I'm going to go into this assuming you know foaming soap is a rip off. You know that, right? You pay the same or more for foaming soap & for that you get - less soap and more water. Here's how to make your own diy foaming hand soap.
It's the little things in life that get me all riled up and in a good mood. Remembering I have leftover pizza in the fridge, watching squirrels scurrying around trying to find hiding places for their nuts in the fall, finding out Home Depot now carries the 2" galvanized pipe elbows with a double sided, screw in end. You know. The little things.
Foaming soap is one of those little things. I love it. It's easy. It comes out puffy and lathery without any work on your part at all.
That's right. I'll spend 12 hours stacking 2 full, bush cords of wood, but I'm too lazy to lather.
What of it?
The one thing I don't like about foaming soap dispensers is refill soap for them is harder to find than regular soap and is usually more expensive. Even though you're getting less soap.
500 ml of regular liquid soap
=
500 ml of regular liquid soap
wheras
500 ml of foaming soap
=
100 ml soap + 400 ml water
That means a 500 ml bottle of foaming soap refill is 20% soap and 80% water.
So I figured out how to turn regular liquid hand soap into the sort of soap that will work in a foaming dispenser. This winter I even made my own Frasier Fir scented foaming handsoap using Frasier Fir essential oil and The Unscented Company soap refill.
Regular liquid hand soap won't work in a foaming dispenser because it's too thick.
So genius me decided I could probably just add water to it to thin it down.
Genius me was right.
Getting the proportions right isn't even difficult. It's pretty forgiving. It's foaming soap, not an atomic bomb.
Table of Contents
Can You make Your Own Foaming Hand Soap?
You CAN indeed make your own foaming hand soap. But for the soap to foam you need a special foaming soap dispenser. If you've ever bought a foaming soap that's in a dispenser this technique will work in it.
Mrs. Meyers (not a sponsored post) even has a foaming soap kit with a glass foaming dispenser, and 2, 2 ounce bottles of refill soap. Just add water.
What Makes Foaming Soap Foam?
The reason the soap foams has nothing to do with the actual soap. It's the way the soap is dispensed. Foaming dispensers add air to the soap as you push down on the foaming pump. If you take a look at your foaming soap dispenser you'll see the soap is held in the main chamber, and then attached to the pump there's a smaller chamber. It's that chamber that forces air into the soap as you pump it out.
Is it Better Than Regular Soap?
Aside from the fun of having your soap being pre-foamed for you, foaming soap is actually better in many ways than regular liquid soap. Here's how:
- People use less soap when dispensing it from a foaming dispenser. This makes it more economical and means that foaming soap lasts longer.
- People use 15% less water to lather with foaming soap so that's less water use which is environmentally friendly. If you only use water to rinse your hands and don't add water for the initial hand washing, using foaming soap will save 45% of the water used during traditional hand washing.
- Using foaming hand soap reduces the amount of soap you use for each hand washing which in turn means you get more hand washes out of each package. This means you're reducing the amount of packaging used.
How to Make Foaming Soap
- Mix 1 part liquid soap with 4-6 parts water in a foaming soap dispenser.
- Slowly mix by gently turning soap dispenser until incorporated.
The higher ratio of water you use the more cost savings you'll have but the less foamy the soap will be.
You can use any foaming soap dispenser you have and any liquid soap.
But if you plan on doing this a lot I'd recommend getting a nice, heavy glass foaming soap dispenser.
I like this black glass dispenser. It's solid and heavy, so when you're down to the last bit of soap your dispenser won't flip over or tip like the lightweight plastic dispensers sometimes (always) do.
To mix the water into the soap you just have to do it slowly and gently. Just tip the container back and forth slowly until the water is incorporated with the soap.
I wasn't even going to do this tutorial because it's so logical and so easy but I thought the same thing when I did a post on How to Peel a Peach. I figured everyone knew how to do that to and as it turned out … they didn't.
If the screw top of your foaming dispenser fits other jars with a screw on lid that are more attractive, then you could attach it to that the same way I did in this billion year old post Pouring spouts and Bottles.
If your foaming dispenser screw top is an odd size then you can just slip the whole thing into a nicer container so it's hidden. If you can be bothered. My dispenser actually fits into a black ceramic vase perfectly. It would have been great if I'd taken a photo of it. But I didn't. Cause I'm not quite as geniusy as we thought just a few paragraphs ago.
And that's it to DIY foaming hand soap. That is all it takes to make me happy. Soap that self lathers and having a brain large enough to figure out how to make it myself.
Which in terms of brain size puts me right up there with your average nut hiding squirrel.
Joanne
I have also done this forever, and use Dr. Bronners plus a few drops of essential oil. It’s hard to find the dispenser, so I buy the bottles of cheap and over-perfumed foaming hand soap at Dollarama and throw away the soap. You can usually peel the label off too. Wish they sold nice foaming containers somewhere!
Vaughan
Yes! I love being cheap; frugal is a better word but doesn't have the punch.
