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How To: Make Your Own Liquid Hand Soap

091508_soap.jpgWe love us some fancy soap but at $20 a bottle sometimes it's better to be a bit frugal. We've been known to reuse the bottles we love by refilling them with a concoction of our own:

 
 

Although making your own soap might not adhere to the time tested methods and specific ingredients that go into our favorite Savon de Marseille, you can still make something that cleans and smells good and all at a fraction of the cost.

Sometimes we just mix some Dr. Bronner's with water, or we follow a similar recipe as the one recently posted on lifehacker which involves bar soap, honey, glycerine, and boiling water (we add lavender oil too).

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How To..., diy, soap, lavender

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Comments (6)

I use shampoo that i don't use anymore.

posted by evamae on September 16th 2008 at 11:34am
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Yes, I love Dr. Bronner's (lavender). Don't see any point in spending more on those pricey ones, though the bottles are cute. I love foam pumps and do mix with water, but I have a little problem. When mixed with water, something in Dr. Bronner's precipitates out, and I get a milky concoction which settles after a while. Can anyone clue me in on what's going on?

posted by FreeSpirit on September 16th 2008 at 12:57pm
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I thought I would be smart and grate a bar of soap, mix with water in the blender, and have hand soap. Word to the wise: one bar makes a LOT of soap (a gallon) and it has to soak about a week to be smooth enough to go through the pump.

On the plus side, it is quite cheap.

posted by matchbookhymnal on September 16th 2008 at 3:22pm
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Go out and buy Method's Naked (free and clear) hand soap for 2.99 and add 1/2 tsp of your own essential oil. Stir/shake well. Let sit for 24 hours and there you go! Same with Method's Naked dish soap, except add 1 tsp (roughly 5-7%).

posted by robertcraig on September 16th 2008 at 3:39pm
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You can buy replacement bottles for the glass ones that are much cheaper. One replacement bottle has lasted me about a year. (Washing my hands constantly)

posted by eowes on September 16th 2008 at 6:19pm
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Dr. Bronner's is the best! I use the peppermint one in the kitchen and lavender in the bathroom. I use pretty (non-branded) cobalt blue glass pump bottles.

posted by marfa on September 17th 2008 at 8:04am
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