We did it! We made our own hand and laundry soap! The Healthy Living Group is more DIY than we thought!
Next month join us for candle making!
Here are our soap recipes-
simple homemade laundry detergent
1 bar Fels Naptha, or other soap bar (castile, tallow, palm, or coconut oil base) (in laundry aisle)
3/4 C Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (Fred Meyers, Walmart)
3/4 C 20 Mule Team Borax (Most grocery stores)
2 Tb vegetable glycerin (online, pharmacy like Rite Aid or New Seasons)
Grate soap bar and melt in saucepan with 4 cups of simmering water. Stir constantly.
Fill 5 gallon bucket halfway with hot hot water.
Pour in melted soap. Whisk.
Mix borax and washing soda together and mix in. Add glycerin and whisk until completely dissolved.
Fill remainder of bucket with more hot water.
Put lid on and let it cool 12-24 hours. Add drops of essential oil if desired. (Orange, lavender, etc, but Fels Naptha is a strong clean smell)
Will gel and may look crazy gel-like, just shake or stir before using. If the gel is not consistant reheat and stir again.
Use 3/4 C to 1C per laundry load. 1/4 C to 1/2 C for front loading machines.
Liquid Hand Soap
Ingredients:
1 c soap flakes
10 c water
1 Tbs glycerin
Equipment:
Cheese grater
A large pot
Measuring cup and spoons
A spatula for stirring
A soap container with a hand pump
A container to hold excess soap
Funnel
Directions:
First, grate the soap. Get out your cheese grater, grab the soap, and get grating. I found this to be surprisingly easy, although the soap particles tend to float in the air as you grate. You can wear a mask to avoid breathing it in. When you’re done, the soap flakes look like grated Parmesan.
One bar of soap yielded a little over 1.5 cups of flakes. The recipe only uses one cup of soap flakes, so I put the remaining soap in a jar for later use.
In a large pot, combine 1 cup soap flakes, 10 cups water, and 1 Tbs glycerin. Turn on medium heat and stir until the soap dissolves.
Let the soap cool completely, then pour into the containers using the funnel. That’s all there is to it!
