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.
denise martin
Can I use the bits of dove soap in the foaming dispenser
Lori
I've been DYI-ing foaming soap for a while, but I've noticed a problem. The soap works great and smells wonderful at the beginning, but it starts to smell rancid near the end. I'm using a nice Castille soap (Dr. Bronner's type thing) and 4 or 5 parts water. Anyone else experience this or have a solution?
Lori
DIY, not DYI! 🤦♀️
Ah, well. I just looked back at this post hoping someone might have a solution for me! I'd still love to know 🤞
mariane
Use distilled water. Tap water goes rancid quickly.
Danat
Perhaps I can shed a little light on how you get so many visitors to this page? In my case it was the first link offered when I asked Google "how does a foaming hand wash work". :) I re-used mine with watered-down dish soap and so was checking to see how the pump worked and that maybe I'd broken it. According to your info here, I think it's that I didn't leave that 20% air gap .. tho another comment mentioned that dish soap may gum up the works, so I guess I'll have to rinse my pump out and try again. Thank you for posting this and I'm glad it's brought so much traffic to your site, including me :)
Marlene Bielawski
I may have missed it but I couldn't find how to do the math. So here's what you do:
To calculate how much water and soap go into each 'part', fill your empty bottle to the brim. Over the sink, put the pump in to force out the water. Next you need to pour the remaining water into a measuring cup. Write down how much you have. Divide by 5! My dispenser held 400ml ÷ 5 = 80ml, which conveniently is 1/3 of a cup. Dump your plain water. Measure 4 parts hot water first and pour in dispenser, then add your 1 part liquid soap.
Another helpful hint is that I leave one of those hard plastic drinking straws, not the disposable kind, in the cabinet where I have my soap. The firm straw is just the right length to stir the hot water and soap without causing foam or bubbles. It's handy to leave the straw where you are going to use it.
I've typed out my directions for this particular dispenser so that I don't have to go looking on the internet again to find out what the ratio is. I've made my own before but always messed up the proportions when I guessed at it.
Thank you, Karen, for providing this tutorial.
Mary Raiman
I have a question and I'm thinking the answer is "no," but I'm not certain.
Can I take an unscented hand soap and use liquid in a scented body spray either in place of the water or reducing the water a bit and add a little of the liquid in the body spray? Due to the alcohol in the body spray, I'm thinking no.
Karen
Hi Mary. I wouldn't, no. Mainly because you want to keep the soap soap in order to keep the threat of bacteria down. I wouldn't fiddle with it. ~ karen!
Jill
It does work and Im happy with it. I’d been doing it now for almost 6months but Im having difficulty making it with DOVE LIQUID HAND SOAP. Im using the same consistency i used with other liquid soap but I cant make the foam last longer. I noticed dove liquid soap will separate with water after a day. It becomes runny. Can you help me since I love this product with my very dry hands. Thanks in advance.
Karen
Hi Jill. I'm afraid I'm not sure what it is in the dove that's making it separate. ~ karen!
J-Kat
I keep soap scraps in a mason jar with water, and when I want to refill my foaming soap dispensers, I'll add a little of that liquid, some Dawn, and then fill them up with water. The Dawn keeps the soap from getting slimy.
The plastic soap dispensers I got from Amazon didn't last, so I bought regular ones from the store. Those, I refill. Even my husband, who didn't like the liquid soap before, likes these. He wants one for his office bathroom upstairs.
Karen Moon
Now I realize why hands started itching so much! I was using regular liquid hand soap for years in the kitchen. I finally started using the foam soap and my hands quit itching!! I wash my hands a lot while I'm working in the kitchen! I am going to make my own foam soap now.
Thanks for the clue!
Amber
Thank you. Believe it or not, I didn’t know this until I looked it up and found you today. I also didn’t know how to peel a peach!
Karen
LOL, well now you do and you can impress all of those around you with your newfound information. ~ karen!
Maegen
Love this idea but I’ve read that adding water could create a breeding ground for bacteria in the dispenser which concerns me... thoughts?
Karen
Hi Maegen. I've read up on it as well and from what I can see it's a small risk, especially when you are mixing it in the dispenser (not big batches that sit around for long periods of time). It definitely *can* grow bacteria because you've changed the balance of the soap but it isn't something I worry about. I go through the hand soap quite quickly. It's the same thing with a bar of soap that's left in a watery dish. It can happen with that as well. ~ karen!
Guadalupe
When mixing the soap and water together, I use the plastic tubing that goes into the bottle to stir them together. I like to watch the soap sitting at the bottom of the bottle slowly swirl up and mix with the water as I stir. It doesn't make bubbles and it's more fun to me than tipping the bottle back and forth.
Guadalupe
I used to guess how much to use but most of the time it would be a little less foamy and more runny which I didn't like. Thank you for providing a ratio that will work! I had bought a set of bottles that had the demarcations on it for the correct ratio but the bottles only worked for a few months before they stopped foaming.
I also believe that people continue to buy their bottles of foam soap because of the scents provided. I'm going to guess that buying some essential oils can also provide the scents people want without the chemicals involved when adding perfumes to the soap.
Lee
Might I add that if some Calgon and Laundry bluing are added, the soap foams so much better.
Cathy Reeves
Finally did this after I found this wonderful soap at the 99¢ store. I also scored 2 small bottles of hand sanitizer! I heated my water first to help incorporate it with soap and the results are wonderful! I’m a convert!!!
Where can I post a photo?
Karen
UCH. I had to take down the add photo portion of the comment section because the photos were taking up a lot of space and speed on the site. I'd like to see a picture though! ~ [email protected]
Madeline
Bought these for $9.99 from Amazon USA, several years ago and they are still working fine.
Vivaplex, 4, Clear, 8.5 oz (250 ml), Oval, Plastic Foaming Soap Dispensers, with White Pumps
I use Dr. Bonner's soap in them, but in the corona virus crisis may begin adding tea tree oil to the soap before adding water.
Ann Brookens
Thanks for reposting this, Karen! I started "making" my own foaming soap back when you first wrote this up and have been doing it ever since. The dispenser in the kitchen broke a while ago; I only just got around to taking an empty out of the bathroom to replace it, and I am very happy to see the proportions again. If I add too much water, it doesn't have that thick, luxurious foam shown in your pictures!
Marie
This may be a dumb question, but what is the purpose of the galvanized pipe elbow? What am I missing?
Karen
Hi marie! I was just describing one of the little things that make me happy. Galvanized pipe elbows. :) They don't have anything to do with the foam soap. :) ~ karen!
Marie
I meant what do you use pipe elbows for?
Guadalupe
An elbow pipe is used when you want to the pipe to turn 90 degrees. It can be plumbing or electrical. Probably electrical since it's galvanized according to my limited knowledge.
whitequeen96
Maybe this is a stupid question, but will this be as effective against the coronavirus? Less soap, but more bubbles - I can't figure it out.
Marcia
I've been refilling my foam soap dispensers from that B & B shop. I love scented soap, so I add some fragrance oil to my soap. I've also discovered that it's easier to put the soap and water in a mixing cup to get it thoroughly stirred up and then pour it into the dispenser. And because I'm super cheap, I add water to the mixing cup and use that the next time I wash my hands. This is the website I use for the fragrance oil: http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com
Mary W
I do something similar with shampoo. When I get my new bottle, I pour about and inch into the old bottle, then add about twice as much water, swirl around - done. It makes the shampoo in my hands way easier to lather up and spreads so quickly and cleanly through my hair. I do it since it cleans better and bubbles better and the cost is just extra nice. Next time your shampoo container is almost done, add some water, swirl and then use the remainder. I bet you will then co this always, also.