not exactly sure how to word my question… What is the life of this liquid soap? If I make some, how long do I have to use it or does it not “go bad”?
Jessica–I’ve never had any go bad, but you may find after a while it needs more water to make it pourable.
is there a recipe for dishwasher detergent? I’d like to know how to make it.
Debbi–Here’s Deanna’s take on dishwasher detergent. There’s her recipe at the end.
What is the best EO to dissolve the grease from the dishes ?
Thanks
martine–Wow. I’ve never even thought of that. You’ve completely stumped me.
The soap should do a decent job of the grease by itself. I’d just go with either an antibacterial like tea tree or with something that made me happy like lemon or peppermint.
I have been adding the leftover slivers of bath soap to my bottle of liquid hand soap for years and I now have over a gallon of liquid hand soap that I use in my kitchen or bath for when I come in from doing farm work. We are slowly working our way to natural products. I don’t want to throw away the old products as I grew up with depression parents (they didn’t throw anything away). When my mother died, my father had a full sized truck load of paper and plastic bags he took to the Salvation Army. (She did not throw anything away, including twist ties and rubber bands, quite an experience !!!!!!!!!!) I am looking forward to making my own liquid castile soap as so many recipies call for it and I like the idea of being able to cheaply purchase the bar soap to convert. Stockpiling the bars now
I would like to add an oil like grapeseed as a skin softener. Have you tried this? Do you have any problems with it separating? If so, what can you put in to keep it from separating?
I tried this today with my own home made castile bar soap. It worked really well!! Thank you so much!!
How much EO should i add to this?
How much?–Start with a few drops and see if it is strong enough, then add more if it needs it.
So…I’ve tried my hand at making my own dry laundry detergent and am pleased with it. I was going to use your recipe but your site was down while I had my ingredients so I found another with WS and Borax because I wanted to follow a recipe precisely. So now I’m kinda interested in making my own shampoo, but even more I’m interested in making shampoo for my dogs. It can’t be that much more complicated, except that dogs need a lower pH shampoo than that for humans. I’ve read it would be in the high 6’s to 7 ideally. What do you suggest for keeping it simple (I don’t want oats and aloe and 100 different other things)? However, I would like to know how to add appropriate amounts of things like tea tree oil for itchiness at times. What do you suggest?
AdinaP–I made a “pet soap” which was a basic olive oil soap and added an essential oil mix from Essential Wholesale called Pet Safe. It has tea tree oil in it, as well as citronella, lemongrass, lavender, etc. I’ve also used neem oil as one of my oils. Here is that recipe: https://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com2009/10/neem-oil-soap.html
Good luck!
To dissolve grease from dishes add 1 tbsp of Washing soda per quart of dish soap. You can find washing soda in the laundry aisle at most grocery stores.
Does anyone know how to keep the carrier oil and liquid soap base from separating? Thanks!
wow!this the most easier step that i ever found. i hope i can try to do it. what kind of bar soap you use. can i use almost olive oil bar soap?how much the quantity of water?
Amazing! I’ve been looking around for a shampoo recipe for a while. Since I don’t have what I need to make soap at the moment, would Ivory work? Also would soap made from animal fats work as well? I’m guessing it would, though. How about the bacon soap you make? That’s my next big project.
This is awesome!! I don’t know about making bar soap from lye, but this is easy!
very thanks from your help
Hi! I love your website. I have been searching all night for a recipe for shampoo. We stopped buying regular shampoo after finding out what all of the chemicals in it were doing to our hair and our health. Will definitely try this soon. Thanks!! 🙂
Okay…I’ve read recipe after recipe for this method but I always end up with a snotty consistency. Does anybody have a suggestion to keep it from going snotty on me?
I was wondering if you have a recipe for liquid Goat milk shampoo ? Thank You so much. Love your sight. Kathleen
My hubby can suffer with dandruff something fierce. I used a bar of purchased castille soap, water and tea tree oil …. dandruff is almost a thing of the past. I use the shampoo myself with an apple cider vinegar (mixed with water) spray afterwards. LOVE it.
Love it! Must try it out! How long does it normally last.
I’ll try it looks ez – cause I nomo time to mix all kinds of things..
Thank you, as we say in Hawaii : Mahalo & Aloha
Krissy – Honaunau, Hi
Hi …wil u pls tel me from where i can buy that castile soap in india?
It seems pretty cool. I will also try to make liquid soap at home. Thanks for sharing the procedure with all of us.
Does this give you the same waxy build-up in your hair that bar soap shampoo does?
I’m confused when you say “bar of soap”. Do you mean soap bars like Dove? And those are ok to use as hand soaps?
Right! Any ol bar of soap.
