When I was growing up…I don’t think we ever bought “body wash”. It was Ivory or Dove bar soap…or nothing at all. :-)
Even after I first got married we still did the bar soap thing…because I remember trying to convince the hubster that Dove soap was better than Irish Spring. lol. (I still try to convince him of that, but to no avail.)
But somewhere along the way…we completely stopped buying bar soap (except for the stuff I buy for making Homemade Laundry Detergent) and made the switch to body wash exclusively! Apparently we’re not alone either. Since 2003, the year Old Spice entered the body wash market, sales of deodorant bar soap have plummeted nearly 40%!
So this week when I was shopping for the family staples…two things HIT me: 1) how much body wash we go through! And 2) body wash ain’t cheap! As I mentioned, I am a Dove girl from WAY back. I have been using it for as long as I can remember. So that’s what I like to buy for body wash. A bottle of it sells for almost $6.27 at our local grocery store. I knew I had to be able to do better than that by making my own.
Problem was…there are hardly any “recipes” out there for homemade body wash! Believe me…I’ve looked! I was actually quite surprised by this!
I did manage to find a couple of blog posts from people who had made their own organic body wash. Sounded like it was worth a try to me!
Here is the recipe I found at HomemadeBeautyProducts.net:
Easy-As-Apple-Pie Body Wash
2 cups grated bar soap (use an organic soap–Dr. Bronner’s castile soap works great.)1/2 gallon distilled water
2 Tbsp. vegetable glycerin
15 drops skin-safe green apple fragrance oil (or other essential oil of your choice.)
Few drops organic green food coloring (optional.)
Mix first 3 ingredients together in a large pot. Set over low heat stirring occasionally until the soap has dissolved. Add essential oil and food coloring if using and mix well. Transfer to a jar and cover tightly.
I followed the recipe to the T…except I didn’t use apple essential oil…I used lavender…and I didn’t use any food coloring.
Here is the final product. It’s a pretty thin consistency. I thought it might “set up” overnight. But it really hasn’t so far.
I decided to give it a test run in the shower and while I loved the soft, soapy feel of it…it just wasn’t moisturizing enough for me. I have VERY dry skin!
However, this is supposed to be excellent for people who suffer from eczema.
I decided after this to continue searching to see if I could come up with anything closer to my beloved Dove. Well guess what? I found something EXACTLY like my beloved Dove…because IT IS Dove! :-)
After MUCH SEARCHING I found Stacy at The Brady Bunch website had figured out how to take the Dove BAR SOAP and make it into a BODY WASH simply by grating, adding water, and heating to make a liquid form…..ie. Body Wash! Now this sounded more like what I was looking for….all the things I liked about Dove Body Wash…but a much cheaper price.
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How To Make Your Own Body Wash:
6 cups water
3 bars of soap, grated
Put into a pan on the stove on medium heat, stirring occasionally until all the soap is dissolved.
Transfer to a glass jar or bowl and allow to cool, then pour into a plastic bottle for shower use! (It will thickens as it cools).
A word of caution here if you decide to use another bar soap OTHER than Dove. Because Dove has a lot of moisturizer in it….the 6 cups of water is perfect. If you try another type bar soap it will turn out too thick with only 6 cups of water. It can still be done…you’ll just have to experiment with the amount of water.
Here is the price breakdown:
I bought a six pack of the Dove Beauty Bars (got plain WHITE) for $6.88.
I used 3 of the bars at a cost of $3.44. This made approximately 48 ounces….or….$1.72 for a 24 ounce bottle!
I have to say….I’m pretty thrilled with how this all turned out. Especially after the initial version wasn’t really “my cup of tea”. I love that I can make a “homemade” version of my favorite body wash in less than 30 minutes for almost 75% LESS!
I might just have to try making some Irish Spring body wash for the hubster. ;-)
How to make your own bar soap body wash is today’s…..
{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }
Do you cover the glass bowl while it is cooling?
Jillie,
made mine a month or so ago. Used 3 bars & cut back on the water. Way too thick. Used a different reciepe, but basically same concept. Going to try your reciepe next time exactly & see if I get the same results.
Awesome, thanks! :)
Yes, it was all dissolved, I ended up putting almost 2 more cups of water in it, now it is creamy and easy to use but still no foam, maybe I need to try a certain kind of soap?
Found this on Pinterest and I will be trying it out! Thanks!
