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    Home » Bath and Body

    Homemade Foaming Hand Soap

    Modified: Jun 7, 2025 · Published: Jul 21, 2011 by Brandy · This post may contain affiliate links.

    hand stretched out with foaming hand soap on it
    Homemade Foaming Hand Soap. Who knew? Apparently a lot of people except for me because when I googled it, a bunch of links came up! Now that I know how easy it is to make I will never buy another $3 bottle of it again! How do manufacturers justify charging so much for a bottle of it when in actuality you are buying a fraction of the soap that a regular bottle of hand soap has and it is diluted down with water? They probably justify it because people are willing to pay for it! I was.
    Here's how you do it:
    Fill an empty FOAMING soap bottle with 1" clear hand or dish. It needs to be clear, not lotion/creamy based.
    I used DAWN for these bottles, but have used Ivory liquid dish soap as well. It makes my hands soft and both are antibacterial.

    Slowly add enough warm water to fill the bottle, leaving a small space at the top. Replace pump and gently rock back and forth to combine water/soap. Don't shake. Let sit for a minute, give it a couple of pumps and that is it!A large $3 bottle of your favorite scented antibacterial clear soap will make 10-15 bottles of foaming hand soap.

    I love foaming soap because it is easier to wash off of hands and uses so much less soap with each use, but is still as effective. My kids just think it's cool.
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    About Brandy

    Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!

    Comments

    1. Michelle says

      April 18, 2014 at 9:50 am

      You should know that watering down soap messes with the preservative levels and allows bacteria to grow, so doing this you might be letting your kids wash their hands with bacteria water!

      "Watering down your products does make them last longer, but understand that water is the carrier that introduces bacteria. Any water-based product like liquid soap, shampoo, lotion, etc. contains a very strict amount of preservative. When you add a ton of water yourself, the preservative becomes useless and you could have bacteria/fungi flourishing in your bath products."

      Reply
    2. Gwen H. says

      January 21, 2014 at 3:02 pm

      Wow that was so easy!!! Thank you so much for the money saving ideas.

      Reply
      • Brandy says

        January 22, 2014 at 8:30 am

        You're welcome! I post that a couple of years ago and still use this method with our soaps! It works great! Have a great day, Brandy.

        Reply
    3. C J Childress says

      November 20, 2013 at 11:26 am

      I am so glad you shared this "recipe"!
      We have 11 children and therefore use a LOT of handsoap. 😉
      I will be buying these dispensers this weekend and having the recipe handy when they run out!
      I love saving my husband money. <3

      Blessings,
      Janet... mamachildress
      countrylivingmama.blogspot.com

      Reply
      • Brandy says

        November 20, 2013 at 3:06 pm

        You're welcome! We've been doing this for a couple of years and I don't think I'll ever go back! It's nice to find ways to pinch pennies!

        Reply
    4. Jessica says

      August 02, 2011 at 1:59 am

      Foam soap always seems so much better! I'll definitely be trying this out.

      I found your link from Tip Junkie. 🙂

      Reply
    5. Crystal says

      August 01, 2011 at 2:13 pm

      I do the same thing!

      Yesterday, we were traveling back from a road trip and stopped at a gas station/eatery/gift shop facility for a potty break. They tried to make their own foaming soap, but instead filled the container up with 100% soap. This clogs the pump up and makes it almost impossible to get any soap onto your hands. Ugh!

      Awesome tip and thanks so much for sharing it on my mommy solution meme! You rock!

      Reply
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    Trackbacks

    1. My Favorite Homemade Cleaning Products: Tried & True says:
      September 24, 2013 at 12:57 pm

      […] every single day. Usually more than 1 load. I use a 1/8 meausring cup as my scoop (2T). Homemade Foaming Hand Soap: Gluesticks You’ll never pay $3 a bottle for foaming soap again. This is great for families  like ours […]

      Reply

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