DIY “Falling for Fall” Spiced Hand Soap (all natural)

If you caught my last post on making your own Autumn Spice Essential Oil Blend, then you will certainly know I LOVE the warm, spiced smells of Autumn, but am not ok with exposing myself to harmful chemicals found in artificial fragrances.  The solution is easy — make my own Fall-scented goodies with organic and pure essential oils!!  (Here’s where I buy mine, by the way.)

Today we will be looking at how to make a non-toxic Autumn/Fall scented hand soap.  I will provide two options: the cheap method and the short-cut method.  Both options are safe, natural, and organic (if you use the organic ingredients that I suggest, that is).  Choosing between the two recipes really comes down to a matter of preference, the amount of time you are willing to put in, and what supplies you have on hand.  Our family actually prefers the end results of the cheaper method, which is nice on my penny-pinching ways!

DIY “FALLING FOR FALL” SPICED HAND SOAP

The Cheap Method (Our Favorite)

Fills about 4 of our soap dispensers

• 5 oz bar of Dr. Bronner’s Baby Mild Soap Bar (where to buy)
• 10 cups of Water
• Autumn Spice oil blend that we made together a few days ago.  You will need about 200-225 drops to really add scent to this large batch!  (I give tips in the instructions below on scenting smaller portions using 20-23 drops per cup.)
• Soap dispensers with pumps (We got our dispensers from Ikea, but I really like these stainless steel pumps that screw right onto mason jars.)

First things first: Grate the soap bar.  It’s not bad, really!  I timed myself and it took a whopping 3 minutes and 47 seconds for the entire bar.

Put water in a stainless steel pot (avoid teflon, I have read several accounts online of people’s non-stick layer flaking into the soap, and I’ve already talked to you about how non-stick pots aren’t exactly the healthy option).  Bring water almost to a boil and then turn off the heat.

Add in the grated soap and stir gently until dissolved.  Try to avoid whisking or over agitating.  You just want the soap to melt, not to create foam.

At this point allow for some of the extreme heat to die down (about 20-30 min) and then pop it into the fridge for an hour.

When you remove the pot from the fridge, the soap will likely have completely gelled, almost like a jello mold.  No worries.  Just stir it with a slotted spoon (which allows liquid to go through the slots and combine well, but won’t cause foaming).  This is a picture after only two stirs…

And the picture below is after stirring for about 30-45 seconds.  You will notice it looks very thick and snotty.  Test your pump right in the snot to see if the consistency able to pass through.  For my dispensers, this snotty stage is perfect.  If you find it still too thick for your pumps, pour in very small amounts of hot water at a time, stirring and testing again before adding more.  In my opinion you want the soap as thick as possible without being too thick to function in your pump.

Now, add your essential oils!  It is important to waiting until this final point to add them in — if the soap is very hot it can kill off some of the therapeutic benefits of the oils.  To add Autumn Spice goodness to the entire pot, you will probably want about 200-225 drops (maybe even more if you like things extra spicy)!  My recommendation though, is to dish out just what you need to fill your soap pumps, and add 20-25 drops per cup of soap.  I then store the rest of the unscented soap as is, and add oils when I bring it out to top up my containers again.  One benefit to this method is that you don’t end up with an over abundance of Autumny soap, and can instead scent it for different seasons.

NOTE:  Feel free to add more essential oils to your soap, but don’t go overboard!  Start with my suggested amounts and then slowly add to your taste, if needed.  Remember that the spiced oils can become skin irritants if used in excess!

If you live in a very cold place (unlike me in perpetual-summer-Los-Angeles…) then adding a small amount of hot water into your dispensers and slowly stirring may be necessary after some time has passed.

Scrub-a-dub-dub!

Not into melting down a bar of soap???  No problem — try…

The Short-cut Method (What we started out making)

The ingredients below yield just over a cup of soap.  I generally need about 1.5x the recipe for each of my dispensers.  This can be made in any quantity, just multiply it as desired.

• 1/8 cup UNSCENTED Organic Liquid Castile Soap (I suggest using Dr. Bronner’s.  You will want the Baby Mild formula.)
• 1 cup Water
• 20-25 drops Autumn Spice oil blend that we made together a few days ago (If you choose to add more, go slowly!  Remember that the spiced oils can be irritants if used in excess.)
• Optional: 1 Tbsp Organic Sweet Almond Oil (where to buy) or melted Coconut Oil (here’s the brand I use).  This gives a slight moisturizing property to the soap.
• Optional: 1 Tbsp Organic Vegetable Glycerin (where to buy).  This ingredient will thicken the soap and make it more slick.
• Soap dispensers with pumps (We got our dispensers from Ikea, but I really like these stainless steel pumps that will screw right onto a mason jar.)

Measure out water in a large mixing bowl and THEN add liquid castile soap (this will help minimize the foaming).  Gently stir in essential oils and any add-ins (such as almond oil or glycerin).  Pour slowly into soap dispenser(s), using a funnel if needed.

Scrub-a-dub-dub!

Hope you enjoy these two recipes!  Which one do you plan on using?  Let me know in the comments below!

This post was shared on Simply Natural Saturdays.