So, when I was in the shower about 20 minutes ago I was thinking to my self, I need to go online and find a recipe for making my own body wash for when I run out of my back stock of Bath and Body Works that I won't be using once I run out. Three articles into my rss feed and I find this! Yay. Thank you for sharing, I can't wait to try.
Tracy…I definitely think it would be worth a try with another soap. I liked mine so much I went out and bought some of the Men's Dove Bar soap to make some for the hubster. I thought I might have to twist his arm to get him to use it…but he actually seemed excited about it! lol. Go figure. :-)
melizajane20…well, what a happy coincidence! I love when that kind of thing happens. :-)
My Boyfriend LOVES Irish Spring (and I enjoy the smell so bonus there). This will definitely be part of his Valentine's gift. Thanks for the ideas.
(First time commenter, by the way. LOVE your blog.)
Great idea, I love Dove! Did you use distilled water? I wonder if that makes a difference if you have hard water…Thanks for wonderful ideas!
I have really dry skin too, so I use Dove as well.
If you have a Costco membership, I find their Kirkland Brand moisture bar soap, which is basically their version of Dove, works just as well! AND, it's around $10.99 for 15 bars, so that would bring down the price to $1.10 per 24 ounce!! :)
This is a great idea but I'll try it with a different brand of soap. Although I love Ivory, I realized after using it for many years that it causes more build-up in the shower than any other brand I've tried. Anyone else notice this?
I used Ivory in a body soap recipe – never again….
I made a very big batch, so I used my food processor to do the grating – worked very well!
When I washed the pieces to my food processor in the dishwasher, EVERYTHING IN THE DISHWASHER CAME OUT WITH AN AWFUL FILM! I rewashed, then again using dawn soap and vinegar – finally came clean after 4 washes.
I know many are loyal to Ivory, but after this experience, I wonder what this film is doing to my skin, pipes, septic tank, etc.
made a batch of this for the guys using Iris spring, followed the recipe to a T, the next morning after it was cooled, it was back to a solid form?? added a cup of water and melted it in the microwave…its sumwhat better but still pretty thick? doesnt lather well according to the guys? i wonder if it depends on the soap your using and should i add even more water?
I am loving these ideas on your soaps. Can you please tell me how you are grating the bars of soap?
I have a question on the very watery soap. Did you try putting it into one of those foaming dispensers? The recipe I was going to try this week was very specific about two things on the soap. First was that it absolutely must be 8 ounces of soap per gallon of water. Second was not using Dove or other soaps with extra moisturizers as they end up too thin. You are very right, we also go through a LOT of body wash.
Anony…it DOES thicken up quite a bit (I haven't tried the Irish Spring myself). I would just keep adding water until it's the desired consistency. You might have to USE more…but there's more water in it…so it kind of evens out. I plan on making some "manly" body wash tomorrow…I'll let you know how it turns out.
Tektak…I grated my soap with a simple box cheese grater. Some people have used their food processors. The Dove soap was actually pretty easy to grate. MUCH easier than the Fels Naptha I use for my laundry soap! :-)
ooooh my I made this awhile ago and have two large bottles. It does not lather up and it is the consistency of mucus. I used caress with glycerin. may have to try the dove soap and see how it works. I also made hand soap i like it however it does not lather up either. I also want to say i just sbscribed to your post. everything I love on Pinterest leads me back to you. so might as well stick around!
Curious as to how well adding finely chopped herbs during the cooking process would work and how it would affect the consistency. For example, blending up some fresh lavender. Or maybe adding oatmeal for more of a scrub? Though that might be added later…
where does everyone get their essential oils?
I did 3 bars of soap and 12 cups of water. It's still cools to solid form. Guess I'll just keep reheating it and adding more water? I guess the price per ounce sure goes down!
I noticed that the recipe up top calls for distilled water. Is that also what you used in the Dove recipe?
Jillee, I love love your Blog, on and on. The love started with Pinterest! Thats where I found and made the laundry soap (which is my couponing addiction #1) Score!!! Fatric Softener another Score and now the Body wash! I think I love you. You have become such a wonderful asset to my money saving household!!! Thanks soooo much for taking the time out of every day to give us "one good thing". I wish I could find the time to catch up on all of your "one good things". My baking sheets are gross, but being a "cookie mom" and a Girl Scout Troop leader I don't have much extra time to enjoy until 4/1.Anyways sorry for the Blah, Blah Blah… And Thanks Again! *:)
So I had to share my experience. I tried first using an off brand soap and it turned out hard as a rock!!! So I took the $1.60 loss… :) I then did it with dove…wow Perfect. It is so perfect, thank you!! I made my second batch today!
heather
Made this tonight and as it's cooling it's getting thanks!!!
