About a month ago I posted a couple of options for making your own body wash. Since then I have become a dedicated user of this semi-homemade version using grated Dove bar soap. It has become a fixture in our shower...and will remain so.
As a matter of fact, I think the hubster was becoming a little jealous of my luxurious body wash in the "fancy" container...so I thought I would surprise him with his very own bottle of "manly" body wash. Since I had such good luck with the Dove soap...
I decided to try the Dove Men+Care Extra Fresh Body and Face Bar. It smells really clean and fresh...and of course...manly! Very important.
I used the exact same recipe for the "Manly Body Wash" as I did for mine, but with one important difference! I didn't GRATE any soap!
I took Paulkelly Brown's word for it who left a comment on Facebook that he never grates bars of soap. He simply melts them in the microwave! He said it works for Fels Naptha bar soap which I use in my laundry soap....so I wondered if it would work for this. Guess what? It did! Approximately 90 seconds in the microwave in a microwave-safe container and it melts and then begins to bubble up! (Keep an eye on it so it doesn't overflow!)
After that I poured it into the 6 cups of water that I already had heated on the stove. (If you put the melted soap into COLD water...it will just harden up again immediately.)
So here is the slightly modified "recipe".
Semi-Homemade Body Wash6 cups water
3 bars of soap
Put water into a pan on the stove and bring to a boil, then turn down to medium heat. Microwave the bars of soap one at a time for approximately 90 seconds in a microwave-safe container. When melted, immediately transfer to pot of water. Continue stirring occasionally over medium heat until all the soap is dissolved. It might take awhile...but you want to make sure every piece of soap is completely dissolved before you transfer it to containers. I worked on folding laundry while occasionally checking in on the soap soup.
When completely dissolved...transfer to a glass jar or bowl and allow to cool, then pour into a plastic bottle for shower use! It will thicken as it cools and will continue to thicken for about 24 hours. Don't be alarmed. This is perfectly normal. If it gets TOO thick...simply add some water until it's the desired consistency.
For those interested....I will ATTEMPT to do the math (but no heckling allowed if I get it wrong!):
I bought a six pack of the Dove Bars for $6.88.
I used 3 of the bars at a cost of $3.44. This made approximately 48 ounces...or..$1.72 for a 24 oz bottle!
A savings of roughly 75%!!!
A savings of roughly 75%!!!
AWESOME $aving$...AND now we both have our very own, "specially formulated", body wash. ;-)
A homemade body wash recipe that doesn't "grate" on you is today's.....
My grandmother was doing this in the seventies, only she was using it for liquid hand soap. She would make it a project for us to work on together. I always got the grater (sly grandma). I will definitely use the microwave method, it seems much easier.
ReplyDeleteHmm...I may just have to try this since I use Dove body wash anyway! When calculating the cost, though, you really should factor in the cost of the electricity used for the microwave and stovetop. I know it's still a lot cheaper than the regular body wash though! Thanks for the recipe. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a very nice recipe. Although it seams weird to calculate cost of electricity. That would be like figuring out your mileage and adding fuel cost to get to the store and back.
Delete*like*
DeleteYou girls are too funny. While we're at it lets figure out how much time you spent making it and adding it to the cost! Really? LOL, keep up the great work Jillee.
ReplyDeleteCrissy
Where do I find plastic pumps like that?
ReplyDeleteOne of the advantages of liquid soap is that it does not leave soap scum on the shower walls the way bar soap does. Since you are making liquid soap out of bar soap, I wonder if this version will leave soap scum on the shower walls. Otherwise it seems like a great idea. - Mary
ReplyDeleteDoes this work for any other bar soap?? Curious.
ReplyDeleteoK you are awesome. This is my first time coming across your blog, but thanks for the advice I will be doing this from now on :)
ReplyDeletebecky....I got my plastic pump bottles at Walmart. I think they were about $6.
ReplyDeleteDawn...it should work for any type bar soap! Might just have to adjust the amount of water. :-)
Super! A no grate version is wonderful! And I like that Fels Naptha Soap can also be melted without grating too! Awesome! Thanks Jill!
