Homemade Hand Soap

Here is another little gem I found on Pinterest: how to make your own homemade hand soap.  I was super interested in trying this DIY recipe from Melissa over at The Happier Homemaker.  It looked super easy to do and required only 3 ingredients, plus any way to not pay an arm and a leg for liquid hand soap refill, and I'm all in.

Here are the 3 ingredients you need:

• 1 gallon of H2O
• 2 Tbsp. of liquid glycerin (I found glycerin at a CVS Pharmacy - 6 oz. bottle $5.50)
• 1 bar of regular soap, any flavor (I used Dr. Bronner's Rose Pure Castile Soap - 1 bar $4.50)

Put your water in a large pot to boil.

While you're waiting for your water to boil, grate your soap using a standard cheese grater. (I used a small pairing knife to finish off the bar, so I didn't grate my fingers.)

Add grated soap and liquid glycerin to the boiling water.  Stir until all soap has been dissolved.  Remove from heat and allow to cool overnight.

Once it's cool, it will seem like it has solidified too much.  However, if you give it a good stir (I used a whisk) the concoction becomes quite viscous.  Now you're all set to fill your soap dispensers.  This makes quite a lot of liquid soap, so I stored the remainder in a sealed plastic jug.

Note: I used a funnel to get the soap into my dispenser and the jug.  You will want to do this step over the sink, as it can get a little messy.

I'm really enjoying my homemade hand soap.  I especially love that it cost roughly $5.40 for a whole gallon.  And I can pick whatever scent I want, by choosing different scented bar soaps.  I often see yummy smelling bar soap at World Market on clearance.  I will definitely be scooping those up from now on. :)