It amazes me how sometimes the coolest ideas are the most obvious ones! I am one of those people who HAS to have hand soap next to the sink. Kitchen AND bathroom. I’ve tried to break myself of the habit a couple of different times….but I just can’t do it. I’ve even tried replacing it with bar soap which is considerably cheaper, with less-packaging, but it just doesn’t do it for me. I have switched to the foaming type soap however. It seems to last longer and I actually like it better. Feels more “soapy”. :-)
So a few weeks ago I came across this “recipe” for making your own foaming hand soap at myprojectsandfinds.blogspot.com.
After I read it…I had one of those “hand slap to the forehead” moments. duh! lol. Made too much sense and was too easy. Seems like some of the best ideas usually are.
So I made this “recipe” today for the first time, and I literally cannot tell any difference from the original stuff. I have purchased my LAST bottle of hand soap.
So here it is…the “recipe”. Prepare to be amazed.
You will need:
- an empty foaming hand soap bottle
with pump
- liquid dish soap
- hot water
Pour one tablespoon of liquid dish 
Fill the rest of the dispenser with water (leaving a little space at the top of the container).
Screw on the lid and shake.
Pump the dispenser a few times to get the foaming started.
The KEY is the foaming soap bottle/pump. This won’t work with a regular pump bottle. I bought the very one posted above. Method brand, clear. (I have to have clear…I’m weird that way.) Today when I realized it was almost gone, I mixed up the above “recipe” and voila! Looking at it you can’t tell any difference from the bottle I first bought and it literally cost pennies to make. I’m happy.
Now, for those of you who already figured this out all on your own…I salute you. I’m afraid my brain tends to try and over complicate most things. Thank goodness for the logical thinkers out there. :-)
UPDATE: 10/24/2011
I was making a new batch of this stuff tonight and noticed that the chamber at the top of the tube had some discolored liquid just sitting in there. It was hardly noticeable, but it was bugging me because I couldn’t figure out how to get it out! I was about ready to go buy a new bottle (*GASP*). I tried taking the tube out of the bottle and sticking it in a glass of water and pumping plain water through it. Nope, still there. So I turned it upside down and tried pumping it some more and VOILA! Came right out. Now my soap bottle is clean and sparkly again. :-) AND, even though it gets used multiple times a day, each and every day, it still works EXACTLY as well as when I first bought it about 4 months ago. This definitely one of my favorite Homemade products!
I've found that Dr. Bronner's liquid soap works great…and smells delicious! 1/4 Bronners and 3/4 water!
i have read about this still waiting to empty a bottle tho before i try it but to really save money on soap….. a recipe for homemade hand soap so thiis will really go along way…. i love going green and saving money all at the same time :)
http://ckrasmussen.blogspot.com/search?q=hand+soap
I, too, am a Bath & Body Works addict…love the pretty colors and fragrances. Have you ever experimented with essential oils for this?
Ok… so first off the directions are totally wrong. The correct directions are 1 tablespoon of ANY liquid soap refill of your choice to EVERY 1/4 cup of COLD water. You NEED the soap to make the solution worthwhile otherwise just wash your hands with water. Hot water is NOT needed and this person that wrote this obviously doesn't know what they're talking about and just wanted 15 minutes of fame.
It totally depends on the punp bottle you have. I use the "Dial" foaming pump bottles and I fill the bottom of the bottle about 1/2" up and the rest with just regular water from the tap. If you use hot water it will contract the space in the container (Simple science cold expands heat contracts) and ruin your container and possibly your pump. I've been doing this for about 5 or 6 years now since they first came out with the foaming pump.
Um, where I’m from simple science is cold contracts and heat expands….am I wrong? I DO live in Florida so I may suffer contractual expanding heat head at times……
I, too, thought cold contracted and heat expanded.. atleast it does in Iowa :)
Actually, I did it exactly as written & it worked perfectly!
( …so there was no reason to be condescending & rude with your opinion.)
Thanks for the tip Jillee! One of MANY successful ones I’ve tried from you!
Amazing recipe! This was my second attempt, being new to your site, and it was a smash! Even my rough and rugged Harley riding hubby loves it! Thank you!
So excited I came across this post because I had 3 empty dial foam pumps that I was about to recycle! I have the apple berry twist scent Gain dish soap and no one will ever be the wiser that this pretty pink hand soap was refilled! Your recipe works great :)
Jill, I’ve making my own foaming soap since I bought my first one and ran out and found out how expensive it was going to be to keep up my habit. Thanks, though, for the exact formula. My attempts at mixing up a new batch are trial and error and add a little more of whatever if that didn’t work as desired. I think I have more of a comfort level with it now. Isn’t foamy soap wonderful.
I found out that if you save a gallon container of regular hand soap, I use soft soap clear and divide the soap in half between the two bottles add a slow stream of warm water to fill the containers and then mix by turning and twisting the container until the soap is mixed with the water. This gives you twice the amount of hand soap to use in the foaming dispensers. If you check in the store you will notice the only difference between regular hand soap and foaming is the foaming is much thiner. Try it out I save money and keep using the same dispensers for years. I love all your short cuts and homemade solutions for cleaning.
In my empty dial pump soap container I used 1/4 Dr. Bronner’s unscented baby-mild + 3/4 water (cold from the tap) then added peppermint essential oil (15-20 drops). I started the second batch when there was about 1/2″ left in the bottom. I didn’t add the essential oil the second time and the intensity of the scent is still perfect! So easy!