ReplyDeleteYou are like my new best friend! I enjoy all your ideas and love your pins too. You are the kind of woman every woman needs as a best friend-I just adore you and am thankful for you-can not wait to try this out for my sweetheart(he adores body wash)
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to let you know that I have been following your blog page for about 3 weeks now and wow I love it! I am to a point now where I look foward to my emails from you and what exciting thing you will be helping us with today! I love how you always have pictures - which makes it a lot easier for us if we are attempting to make something....Thanks for all the hard work on your end and thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day....
I did this the other night only I used cocobutter Softsoap for mine and Dove Mencare for my husband. His turned out great but mine immediately congealed into a lumpy mess. I added more water and stirred it up but it got a lil foamy and now it doesn't lather very well and it's still congealing as I speak, I think. I bought a bar of Dove to try this time - I figure it must be a "Dove thing"...
ReplyDeleteWhat does "no-grate" mean? I can't seem to find a definition for it anywhere. Thanks
ReplyDeleteNo grate means you don't have to grate the soap with a cheese grater.
DeleteQuestion - I've noticed other directions for making liquid soap or body wash from bar soap include adding glycerin to the soap/water combo. I assume it's to help keep the soap liquid and to add moisture. What are your thoughts about adding glycerin or other additives to the soap and water combo?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
"no-grate" means no grating required.
ReplyDeleteReally calculate electricity????
ReplyDeleteI’m trying this thanks for the tutorial.
lol! I guess I should have kept my mouth shut about calculating the cost of electricity involved. :) Anyway, I WILL be trying this because it looks so easy!
ReplyDeletei tried doing similar with dial gold bar soap (1 bar soap to 10 cups water, and 1 T glycerin). it turned into a snotty mess, the consistency of egg whites. >.< if i use too much it does seem to leave a film in the tub. do you think using less water would help with the consistency? i'm sensitive to a lot of soap additives, and dial gold is the only soap i've found that gets me clean without a problem, and was really looking forward to being able to have a liquid version.
ReplyDeleteJust made this and LOVE it, thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDeletei made the reg dove body wash a couple weeks ago and love it! i bought the mens dove and did the same for the hubby, i did notice that the mens bars seemed like i different consistancy(although it came out the same as the reg dove :) ), next time i might try the microwave, just because i love experimenting :)...also for grating i use the food processor with the grater attachment thingy and super fast and easy! keep up the great posts! LOVE your site :)
ReplyDeleteWhen using Dove soap and turning it into liquid, do you still get a lather with it? I've found some soaps do not have that when turning it into liquid. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes the lather question please! I have wondered about that.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it like snot, did i do smething wrong.
ReplyDeleteTried it, but I use Ivory soap. It did not turn out. It is super thick. Next time going to try the Dove soap
ReplyDeleteI most definitely still get lather with this body wash. If it didn't "lather", the hubster would definitely not use it! He's ALL about the lather. lol.
ReplyDeleteSnot? hmmmmm.
If it's too thick...you can always just add more water. Some soaps react that way.
jmmonroe....BFF!!! ;-) Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGallegos Newletter...thank you so much for the kind words...they really are appreciated!
Has anyone tried this with oil of okay bars...I got a two pack for .57 ans am curious if it would work??
ReplyDeleteTo keep the boiling water from boiling over the pot, put a wooden spoon on top of the pot. I found using a whisk a big help. I used caress body bar soap for the hers soap.
ReplyDeleteJust made the soap and I love it.
ReplyDeleteI told my husband about this and he was all excited (?). He's really into soapy lather and looong showers. You won't believe this...I didn't..he insisted on making it himself!
ReplyDeleteJust a suggestion if you don't get much lather, add a little coconut oil (1-2 tbsp) to the hot water. Coconut oil is used in many soaps because of its lathering properties (its great for the skin too!!). Also, if your mix is "snotty", your water may not have been hot enough. If you think it was, using a whisk slowly to make sure you are incorporating water into the soap mix. That has fixed this problem for me before. If its too thick after setting up, use HOT water and whisk it into the mix a little at a time......can you tell I have had problems with various soaps I have done this with over the years? lol I do like the fact that you have experimented with the microwave. I might try that instead of grating the soap!
ReplyDeleteI didn't worry with the pump bottles. Empty dish detergent bottles work well. And most of tbeir albels peel off.
