Make Your Own Thick Liquid Hand Soap

GREAT liquid hand soap recipe....BUT...when I made it, it was way too watery.  So, when I put it into a dispenser, it was messy.  If you at all squeezed it, out came the liquid (not that I would, but the younger kids might).  Also, it separates, so you have to gently tip it upside down and then back up again a couple of times before using.  Booo....

But, I fixed it!  I googled "how to make hand some thicker," and saw a comment on a blog where someone had added some (didn't say how much) guar gum and that it worked wonderfully.  Eureka!  I was thrilled.  Bought some right away on Amazon. I just wasn't sure how much to add.

Now, I quadrupled this recipe below (before adding the guar gum) so that I'd have a great big refill...so I figured I'd have to add at LEAST 1/2 cup of the guar gum (which I have never used before....I imagined it being like corn starch).  Mistake.  It made it waayyyyyy too thick...and clumpy.  I fixed it by 1) Putting it through a colander to get out the big chunks; 2) Adding water until it was at the consistency that I wanted; 3) Adding more castile soap because it was no longer sudzing up after adding more water; and 3) Adding more lavender oil, because I just love the smell and calming feeling it gives me.  :)  Took a little work, but it was worth it, and now I have a great hand soap that I don't have to worry about separating or dribbling all over.

My recommendation for how much guar gum to add?  Well, if you quadruple the recipe, as I did, I would start with about one tablespoon and go from there.  Just keep stirring it (I used a whisk in a large bowl) until it's at the consistency you want.

If you plan to just follow the recipe below, maybe start with 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon and go from there?

I'm going to just cut and paste from the original recipe, which I found here:  Live Simply - DIY Liquid Hand Soap (these are affiliate links) and then mention adding guar gum at the end.  Thank you, Kristin Marr for your awesome recipe!

DIY Liquid Hand Soap

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Ingredients

• ½ cup Castile Soap, such as: Dr. Bronners (where to buy)*
• ½ cup water (distilled or boiled if you don't plan to use the soap within a few weeks)
• 1 TB vitamin E oil (where to buy)
• 1 TB nourishing oil, such as: sweet almond or jojoba oil
• 15 drops tea tree essential oil (where to buy)
• 5-10 drops lavender or peppermint essential oil

My additions:

• 1/4-1/2 tsp. guar gum (I haven't perfected/don't know for sure how much to add, as I have only done this once, but wow, did it make a difference!  Nice and thick like the store liquid soap.  

Instructions:

1. Put all ingredients into a bowl and whisk.  Add the guar gum last.  Start with the smallest amount and whisk until well blended.  Add more until at consistency you want.

* Note:  If you want to quadruple this recipe (our family of 7 uses a LOT, so hopefully it won't go bad before we use it all) like I did, you will end up using the whole 4 oz. bottles of Vitamin E and Sweet Almond (I bought that one because it was cheaper than the Jojoba, lol) oils, and about 3/4 of the castile.  Just so you know.  :)

** Another note:  Not sure what to keep a quadruple-sized recipe in?  :)  I took an old store-bought large (about 90 oz) empty liquid fabric softener container (I know...I should make my own...I plan to...but at least this was free & clear!  :p ) and am keeping it in there (of course, I rinsed it out a bunch of times first).  I like how it pours well right into the soft soap containers I put my homemade soap in.  :)

Let me know what you think!  :)