My motto is I would rather spend my money on other things like art, travel and good cheeses than water of which I have plenty. Don't get me going on store bought salad dressings (what a waste)! The two foaming soap dispensers that I use were about to be thrown away by a not so economical friend. A friend that poo-poos my economy.
Ha!
Thank you Karen, and by teaching folks about this soap you are also encouraging re-use of the d@#$ containers which otherwise would have gone into the landfill.
Letty Regan
Thank you! I was down to my last bit of foaming soap and could never get the proportions correct for the refill.
Elaine
I’m nearing the end of my first ever bottle of foaming soap given to me as a gift in a basket of other goodies. Thanks so much for educating me on this subject.
Karen, have you ever done a post on the various ways to make hand sanitizer and critiqued them like you did with the brands of toilet paper?
I recently read one that had only two ingredients: aloe gel and rubbing alcohol. I see other “recipes” with essential oils, etc. but I would prefer using as few ingredients as possible.
Keep safe in these very scary times!
Peggy
Oh wonderful! There is a rather pricey manly-man-scented hand soap that my husband really likes, but won't admit to liking because he's not a man-fragrance type of guy, if you know what I mean. So I buy it for him and having been diluting it with unscented store-brand refill soap to make it last longer and not so strong - which is still plenty strong! Now I'm going to try doing it as a foam and stretch it even further!
This is totally brilliant, and I will defend your brain against any nut-hiding squirrel brain you care to pick!
Anne
I make this all the time using Castile Liquid soap. You can buy it organic and/or with none of the chemicals in liquid soap. It’s awesome.
Cindy
Same theory with 'light' beer. It's just watered down. If you want a light beer, take a regular one, pour out 2 ounces and add water.
I was a bartender when Miller brought out 'Lite' and the sales rep was so tickled by it. I never thought it would last, but was I wrong.
Vaughan
And now there is 'Ultra lite'. I mean really???
Franca
Hello, My foaming soap just finished. I didn't want to throw away the dispenser because I really like the foaming soap. I mixed a little of regular hand soap with water and tried it and it worked. Then I googled it to see if anyone else did it, and that is how I came across this post! Brilliant! I added a bit more soap and water - following your recommended ratios. :) Thank you for posting.
Karen
You're welcome Franca! It's such an easy solution, isn't it?~ karen!
Rachel
Stupid question. Could you add alcohol also to thin it?
Karen
I probably wouldn't because it alcohol dries your hands out. Why would you want to add alcohol, lol? Just curious. ~ karen!
Rachel
Like I said stupid question, but I figured it would thin it out and make it antibacterial.
Karen
Ohhh, I see! I wondered if that was the reason. Well, you don't need to worry about that because soap by nature is antibacterial. It's better for cleaning germs, bacteria and viruses than anything. ~ karen!
Hayley
Karen, you are a genius. I am an idiot. I tried to circumvent the most simple of directions to speed things up. By shaking the bottle.
Why yes, this did result in bubbles for days 🤦🏻♀️ You can see why I need foaming soap...no patience!
Karen
LOL. ~ karen!
Vikki
I've been doing this for years. I usually use a soap like Seventh Generation dish soap and it's been working out fine. Thanks for cluing in people who haven't figured it out yet.
Brooke Genesse
Awesome.. thanks For the portions. And the hot water tip is great!
Cathy
When doing this, always use distilled water. A preservative should really be used as well.
Soozy
Hi there!
Great idea! Was wondering though, do you have to continuously shake the bottle to mix the soap/water mixture? I was hoping to make as a gift ... thank you.
Sooz
Cathy
Once mixed, the soap will stay mixed. Especially if gifting or selling, use distilled water and add a preservative.
James McCleary
Were you buy the special soap containers that foam plesae
Vaughan
Go to a dollar store, or that kind of place and get some of their soap in the little containers. Use it up and then re-use the bottle. Some you can actually peel off the labels, which I like to do.
I get tired of the visual clutter of labels and such.
Good luck!
Karen F.
I too have been doing this for awhile. I have skin and fragrance sensitivities so I use about an inch of my unfragranced special dish soap and fill the rest with water, mixing gently. I found that the dish soap on its own was even too harsh for my hands but diluted in the foaming dispenser it is perfect! I got the ratio by buying an empty foaming soap dispenser that had marks for the soap level and the water level. Thanks for sharing this, I want everyone to know and now they do!
Heather
Thanks, Karen! I love foaming soap, too. Who doesn't? : )
Leena Björk
You are hysterical! 🤣😂
Sondra
Use this same technique with very thick shampoos. Cut it by 50% or more and save money. I transfer half a bottle to two big squeeze bottles filled with an equal amount of hot water and gently turn over and over, remember to put the cap on, turn until blended.
Avril Smith
I've been doing this for a number of years - When the foaming soap was all gone, I just put dish detergent in it and added water. I keep it by my kitchen sink and use it all the time. ;)