Thanks for the tip, with a coupon I got 4bars for $0.35!!! Love that
I think the key to having it turn out great is to use a creamy/moisturizing type soap bar (ie Dove and NOT Ivory which is very pure)
Can't wait to use up my stockpiled body washes and try my hand at this. I am definitely saving the old bottles!
I made the second recipe last night with 6 cups water and 3 bars of castile soap and nothing happened by the next morning it never set up so what am i doing wrong??? Please give me ideas. I did although just use what I made in the shower but it was liquid form and I want the creamy!! Thanks ladies
Olive Oil Does anyone use this? How much?
Hey! Thanks for trying out my recipe. I just found this today. I also just posted an update on my post because a lot of people were trying to use other types of soap and not Dove. Dove has a lot of moisturizer in it which makes the ratio to water perfect. Other soap will turn out too thick with only 6 cups of water. I use the men's dove for my husband. He now loves it too and he's a pretty manly man to be using a loofah!
Stacy! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing this info. I will have to update my post as well.
I did a SECOND post about this including the MEN'S version as well, because I love this stuff so much! Thanks for sharing it!
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/03/his-and-hers-no-grate-homemade-body.html
i tried this with irish spring. Started with 2 cups water per bar. stayed thick so i tried adding more water. ended up with a GALLON from 2 bars & it's still a little like homemade silly putty. i'll probably have to add water as i put it in my dispenser.
Can you add essential oils or chopped rosemary or lavender to your recipe? If so, approximately how much can you add ?
What do you think about using Coconut oil for a more moisturizing effect?
Oh, my!! I made this last weekend with Dove pomegranate soap and it is by far the creamiest body wash we have ever had. My husband is in love with it as much as I am. Thank you, Jillee, for all of your awesome DIY things!!! :)
Jillee, AWESOME blog!
I made the Dove body wash last night and am super-excited to try it tonight! As of this morning, the consistency was starting to thicken up nicely. I’m a little bummed though, reading about the poster that tried Irish Spring. I just bought 3 bars of it to make for my husband. Oh well, guess I’ll switch him over to the Men’s Dove!
Yeah….the hubster loves Irish Spring too….but has been totally won over by the Men’s Dove! I honestly thought that would NEVER happen!
OK, so I tried this & am liking it! The only thing is mine didn’t turn out as thick as yours looks & I followed your “recipe” to a T… Any thoughts? I guess next time I’ll try using a little less water & see what happens. I also checked out a couple of other sites & some suggest to use salt. What would the salt do? I wasn’t sure if it would dissolve or stay gritty to act as an exfoliant. ??? Not sure about adding more ingredients anyway – the more stuff you have to add the more expensive it will be to make, which kind of defeats the purpose. :)
Anyway, thanks for the great idea! I can’t wait to try it w/ other types of soap!!!
the reason Dove works so well is because its not actually soap. it doesn’t claim to be on the label its a moisture bar. … Real soap goes gluggy (as some of you have no doubt found). and the addition of salt to a surfacant will cause it to thicken but I don’t think Dove is a surfacant either so it probably wont work.
Hi, love this blog! Question about this though- I have made three separate batches of body wash using the first recipe (not the one with Dove) with three different types of soap- and I keep getting the same consistency. It’s kind of gooey, and ends up looking like melted Mozzarella Cheese when I try to get it out of a bottle- like it all wants to stay together and not seperate. Could this be the glycerin? Any ideas would be helpful! Thanks so much!
Update: My bw I made w/ Dove finally thickened a little bit, but it took a week or so rather than a few days. I still really like it, but definitely want to try to make it thicker next time. I just made a batch using Olay Quench bars (which, are in fact called “moisturizer bars”). I made it using 1 cup of water to 1 bar & it is the perfect consistency! Yes, this will lessen the amount made, but a bottle of Olay bw costs about $6-7, so if I can make 2-3 bottles for the cost of 1, I will be a happy camper! I just got it done today, so I haven’t used it yet, I will post the results when I do! =]