DIY Foaming Hand Soap Christmas Gift (Budget-Friendly Gift Idea with a Refill)

I’ve got a lovely Christmas gift idea here for you today! It’s a useful, clutter-free, 100% natural, and budget-friendly gift, which would work to gift to almost anyone (hostess, friend, teacher, mom, anyone)! Who doesn’t need hand soap? Make this homemade foaming hand soap customized with the essential oils of your choice, and turn it into a hand soap gift basket. Your gift recipient will love it!

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Making your own foaming hand soap is an easy and affordable way to use more non-toxic products, and save money at the same time! I often experiment with different essential oils and love creating oil blends that suit the current season. It’s a great way to embrace seasonality and celebrate the best of what the current season has to offer. Making your own natural foaming soap is as easy as combining castile soap + distilled/filtered water + essential oils in a foaming soap dispenser. In addition, 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.

I previously wrote a post all about how to avoid synthetic fragrance in your products, and why you should! Read that post here.

The essential oil blends I’ve listed below are the ones best-suited for Christmas! I’m constantly experimenting with new blends, so stay tuned for even more recipes to be added to this post.

Supplies you will need to make this:

Foaming soap dispensers: I have these ones and am loving them! What makes this set better than others I’ve seen is that it comes with two “hand soap” labels instead of one.
Castile soap, unscented: I like the ones from Green Beaver or Dr. Bronner’s. Buy unscented if you’d like to customize the scent with seasonal essential oils.
Essential oils: If you don’t already have some, here are a few sources for high-quality, pure essential oils. I recommend buying organic ones whenever possible: Ty Essential Oils (my family’s company- 100% organic), Pure Anada, Plant Therapy, Healing Solutions, or Mountain Rose Herbs.
Filtered or Distilled water: Distilled water (vs. using tap water) is the best choice to use for this, because it will be mostly free of bacteria and minerals giving the soap a better shelf life. You can buy a jug of it for just a couple of dollars at your local grocery store. I often use filtered water too, and it also works for us.
Mason jar (optional): I love the idea of including a mason jar containing the soap concentrate (castile soap + essential oils) so that the gift recipient can refill their dispenser! In my photos, I’ve filled the mason jar with 2/3 cup of castile soap, which is enough to refill the soap dispenser twice!

If you don’t already have essential oils, it can be expensive to buy multiple bottles of different scents. One way to avoid this is to buy essential oil blends, and this way you only need to buy one bottle (depending on how many different scents you want to make). Here are some options if you prefer to go that route:

From Pure Anada: Shield blend (Thieves blend) or holiday blends likes Christmas Tree, Alpine, Orange Spice, Cedarwood & Leather, or Peppermint Cream (holiday blends only available seasonally)
From Ty Essential Oils: Holiday at the Cabin, Festive Mingle, or Cinnamon Toast
On Amazon: Candy Cane, Christmas Wreath, Woodland Walk, Holiday Cheer

Gift Wrapping Supplies

In addition to the items needed to make the foaming soap, you’ll need some cute gift wrapping. I recommend adding a holiday gift tag to the bottle, which lists the ingredients in the soap. This will ensure your gift recipient knows it is 100% natural and homemade.

Festive ribbon and gift tag: Include a gift tag that states the hand soap ingredients as well as instructions to shake the dispenser before use. I got mine from the dollar store. Attach the gift tag with some cute ribbon, or tie some ribbon around the soap dispenser and mason jar.
Thrifted basket (optional): I love the look of “wrapping” the soap in a basket! You can find nice baskets at the thrift store, or even a nice gift box from the dollar store. Include a festive hand towel if you’d like to make the gift bigger. I also love adding in a sprig of rosemary or greenery for an added festive touch.
Instructions (optional): Include a print-out or handwritten note of instructions on how the gift recipient could refill their dispenser with their own homemade soap later on, or with the refill soap you provide.
Soap refill (optional): Another idea to include with your foaming soap is a mason jar filled with the soap concentrate (castile soap + essential oils), with instructions for how they can refill their soap dispenser (simply adding filtered water to the concentrate at a soap to water ratio of 1:3). Don’t add the water to the mason jar as it won’t be shelf stable. This would definitely add a unique touch to the gift that I haven’t seen anyone else do!

*Two different styles of gift basket wrapping (above)*

*Soap concentrate for refilling (left) and handwritten gift tag (right)*

How to make the foaming soap (makes 8 oz/1 cup of foaming soap)

In a glass measuring cup, fill it with 1/3 cup castile soap.
Then add your essential oils to the castile soap (see below for the essential oil blends) and thoroughly stir them together.
Next, add 2/3 cup of filtered or distilled water to the glass measuring cup. Stir this together. Pour this into your foaming soap dispenser, and you’re done! (You can add the ingredients directly to your soap dispenser and eyeball the measurements if you prefer).

Essential oil blends to choose from:

WINTER WELLNESS (THIEVES BLEND)

Lemon- 18 drops
Clove- 10 drops
Cinnamon Bark- 4 drops
Eucalyptus- 3 drops
Rosemary- 3 drops

BRIGHT FOREST

Pine- 14 drops
Grapefruit- 14 drops
Balsam Fir- 6 drops

ALL IS CALM

Juniper Berry- 15 drops
Lavender- 14 drops
Frankincense- 10 drops
Sweet Orange- 5 drops

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Sweet Orange- 32 drops
Black Spruce- 22 drops
Cinnamon Bark- 14 drops

MOUNTAIN SPA

Sweet Orange- 12 drops
Balsam Fir- 10 drops
Black Spruce- 5 drops
Vanilla (CO2 flavour extract)- 5 drops
Nutmeg- 3 drops

FRESH EVERGREENS

Pine- 20 drops
Balsam Fir- 15 drops
Black Spruce- 10 drops
Juniper Berry- 10 drops

How to Change the Amount of Essential Oils

Feel free to customize the essential oil blends or change the amount if needed. 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 are some quick guidelines on how to safely change the amount of essential oils:

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. It’s always best to use less if you can.

If you give this Christmas gift a try, I would love to hear how it went! Don’t forget to save this post to Pinterest: