In the last couple of years or so, I’ve been trying to be more aware of what ingredients are in my health and beauty products. I’ve been researching and learning about many harsh chemicals that are commonly used in many products. Some are actual known carcinogens! While I’m just a newbie at this type of research, I’ve learned enough that I want to try something that won’t harm me … so I’m starting with homemade body wash.
Sadly, some of those yucky chemicals actually produce the effects that I love about liquid body wash … mainly the rich, sudsy lather and the wonderful scent. So I, of course, went to Pinterest in search of the perfect recipe to make some homemade body wash 🙂 I just love Pinterest, don’t you? Do you follow me? However, I have learned that I have to limit my time (I literally set a timer on my phone) or else I could get lost for hours. I can’t tell you how many great blogs I read about making homemade healthy and beauty products. I tried narrowing my search by looking for those that got good reviews concerning lathering. I know it’s goofy, but I just love having rich lather … it feels luxurious to me.
Anyway, I finally settled on one that sounded like what I was looking for. I also was hoping for an easy recipe. I found one I liked from Sharon (who got it from Sue), and then tweaked it a tad. Plus, it was easy on my budget because I happened to have all the ingredients on hand 🙂 I decided to make only half of the recipe to make sure I liked it. I figured I would use it for a week or so to try it out and if I liked it I could make it again. That way I’m not wasting the ingredients. The (half) recipe called for Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap – 1/3 cup, organic coconut oil – 1/8 cup, olive oil – 1/8 cup, and warm water – 1/3 cup … all ingredients I can actually pronounce 🙂
Pouring into a bottle I saved
Mixing all the ingredients together
I started by melting the coconut oil into liquid and just mixed all the ingredients together in a large measuring cup. I added 5 or 6 drops of Lemon essential oil hoping it would smell like Lemon Verbena. I used a funnel to pour the body wash into an old clean bottle that I had saved for just this purpose. The half recipe filled about 2/3 of the bottle. Easy Peasy 🙂
I really liked the results … it lathered nicely and
A decent amount of sudsy lather
left my skin feeling moisturized. It did not smell lemony at all, so I’ll add lots more next time. I think I’ll also use a little less water when I make the next batch, it was thinner than the commercial gel type washes I was used to. Also, it seems to separate in the bottle, so I shook it up before using. The only down side I’ve noticed is that it leaves a slight oily film in the bathtub that can make it a bit slippery.