ReplyDeleteI used Ivory soap the first time I made the grated body wash..only needed to add maybe a half cup of water to the batch and it turned into a perfect consistency with lather!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I was planning on making some glycerin soap molds and saw how you melt the blocks in the microwave and wondered if this can be done with regular soap...tried it three days ago and sure enough ..just like Jillee said! Pretty cool... I will deff be using the microeave from now on...too many niks from the cheese grater! lol
wondering if you could add some lotion for added moisture. My hubby has pretty dry skin and always asks me to buy the moisturizing wash. thoughtS????
ReplyDeleteOne thing that would *really* help these DIY blogs is some kind of measurement for the recipes. For instance: does this recipe use 4.25oz or 3.15oz Dove bars? It's good to know, especially if we want to halve or double a recipe, or use a different kind of soap.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in my experience, you just want to get the water hot enough to melt the soap into it. If it's much hotter than that (like boiling, as this recipe says) the resulting goop will tend to solidify.
I am looking for a quick recipe for "bath salts" that involve fragrant oils, epson salts and ?????. Can't find a complete recipe. Does anyone have one.
ReplyDeleteI had an Epic fail making this. Mine solidified overnight. Instead of 3 bars to 6 cups water, I used 2 bars to 4 cups. I'm thinking I will have to remelt it all and add more water??
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure it's worth the trouble :(
We made this with Ivory soap and put a sixth of a bar at a time in the microwave on a paper towel. My grandson loves to do this because the ivory bubbles up like a volcano and turns into a really cool soap cloud. I love it because we were going through a lot of liquid hand soap with him in the house. :) He really loves washing. haha
ReplyDeleteI tried this with oil of olay, and it still has not set up. Its runny like water. Any ideas to thicken it up? Its been cooling for 6 hours, and is sufficiently cold.
ReplyDeleteI tried this with Dial Men's soap, as I couldn't find the Dove Men's version. I also had the "snotty" mess problem...it wouldn't all dissolve, and by morning it was a solid mass. Epic fail is right!! I am also wondering if it is a Dove thing, but am going to try one more time with some of the tips above.
ReplyDeleteI also tried the Dial men's, what I discovered was that the 3bars/ 6 cups of water was way off. I know I had to add at least another galling to get a liquid. Once I finally got the texture right, though, my guys loved it!
DeleteDarn different soaps and their different outcomes! lol. I always go back to making sure it's COMPLETELY DISSOLVED...and then just keep adding water until it's the consistency you like. As far as if still being runny and watery...I'm not sure. :-/ Maybe it's an Oil of Olay thing???
ReplyDeleteI made this with 2 bars of sensitive skin dove for my son and we all LOVED IT. I am getting ready to make more since it is such a hit and have used the old soap cottles from when I bought it before in the shower gel form.
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to where I found making your own homemade body wash with natural ingredients. I REALLY like the way it turns out. I actually need to whip some more up...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.littleseedfarm.com/to-be-a-farmer-blog/homemade-body-wash-keep-scary-out-of-your-shower.html
By the way, love your blog! <3
Tried making it with Lever 2000 and its solid mass again. I will try adding more water to it tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI tried this same recipe with Oil of Olay soap and it does not thicken up enough. Oh well, I plan on saving it to use in my foaming hand soap dispensers, so it's not a total loss. I may try it again and use less water, but with two cups per bar of soap it is way to thin.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter wanted it made with the Oil of Olay, but I'm fixing to head to the store and get some Dove soap and make it with that.
I'll post later about another soap I had and tried it with that, as it makes for a good laugh.
Chris in FL
I don't mind doing the grating part went out to my local good will and bought a old food processer to use for the soaps that I use then I dont have to worry about cleaning it out and using it for food
ReplyDeleteJust wanted you to know I've become addicted to your website and all the fantabulous things you have! The ideas I've done and they've worked! Yah....thanks and keep 'em coming!
ReplyDeleteWell we all got a good laugh out of a batch of liquid soap that I made. I had bought this case of soap several years ago from Sam's Club Auction, to use in gift baskets. The name of the soap is called Emlin, which I had never heard of but it said that it was a moisturizing soap. So I put it in the microwave and it didn't melt like the Oil of Olay soap did, but it did get bigger and looked almost like a sponge.
