a simple DIY :: organic antibacterial foaming hand soap

Posted on by Renee

An 18 month old PLUS a 3 ½ year old equals lots of hand washing! Between diaper changes with the baby, and potty wiping help with the toddler, we are constantly at the sink!

Couple that with their natural affinity toward anything that will create a mess, and hand washing is at least an hourly occurrence around here!

And I’ll be honest, I won’t scrub their paws up with just anything.

I know I usually spend a lot of time on here gabbing about how important the stuff that you feed your body is (and it is!), but so is what you put ON your body. Skin absorbs 60 percent of what you put on it and rub into it. THIS is a great site you can put in any skin care product and see its level of toxicity. Antibacterial soaps are among some of the worst – turn your bottle of antibacterial soap around – if it contains triclosan you are putting hormone damaging toxins right into your body.

Whether you are pregnant and wanting to avoid toxins to your growing babe, are in the midst of a baby diaper changing season of life, or have little ones into everything, here is a fantastic antibacterial soap you can feel good about using – even on those days where it seems like you are washing your hands every hour (or more!) of the day 🙂

And if I didn’t hit your hot button on the no toxin thing, maybe the frugal-ness of this will turn your  head?! Literally pennies on the dollar saved!

You’ll need:

1 empty foaming soap container (I have re-used containers but look at THIS fun one!)
Filtered water
Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap (any scent is fine)
Organic Tea Tree Oil

  1. Fill the empty foaming soap container ¾ of the way with filtered water.
  2. Add the rest of the way with the castile soap.
  3. Add 4-6 drops of the tea tree oil.
  4. Put the top on and shake it up gently.

Tips:

  1. The tea tree oil is what makes this soap antibacterial.  The tea tree oil is  safe, even for little ones.
  2. The soap will take on the scent of whatever Dr. Bronner’s you use. I love the lavender, but the peppermint or citrus are yummy too! The tea tree oil doesn’t show up in the scent much unless you use the tea tree Dr. Bronner’s obviously.
  3. You can find the Dr. Bronner’s and oils at your local grocer. They are on amazon.com as well but our grocer is cheaper here at least.

YOUR TURN!

Do you make your own soap at home? Let us know what you do! Let me know how you like the soap if you try it!

This post was shared at Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday, Real Food Freak’s Freaky Friday, Too Many Jars In My Kitchen’s Fill Those Jars Friday, and Butter Believer’s Sunday School!

22 thoughts on “a simple DIY :: organic antibacterial foaming hand soap”

  1. Have you ever had issues of separation? I find that I have to shake it up everyday.

    1. Hi Rebekah! I have on occasion felt the need to shake it up but I don’t do it daily…

  2. Just a word of warning, tea tree is toxic to cats. Unfortunately we found this out the hard way. Hoping to save someone the same grief. Anytime you use essential oils please check out their potential effects on your furry family members.

    1. Hi Barbara! Thanks for the heads up! I am definitely a pet free house so this is good information to know! Is the eucalyptus oil or lavender the same thing? They have antibacterial properties and could be used instead. Thanks for sharing!

      1. I don’t know about eucalyptus oil or lavender but I would be very leery of them just because of my experience. I’ve heard this is a great book with lots of essential oil info. The Animal Desk Reference: Essential Oils for Animals by Dr. Melissa Shelton, DVM. I’ve ordered my copy but haven’t received it yet. I would just research any oil thoroughly if you have pets.

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  4. Just made some using tea tree oil & orange. It’s great! Thanks for the recipe, will be making more.

  5. I need your opinion….I was told by someone that boys should not come into contact with tea tree oil because of hormone disruptors. I stopped using it in my homemade hand sanitizer but want your opinion.

    1. Hi Kerri 🙂 I have not heard of this before but I am also not an expert. I have read that tea tree oil is safe for use in products for children and cleaning products. You are smart erring on the side of caution until you find out for sure!

    3. I have heard that hospitals in other countries use tea tree oil as a disinfecting agent to clean. I doubt this is true.

  6. Pingback: How To Make Organic Antibacterial Foaming Hand Soap » The Homestead Survival

  7. Now that is really neat, will be trying this out, will be saving this family some money.
    Thank YOU!!

  8. Thanks! I will be making this for sure! I love this site! Thanks for recommending it at the library yesterday!

    1. Hi Michelle! Good to hear from you! Did you get a chance to see all the cloth diaper giveaways I mentioned?! Hope you are good – we’ll see you next week 🙂

  10. That’s great Heather! Go ahead and link up if you want! I do this same concoction without the tea tree oil for bathing the girls too 🙂

  11. I just did a similar post on my blog about an hour ago for Baby Shampoo! 🙂 and i checked my mail and there this was! Great post – need to get me some foaming containers! 🙂 thank you!

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