Totally flummoxed….I’ve been experimenting for about a week now with the melting method (in a pot with water), and so far I’ve only ever ended with something the consistency of – hate to say it – snot! Will DEFINITELY give this a try!
Natz–If it doesn’t work, as long as it cleans, embrace the snot!
Hello,
I am a hot process soap maker and have tried making liquid soap using hot process. The drying effect is awful and I do not want to use any chemicals to neutralize. I am now grating my bars and diluting them. I added salt to thicken which worked even though the coconut % is high. I whipped it up and it was becoming cottage cheese so I diluted more and it was fine. But a few days later, the soap floated to the top leaving a watery base on the bottom. How does one keep it together?
Dale–I have experienced some separation at times. I just say to myself, this is REAL STUFF, not chemically-enhanced perfection. I can deal with texture and consistency imperfections and having to shake things periodically to reblend. It’s a trade-off I don’t mind, and with the right marketing approach, something that can be explained to consumers/customers of natural products, e.g. This is real and just like in life, sometimes you need to shake things up.
I have been making my own liquid soaps/shampoos/facewash and have found that boiling raw coconut and letting it cool, then using the juice in place of the water content is amazing in these products. So silky and just wonderful. The drawback is that my husband loves the “foaming” pump containers and it does not work with this concoction.
Hai Daisy, here a newborn fan from the Netherlands. Saw this recipe on pinterest and tried it yesterday (and thought, no heat yeah right) Amazing! It actually works, I even used a creamy FA bar of soap and it came out just great. Even my hubby was amazed. I have been using my heated washing detergent for a year now, but wanted to have a recipe for a not so snotty handsoap. Now I have a lovely fluffy handsoap thanks to you. Still looking for the best shampoo receipe, so going to experiment with this fluffy mixture to make a great shampoo. Thanks for posting and the best wishes for 2015!
Marijke–Thank you for stopping by and welcome. I’m glad you have had luck with the soap. Hope you have a lovely new year!
So easy and simple. I wanna try this. But I have a couple of ?’s. Should I use hot water? And will this recipe work for cleaning? Thanx for your response.
Ginny–I don’t think the temperature matters as much as the time factor. You can use it wherever you would use soap for cleaning–that is, I wouldn’t use it on your windows, naturally, etc. 🙂
I am going to try this method. I have a problem with what I have made with a different recipe in the past separating and getting slimy. Also, I prefer the foaming soap dispensers but have had issues with them clogging up even after thinning the soap with water. Anybody else have this problem? Will this soap work in a foaming dispenser if thinned down?
i will be making this for sure !!! iv been looking for an easy recipe and your supper easy !! Thank you
Hi.
Here are the feedback of how it went with glyserin soapbase.
I shredded the soapbase and filled water in the bowl like you said. The next morning i got my surprise. The transparent soapebase has turned white. A lot of the shredded soap has dissolved overnight, but not all like your’s castile soap. So i took det soapbase in my kitchenmachine on low speed to see if that could help. I had to add som more water as well becouse it was thick. More of the soap did dissolved in the machine, but not 100% of it. The liquid soap got this cind of “rustic” outlooking, but thats cool. Maybe i will try it otherwise next time. Presumably wait to add som more water, and let it work in the machine for longer time first. Maybe it will be easier to get the best results then. It’s only one thing i can do, and that is ceep trying 😀 I washed my hands with the soap after i added EO and so on, and that was nice. I found out that is more economic to make licuid soap then barsoap.
Gunn–Thank you for the information on how it went with soapbase. I’m sure it will be helpful for those trying this method. Cheers.
I wonder how did you make it that thick? Mine is just like water.
nick bantolo–I’m not sure why yours is watery. Maybe a difference in amounts or type of soap. It tends to thicken with time, but if it doesn’t, try adding more soap shreds.
I’ve read several places you need to add a preservative (even a “natural” one) once you add water to a hard, natural castile bar soap if you aren’t going to refrigerate it or use it in a day or two.
Does your soap seperates at all?
Tracy–I’ve never had it separate, just thicken. Then I add more water.
Can I use glycerin soap for this? I just bought some “Clearly Natural” bar soap. I looked up the difference between castile and glycerin soap, but not sure if it is relevant for this recipe. … Thanks 🙂
Corinne–I think glycerin soap would work well.
Please be careful of tea tree oil for pets. Cats are allergic to it.I almost killed my kitty when i used it on him. He foamed & frothed lots, in his mouth & was choking.
Patty–So sorry about your kitty. I hope he’s okay now.
Doesn’t anyone add any preservatives in the soap making especially when using water. I was told it can mould if u don’t. Is that try?
i always add a little bit of liquid castile soap ,every time i melt down a bar of soap,it gives the soap a much better consistency,i hope this helps,i got the tip of the internet