ReplyDeleteNow I melted it in the hot water, which took a while, but I was okay with that. The next day my Oil of Olay soap in way to thin, but this Emilin soap was a harden glob in the bottom of one of my Mason jars. Now I do not throw away my mason jars as they don't come cheap. So I decide this is not going to get the best of me and I'm able to get the glob out. I begin to add water to it and break it up with my hand. Now I have what looks like Marshmallow fluff. My daughter and I laughed so hard about how this looks like my Mother's fruit dip. Not sure if it is going to srink back down or what's going to happen with it, but I bottled it up in empty water bottles and it will work for shower soap or even hand soap, but it sure looks funny.
Chris in FL
I made this on Feb. 27 and loved it. I got 4 body wash containers out of it. I'm hooked. I'm still on the first bottle and haven't used half of it yet. This has saved me $20-$25. Thanks Jillee!
ReplyDeletei tried this with dial soap last night. i let it cook for about an hour. stirring regularly and the soap would re-solidify. i kept adding more water (went thru the initial 6 cups but it boiled down to about 2) and once it was was mostly melted i poured it into my glass bowl. this morning it was super solid on top but goopy underneath. i added a good bit of water and whipped it in my kitchenaid til it was the right consistency. kinda full of air bubbles but i'm still letting it settle and it made a lot! (already filled a 36 oz bottle and not even half is out of hte mixing bowl!) while it was all over my hands it worked into a great lather and washed off nicely.
ReplyDeleteI used Ivory for one batch and Irish Spring for the other. Both batches after cooling were too thick to come out of a recycled old body wash bottle. I put it back in a bowl and added 2 more cups of boiling water and stirred until the lumps were gone, but it is still too thick. Do you cook it while the soap is dissolving or take it off the heat to dissolve? I wasnt sure if it got too hot and that is why it is so thick???
ReplyDeleteUsed 3 bars of Irish Spring, and am up to 9 cups of water now and still turns to a solid when it cools. Any ideas??????
ReplyDeleteBefore I read enough to worry about it, I just experimented with half a bar of dial...nuked till it was puffing out like a marshmallow,etc, added a few tablespoons of water poke poke stir stir and continued via microwave for 15-20 seconds, till it was really bubbling, more stirring, adding just a bit of water again, (maybe 1/4-1/3) bit by bit, nuke poke poke stir stir, little more water, etc. watched it every second when it was in the microwave...as the level rose almost to the top of the 2cup pyrex each time, I'dtake it out, stir stir (using a very small whisk) till finally I was convinced it was pretty much dissolved (total time elapsed maybe 5 minutes) Then for good measure, put it in for another 30 seconds, and got out my immersion blender and let it finish the job. Then added just a wee bit more water. Still just a little over 2 cups. Very smooth...it is separating a little bit, so I keep stirring it...hmm wonder what I'll find in the morning!
ReplyDelete(did I mention I had trouble sticking to the instructions in school? Hehehe!)
Kathy's back with a status update from last night's experimenting..my mix had separated overnight..watery on the bottom very firm goo on top (from 1/2 bar dial white with ~2 1/4 cups water). So I warmed it back up in the microwave then took the hand immersion blender to it. Blended right up. I then added ~1.5 cups of water to it. It seems pretty thin, but I"m hopeful that it will hold together this time!!
ReplyDeleteoops, too runny....but it did not separate. Yay. Grated up a bit more soap (1/3 bar), nuked with 1/2 cup water...added to the thin mixture.
ReplyDeleteCould I use other soap? or do I have to use dove?
ReplyDeleteCassi....keep adding water. Some soaps require a lot more water!
ReplyDeleteKathy...thanks for the updates!
Claire...you can use any soap you like...just realize you might have to adjust the amount of water accordingly.
Finally...that last adjustment and it is the consistancy I like...not too thick (doesn't "mound" like the original pic..which is find with me.....hard to rinse off!) but not thin and watery. Sooo...
ReplyDeleteMy final recipe:
Dial Soap: ~3/4 bar plus 4 1/4 cups of water in the end.
Or roughly
1 bar Dial + 5.5 cups of water (your mileage may vary).
And did it all in the microwave!..with the aid of an immersion blender.
Cassi-- see my comments....I'd assume IRISH SPRING will be like my experience with DIAL...more like a 1 to 5 (or 6!) ratio! Nearly double the water that an emollient bar like Dove takes!! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteOh wait Cassi ...dove was a 1 to 2 ratio...WOW That's 5-6 times the water. Crazy!!
