Company is Coming, Quick Put Out the Fancy Soap!

Often times in this house we "run out" of liquid hand soap. And by run out I mean I simply don't want to take the 3 minutes it takes me to make new foaming hand soap. When this happens the dish soap gets used for hand washing at the kitchen sink and the bar soap moves between the shower and the sink in the upstairs bathroom....

Now when I know we are having people over I TRY to make sure that we have plenty of foaming hand soap, I wouldn't want them to think me uncivilized. Who am I kidding they are family, they know me....

At any rate I made fresh foaming hand soap and I decided to share my recipe with you. I will not link to the original recipe (which is just an advertisement for a essential oil company) primarily because I have modified the recipe and I believe the amount of Essential Oil they are calling for is excessive. I am not an aromatherapist so any of my comments regarding essential oils are my opinions after more than 2 years of reading about the subject. When selecting the oils you plan to use consider the following:

Who will be using this soap?  The exposure to essential oils is very minimal total of 6-10 drops per entire bottle, but if you have little ones, elderly or pregnant mommas using your soap make sure to check the oils for safety for these "special populations".

Am I adding Essential Oils for Smell or for Purpose?  Do you know the REAL purpose of hand soap? Hand soap NEED NOT BE ANTIBACTERIAL. You remove bacteria with proper hand washing. Good hand washing is done with WARM soapy water and at least 2 minutes of friction. Soap is a surfactant. This means that soap reduces the surface tension of grease, oils and germs to make them more readily removed from your hands. If you wash your hands with warm soapy water for a minimum of 2 minutes with friction, not just placing them under running water, you should have no worries about germs. If you are worried about resistant germs, I have bad news, antibacterial soap contributed to the evolution of that bacteria and isn't the solution. That being said many essential oils have antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties. One can search the interwebs to find out what the properties of an essential oil are (please note if a website promotes or is in some way connected to a specific company and use wise judgement when accepting the information put out for the purpose of selling a product) and decide what ones to use. Keep in mind however unless you have the science background and the ability to GC/MS test (and read the results) of the oils you are using you never really know what and how much you are getting. 

The beauty of Essential Oils is that LESS IS MORE. No that is not a question. Anyone who tells you differently is simply uninformed or out to sell you more product than you need. Our bodies are wonderfully complex devices and just like the human body can only process so much water at a time (roughly 4 cups per hour, if your kidneys are healthy) it can only process so much essential oil at a time. The concern with essential oils is that they are lipid based. IF they were water based (such as vitamin B) you would simply pee out the excess. However lipid based items (like Vitamin D and K) actually get stored in body fat and can accumulate to dangerous levels. Use the least amount of essential oil you can for the purpose you are seeking. Are you simply seeking smell? Then add a drop or two of you oil and let it blend for 24 hours. If the smell is enough you are done. If you desire a stronger smell add 1 or 2 more drops. Are you seeking a therapeutic effect? The same rules apply. Generally if you can smell it, it is enough to have an effect.

At some point I will do several posts about essential oils. The purpose of my essential oil posts will not be to direct you to any company but to clear up misinformation being supplied by sales reps for some of the leading essential oil companies and to encourage my readers to do their own research (from non-affiliated websites and books) and make their own decisions with the guidance of their medical team. 

At any rate back to the soap:

You will need
Liquid Castile Soap - I use baby gentle mild, if you want to use one of the fragranced ones then omit any additional essential oils
A foaming Soap Bottle
Essential Oils (maximum of 10 drops and 3 oils)
Water

The original recipe called for the addition of fractionated coconut oil, presumably as a hand moisturizer. I made my initial batches with the FCO, but found that even if I remembered to shake the container before I used it the oil settled to the bottle. When I got to the bottom of the container the oil felt greasy. I omitted coconut oil and because castile soap is so gentle I did not find the soap drying or have a need for the oil. So as a time and MONEY saver I omit any kind of liquid vegetable oil from my recipe. 

I already had foaming soap containers on hand. If you don't then ask around you probably have friends who do. Or you can buy new plastic ones that look similar to the short ones with black lids at a place like Aromatools. I have purchased from them in the past (no I am not being compensated, they don't even know I have linked to them) and had excellent customer service. I am sure based on the inexpensive price these items are made in China in horrid conditions, but I have yet to find a US supplier. If anyone knows of any I would LOVE to check them out. Or you can go for the Mason Jar style. If you google then the lids will come up, you can even buy the complete jars through Esty. Again I am sure the lids are made in deplorable condition and I would LOVE to know if anyone knows of a US Manufacturer. Lastly, you can do what I am going to do in the new year: Repurpose glass jars with screw on lids and the foaming pumps from these bottles. I'll post when I get that one figured out. 

There is some debate about using essential oils (especially the citrus ones) in plastic containers. I have used citrus essential oils in these containers and had no known issues. If the citrus oil is breaking down the plastic I haven't seen evidence of that. That being said I DO PREFER to use glass with everything, especially my essential oils and storing products with essential oils. However I am also cost conscious so I use what I have. 

Take you old (or new) foaming soap container and give it a good rinse. Put clean hot water in it and pump it through until it stops foaming. 
Now take the castile soap and add 2 Tablespoons of soap to the container, I use 3 TBSP in the larger container.
Add your essential oils (I use 2 drops of Tea Tree and 2 drops of citrus, this time it was grapefruit).
Fill with cold water (filtered or distilled not necessary), leaving enough room for the foaming pump.

TaDa!

You're done!
For less than $1 worth of materials and supplies I have filled 3 foaming soap dispensers and this will last in my house for at least one month. 

. Let me know if you make your own hand soap, foaming or otherwise and your favorite scent combinations......