DIY Foaming Hand Soap for Spring

One of my favourite ways to use essential oils is making foaming hand soap with them. Making homemade hand soap is as simple as combining castile soap, water, and essential oils in a foaming soap dispenser. Plus, it has the big advantage of saving you a lot of money on natural products. Many toxic ingredients can be found in most big brands of hand soap, with one of the most common ones being artificial fragrance.

Using essential oils to give soap a scent is such a great way to enjoy & embrace the best parts of the current season. It really helps me appreciate nature and the unique beauty and rhythm of that season. In spring, it’s all about fresh flowers, spring cleaning, rainy days, and a sense of renewal. I came up with 3 recipes for spring-themed foaming soap, and I think you will love them!

This post focuses on which essential oils to use for foaming soap that are perfect for spring, but I previously wrote a blog post with more details on how to make the soap base. Be sure to check out that post here to see additional details!

In addition to the castile soap and essential oils, you will need a foaming soap dispenser. You can either re-use a current foaming soap container that you have, buy a foaming pump to go on a current dispenser you have, or purchase a new foaming soap container that you can refill again and again. If you don’t want to make foaming soap, you can also use the essential oil combinations below as a guide to add to unscented liquid soaps or in your essential oil diffuser.

How many drops of essential oils to use

The below essential oil blends are how many drops I used for 8 oz of liquid soap (this is approximately how much liquid will fit in my 10 oz soap containers). It’s important to note that essential oils are potent and concentrated and should always be properly diluted to be used safely. The dilution rate that is best for most people is 2%. A 1% dilution is best for children and anyone with really sensitive skin. Here’s a quick reference for the correct amount of drops to use for those dilutions:

• 2% dilution: 12 drops of essential oils per 1 oz of carrier liquid
• 1% dilution: 6 drops of essential oils per 1 oz of carrier liquid
• This means that for 8 oz of liquid soap, you can do up to 96 drops of essential oils for a 2% dilution (8 oz x 12 drops = 96 drops). I find that most scents don’t need this many drops, as you’ll see below. It’s always best to use less if you can.

How to make the foaming soap:

1. Leaving about a 1/2″- 1″ of space at the top of your soap dispenser for the pump, fill your soap jar 1/3 of the way with castile soap.
2. (Optional) If you want a soap that feels a bit more moisturizing, next add 1/2 tbsp – 1 tbsp of a liquid, skin-friendly oil to the castile soap. Examples of oils you could use include: olive oil, fractionated coconut oil (must be fractionated), sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil. Please note, I find that the added oil does not emulsify (mix together) with the other ingredients as effectively as soap made with just castile soap & water. This means you have to shake the dispenser more often to keep the ingredients incorporated… keep that in mind if you want to add the extra oil.
3. Then add your essential oils to the castile soap (see below for the essential oil blends) and thoroughly stir them together. Use a glass liquid measuring cup to determine how many liquid ounces fit in your dispenser if you aren’t sure.
4. Add filtered or distilled water to the remaining 2/3 of your dispenser (leaving some room at the top for air and the pump). Stir this together, and you’re done!

The spring soap recipes:

Garden Walk

Like walking through a spring garden, it’s floral and fresh, with hints of earthiness.

LAVENDER LEMONADE

A combination of two of the best scents for spring- lavender and lemon! A classic that is so fresh and calming.

Clean Kitchen

This one is bright and refreshing! Bergamot is one of my favourites for spring!

I hope you give these recipes a try this spring, and enjoy some of the best scents of the season! Enjoy some aromatherapy and clean natural products all at the same time. Don’t forget to save this post to Pinterest!