ReplyDeleteFirst: I have to laugh at the silly idea of calculating the cost of using the stove!!! How outlandish! Second: To the person who asked what "no-grate" means, are you serious? That really did make me LOL. You can't fix stupid. Third: I will be making this for sure. I make my own hand soap and it's almost the same but I was hoping to find a "recipe" for bodywash. Thanks for this!
ReplyDeleteJust a word of advice from trial and error. When I do my hand soaps I make them the same way but I just let my soap soup sit on the stove to cool all day and I hit it with the immersion blender every few hours. This makes it silky and smooth and you have fewer pots and bowls to wash. This way you can also add water and blend it some more if it's too thick.
ReplyDeleteHelp! I tried this last week, using 3 bars of Irish Spring for the hubs. After microwaving and combining that with the 6 c. of hot water, it just hardened back up into one GIANT (13x9") bar of soap!! So I cut that back up into little tiny cubes, and started from the beginning, this time melting it with 8-10 cups of water (I lost count hehe). And? It's still way too hard. Definitely a MAJOR improvement, but so firm that it won't even come of a re-purposed shampoo bottle. What's going on here? Can it be saved or should I just start over from scratch??
ReplyDeleteAmy H.
ReplyDeleteThe same thing with the same soap happened to me. I am up to I think 128 oz. I didn't look this morning, but it looked way better last night. I have been messing with it for a week now trying to get it to the right consistency.
Amy H. because Dove is not just soap and has lotion in it, it needs less water. When I make hand soap with regular soap bars I use a 1 cup of water to 1 oz of soap ratio. So if I use 1 bar of 8oz soap I use 8 cups of water. That is probably your issue here. You should probably figure how many ounces your soap was to start with and how many cups of water you used and subtract the amount of water you already used for my 1 cup to 1 oz ratio and start from there using the amount of water left to bring it up to my ratio. You will probably end up with about a gallon and a half body wash. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I didn't know that you could melt the soap in the microwave. I don't usually grate the soap by hand now a days. I usually use my food processor but I hate cleaning it after. This would mean less dishes. And I make my own laundry soap so doing this with fels naptha will be a time saver. Thanks! Oh and I don't always put this recipe in a glass container to cool anymore. It works to cool it a bit in the pan and then pour it right into the containers. It will thicken just as well. And it can actually be pretty hot when you pour it in.
ReplyDeleteI'm laughing WITH not at Chris in FL. I think I've got the same problem with my soap as your emilin. I used a coconut vanilla body bar and it never really melted well. We'll see how it sets up. Here's to trying something new!
ReplyDeleteKari in ME
So far my experience (I've tried this before reading this blog) has been such: Dove easily becomes waaaay too watery if you use too much water because it has less soap and more moisturizer (hence their marketing as the bars being "1/4 moisturizing cream"). Dial soap (at least the kind I used) turns out "snotty" (and I used a gallon of water to one bar of soap). Yikes. Most people on all the blogs I've read seem to have the most luck with more natural soaps. I haven't tried again with Dove but I think I may give it another go in the future. Probably won't try the Dial again though, as I just couldn't hack the snot-like texture and lack of lather to boot. Good luck, ladies!
ReplyDeleteI am going to try using Tone bar soap that is coconut. I'll try to keep track of the amounts in order to update! :) LOVE THIS BLOG!
ReplyDeleteKammy in Wisconsin
I didn't get to read all the comments but i read a few and decided to try something....my hubby LOVES Dial (mountain fresh specifically) and when i read what others experienced with using anything other then Dove i decided that i was going to do it with Dial any way....the trick is (i found) to you the mixer..i have a stand alone and i poured the 45-min-boiling concoction into it and set the speed to medium and when and did some laundry (with the stuff i made from Jilly...you rock by the way Mame...you have awesome ideas) anyway...back to my point...well, i let it mix for maybe 10 mins and i got a super creamy blend....sooo smooth....i did have a couple little unmelted chunks on the bottom but that was because my mixers whisk did touch the bottom completely...lol....oh well....it worked great..i have yet to see what happens when it stiffens up some....fingers cross that it don't "snot up" LOL Thank you Jilly for your awesome tips and tricks!!
ReplyDelete