The other night I was bathing the Littles and began to look at the ingredients listed on the liquid body wash bottle and started to think about the fact that the majority of it is water, then I looked at the hand wash and same thing.... aqua. Because most people have turned to liquid soap rather than bar soap I figured there must be a way to convert the cheap bar soap into the expensive liquid soap we all know and love. After I tucked the littles into bed I began my google research and there it was...a wealth of information on the subject. I combined a number of "recipes" into one that works perfect!
Here's what you need:
- Cheese grater (from the dollar store)
- 2 Tablespoons of Liquid Glycerin (found in the band aid section at any drugstore or grocery store)
- 1 - 8 oz bar of soap
- 1 gallon of water
Below are the step by step guide.
Step 1:
Grate the entire bar of soap
Get a cute little girl to help you do the hard work. Don't worry she's not using an actual cheese grater with a blade.
Step 2:
Fill a pot with 1 gallon of distilled water and add the soap shavings.
Step 3:
Add 2 Tablespoons of liquid glycerin and turn the heat to medium/high and stir until the soap dissolves.
Step 4:
This is what it looks like once it's dissolved, basically just soapy water.
Step 5:
Leave it alone to cool for at least 10-12 hours. It begins to cloud up after 3-4 hours.
Step 6:
After it has cooled completely around 12 hours later it will harden and look like liquid soap.
Step 7:
If the soap is harder than it should be you can take some beaters and blend it while adding just a little bit of water until the consistency is more like liquid soap.
Step 8:
There you have it....Liquid Soap!!!
Step 9:
Now you can refill your 12 ounce bottle of liquid soap (that cost $3.99) with your gallon of refill that cost around $4.99. That's some huge savings!!!
This is a fool proof project that results in huge savings. For my favorite Mrs. Meyer's Basil scented soap
1 bar at $4.99 produces over $50 worth of liquid hand soap!!! I'd say that's worth the 20 minutes it will take you to make it yourself. The hardest part about this project might be finding and choosing your favorite bar of soap. Mrs. Meyer's is kind of tricky to find. It can be ordered on their website or your can special order at your local health food store.
- I also made liquid body wash using this same recipe.
- After many have shared Dove soap does not work well with this recipe.
- Use your gallon container that the distilled water was in for storage of the soap.
(UPDATE)
I have had many emails regarding runny soap. Because I have had the opposite problem both times I've made it while using different soaps I can't give you a tested remedy. What I have read on the internet is some soaps have extra moisturizer in it making it harder to set firm, Dove being one of them. I read that you can heat the water back up and add more soap shavings and allow it to cool again, once cooled if it still hasn't set you can whip it in a blender. If this still doesn't work then google until you find a solution to your particular situation.
- Texas folks I have found Meyers bar soap at Central Market but not Whole Foods.
- The soap can be a snot-like consistency, gross description I know but it still works.
- Soap does not create a big lather.