I use Dr. Bronner’s unscented soap and either essential oil or fragrance oil. I’ve always used a 10:1 ratio (10 T. H2O to 1 T liquid castile soap. Actually, with the size bottle I am using, I use 1.5 T. soap to 15 T. water. It comes out very soft. Nice texture. A bottle of the soap lasts forever with this recipe. I then put in a few drops of scent. I choose a different one each time it’s empty for variety.
I’ve found that if I use a moisturizing soap, it clogs up the works. Dr. Bronner’s is actually very gentle and not drying at all on the hands and face. Hair? Forget it.
I use Dr. Bronner’s unscented, too. I only use 1 part soap to 10 parts water and some scent. The soap lasts for ever this way.
Oops. Repeat. :)
I use my favorite body wash a/ water for this. I found that the dish detergent can be tough on my hands. I do know that the soap you use must be what I call the “clear” or see thru kind. The ones w/ lotion or “cloudy” soaps don’t work well as a foaming hand wash. We really don’t need all the antibacteria solutioins they try to sell us. Just plain soap and warm water works to kill germs. I have done this for years.
I have been doing the same with my “method” hand wash bottle, I have been adding 3 tablespoons of Mrs. Meyers Lemon Vervena hand wash liquid and fill it the rest with water, leaving some space at the top, it works the same if not better, and I’m happy saving some $$$ and still use my favorite soap!
Thank you Jillee! I tried this today with much sucess. I also tried the peanut butter trick to get the sticky goo off after I peeled off the labels. A little elbow grease was necessary but it worked. I can’t believe how many years I have wasted money buying hand soap.
Dr Bronner’s works great with as little as 1-2 teaspoons and the rest water! All natural!
Wow! What a savings this provides; and it was so easy. I appreciate Dana (May 23) adding the line about the peanut butter trick. Worked like a charm. Thanks, Jillee!
Hey, I just bought my foamy pump and some Dawn to refill….Can’t wait to try this!
So glad you posted how to clean the dirty pump. I almost threw mine away also, but instead put it in a box for “LATER”.
Just refilled my empty bottles. My family is in awe. My husband is never less then amazed at the things I make from your blog. I am once again, in the eyes of my family, the smartest woman in the universe! :)
I have seriously passed on your trick to like 4 people and they think I’m a genius. After forwarding them to your bog, they took it back…LOL. All good :)
I just found your website, and there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get caught up with all your good recipes!! I’ve been refilling my foaming Dawn bottle since I first bought one–I just experimented until I found what would foam. I just put a turkey breast in the oven, and kept washing my hands after touching the raw meat and needing to touch something else. That got me to thinking about how you should sanitize cutting boards, sinks, etc., after using them for meat. Is it possible to add something to the foaming soap recipe to help to sanitize hands and work surfaces??
Just regular soap anD water and hot water. Also some bleach when cleaning counters. Add bleach , just a little to water and soak dishes after washing with soapthen rinse.
There are essential oils that kill bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. Just add about 12 drops of a pure therapeutic grade essential oil (we use doTERRA) to your recipe (Melaleuca, Lavender, On Guard protective blend – wild orange, clove, cinnamon, rosemary, eucalyptus). Enjoy sanitzing naturally without harsh chemicals =)! I like using 1/8-1/4 of Dr. Bronner’s unscented baby castile soap to 3/4 water and the essential oils. It even helps in healing rashes on my kiddo’s hands that they get from using commercial soaps outside our home.
Ever since I saw this post I ran out to dollar tree (our $1 or less store) and purchased a bottle of foaming hand soap. We were running out of hand soap so, this came just in time!! We finally finished off the dollar store brand soap and I got to try out your recipe. The only “clear” or transparent soap I had on hand was my daughters Gerber body soap which is really thick, probably thicker than dish soap, but it worked great!!
I just have one question…. What’s all the hype about foaming hand soaps??? Isn’t it just diluted soap?? Either way, I’m a fan because its saving me money, but I’m still kinda curious. :) thanks for recipe Jill!!!
I just like then cuz they are fun!
It feels good on the hands and face (if you use a gentle one) and it’s way cheaper this way even though pump soap at the Dollar Stores is cheap anyway.
I am also a fan of the foaming soap and I love the no touch soap dispensers. Does anyone know of a site that sells the no touch foaming soap dispensers that are not industrial?
I use EO brand lavender aloe body wash or all purpose soap. I have an old Bath and Body works bottle that was lavender fragrance so no one even knows it isn’t a $7 bottle of hand soap.
At Xmas time. Get lots of body wash and lotions from bath and body works, I use these they last forever.
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Do you have to buy a foam pump soap to get that type of bottle, or can you get the bottles separately somewhere?
You might be able to buy the bottles separately but I’ve just continued to fill up my empty Method bottle.
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Does anyone else have problems reusing Bath & Body Works foaming hand soap bottles? I can refill them once or twice and then they give out. It is very difficult to push the pump down. I am using B&BW deep cleansing antibacterial soap, not the lotion kind, to dilute and wonder if it’s the little exfoliating bits in there that is causing problems? I love making my own, thanks Jillee for all the wonderful tips!
Hey Jillee, been doing this since last summer when I caught up on all your old posts. I use the Walmart brand of the Hand Rejuvenation scent made by Dawn. Only used half of a two dollar bottle since last July and I’m refilling three pump containers. I don’t measure anymore, just pour a layer of the liquid into the bottom of the pump and refill.
Regarding $$ store pumps, mine didn’t last beyond one refill, so better to buy Dial or more expensive pump. Also, when my pump gunks up, I run it under warm water and rod it out with a clean Q Tip and it’s like new.