DIY Foaming Hand Soap Recipes for Kids

Making your own foaming hand soap with essential oils is one of the easiest homemade products possible, and it is super budget-friendly. This has saved me a lot of money! It’s as simple as combining castile soap, water, and essential oils in a foaming soap dispenser. In addition to saving money, you can avoid all of the toxic ingredients that are in most big brands of hand soap, with one of the most common ones being artificial fragrance. Here are several hand soap recipes I’ve created with essential oils that are perfect for the kids!

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If you don’t want to buy a foaming soap dispenser, you can totally re-use and refill a current foaming soap container that you have. If you have a glass mason jar, you can also get a foaming soap pump to turn your jar into a foaming soap dispenser.

You can also use the essential oil combinations below as a guide to add to unscented liquid soaps if you don’t want to make it foaming.

I am using these amber glass foaming soap dispensers at two sinks in our home, and have been really happy with them so far. I also really like the labels that came with them (which include two of the “hand soap” labels… most of the dispensers like these only come with one).

General guidelines for diluting essential oils (if you plan to customize my recipes)

The below essential oil blends are how many drops I use for 8 oz of liquid soap. But if you plan to customize the recipes and change the amount of essential oils, it’s important to note that essential oils are potent & concentrated, and should always be properly diluted to be used safely. 

Here’s a quick reference for the correct amount of drops to use for diluting them correctly. You can use this guide to determine how many drops of essential oils to use if you plan to customize the blends, or if you want to use a different size of soap dispenser:

• 2% dilution: 12 drops of essential oils per 1 oz of carrier liquid (suitable for most adults)
• 1% dilution: 6 drops of essential oils per 1 oz of carrier liquid (*best dilution rate for kids or anyone with really sensitive skin*)
• This means that for 8 oz of liquid soap, you can do up to 48 drops of essential oils for a 1% dilution (8 oz x 6 drops = 48 drops).

How to make the foaming soap (8 oz)

1. In a glass measuring cup, add 1/3 cup of castile soap.
2. Next, add your essential oils to the castile soap (see below for the essential oil blends) and thoroughly stir them together. 
3. Then add 2/3 cup of filtered or distilled water to the measuring cup. Stir this all together, and then pour it into your soap dispenser. Re-attach your soap pump to your soap dispenser, and you’re done!
4. Alternatively, you can eyeball the measurements by filling your soap dispenser 1/3 of the way with castile soap. Then add your essential oils, stir this together, then fill your dispenser the other 2/3 of the way with filtered water, and stir again. You may need to leave a bit of air space at the top of your dispenser for the pump to fit without the soap overflowing, so keep this in mind when eyeballing the 1/3 and 2/3 measurements.

Note: If you aren’t sure how many liquid ounces fit in your soap dispenser, you can use a liquid measuring cup to measure this.

The Essential Oil Blends

Orange Fizz

I created this blend to smell like orange soda pop! It smells amazing, and the kids will definitely love it!

Bubblegum

I almost didn’t include this recipe because I’m still in the process of testing it. However, I think this is a really fun soap blend idea for kids and is worth trying if you have these essential oils. So far, it really does smell like bubblegum and I’m really enjoying it! (March 2026 update: still testing it and enjoying it!).

Pool Party

I called this blend “pool party” because it reminds me of popsicles in the summer time! The citrus oils paired with peppermint are a hit with everyone, and I think the kids will especially love this fun combination.

Sweet Orange

Simple, but smells so good! Your kids will love this sweet and refreshing scent, and so will you. It’s a classic that never gets old.

Candy Corn

This blend was a happy accident. What was intended to be spicy and a bit sweet, ended up smelling like… well.. candy corn! It really does remind me of candy corn, so I think it’s perfect for kids!

Lavender

This scent may not be as exciting from the kids’ perspective, but lavender oil is gentle, calming, and is very suitable for kids. It’s a great choice for using in a kids’ bathroom!

All is Calm

I created this blend with a Christmas theme for those calm, snowy nights in the winter. But, it really is great all year long with a pleasing and calming scent!

I hope both you and your kids will enjoy these homemade foaming hand soap recipes. It’s easy enough to make that you could even make it together with your kids! How fun for them to be able to make their own soap and maybe even come up with their own blend ideas! I would love to hear how it goes in the comments 🙂

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