DIY Lemon Dish Soap & Tips to Encourage Your Family to Embrace Healthy Changes
- Molly Ishmael
- Oct 24, 2021
- 8 min read
Updated: Feb 20, 2022
I've been making hand soap and shampoo for about a year now, but I never forayed into the dish soap realm until now. It turns out it's extremely easy to make. I'm not sure why I put off making it so long! There is one issue, however...
It turns out dish soap is where my husband draws the line when it comes to texture. Homemade liquid soap tends to be noticeable thinner in consistency than the store-bought brands; some of the chemical additives are used exactly for that purpose. Do we have a soap war on our hands?!
It takes mere minutes to make all-natural liquid soap that smells absolutely amazing!
Why We Have a Soap "Buffet": I LOVE my homemade soaps. But my husband doesn't like the "thinner" texture. He is accustomed to the thicker, more gel-like hand soap the mainstream brands offer. For me, ingredients and health are most important. For awhile, I was placing my healthy soap on the counter and he was pushing it aside to make room for his store-bought plastic bottles. Maybe you have also experienced this predicament. Have you ever tried to introduce a healthier option into your household, only to find no one else wants to participate? I bet I am not the only one!
In case you missed it, here's my tried and tried recipe for foaming hand soap:
What to do? Should we try to force our family to do things our way? After all, it's healthier, right? Well, if whole point is to be healthier, I'm reminded that bickering and negativity itself is unhealthy. It's my philosophy that making what is meant to be a positive change into an argument is unnecessary. An easy compromise was to simply set out all the soaps and we can each decide for ourselves what to use. As I get older, I'm finding life is a lot more peaceful when I just do what I believe is best and let others to do what they wish without trying to force change on other people. After all, I wouldn't like it if someone tried to force a change on me that I wasn't ready for yet. So currently, we have a veritable buffet of soaps on our kitchen island, and everyone is happy! Peace and happiness have a wonderfully healing effect on the body versus stress and negativity.
Such choices work for adults, but what about kids? Should we "make" them use healthy products and eat healthy foods? I will share my philosophy on this and you can take it or leave it. There are two components. First, I'm a firm believer in modeling the desired behavior ourselves. In the end, kids do what they are taught to do - by what we do. Examples are extremely powerful. Our daughter notices everything and wants to imitate anything I do, eat, drink, rub into my skin, etc. It's a good reminder to set a careful example. Second, good news: if your kids aren't able to drive and procure their own products yet, this is really a non-issue. Simply stock healthy ones only and there will be no other choice to haggle over.
Here is a personal experience: At first, my daughter disliked the vitamin-infused toothpaste I wanted to switch her to using. It was important to me that there be no forcing or fighting; I didn't want her associate brushing her teeth with something negative. So, I allowed her to use the tiniest amount mostly rinsed with water, acknowledged that she didn't like it by saying things like, "I know this is different than the one you're used to," and perhaps most importantly, I let her watch me brushing my teeth and she wanted to copy me despite the toothpaste. It took time for her to accept her fate, but within a few weeks she started asking to "bush teez" (brush teeth) with plenty of "Vitaminpaste" multiple times a day and forgot that she ever disliked it. True story!
Speaking of Vitaminpaste for kids - this stuff is great!
Our tray of soap and various options: a.k.a., a peaceful compromise.
So, the hubz and I agreed to each use our own soap. But there was still ONE problem: I couldn't stand how messy all the mismatched bottles looked cluttering up the counter. Finally I found the PERFECT size tray to straighten everything out! Now we can each have our preferred soap at hand without cluttering up the joint. This tray perfectly holds 4 bottles just like in my picture above.
The perfect size try if you need multiple bottles!
Here are the bottles that perfectly fit the tray. Or, you can totally re-use empty soap bottles you already have! I do love my glass bottles from Amazon. This one comes with etched-on labels that read "Hand Soap" and "Dish Soap". They're classic and cute in appearance, and they've held up well for a year so far.
The glass pump bottles I use.
Another benefit is that glass can last a lifetime. No more disposable plastic bottles for me! Investing in a few pump bottles and a gallon of castile soap could provide handmade soap for years to come. No need to run to the store when you're out - just make more in a minute! I'd say that's pretty sustainable, affordable, and it saves gas money. However, if you can't afford to buy glass bottles right now, don't let that stop you from making the change. While glass is preferable to plastic for many reasons, I believe that some improvement is better than no improvement, and it's better to start somewhere than put off a positive change! I'm just happy to be using my own products - at least I know what's inside!
ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
Now that we've averted a soap war, let's make some dish soap! The ingredients are simple: castile soap, water, and essential oil for fragrance. I also use a thickening agent and a natural color to make the soap more cheerful in appearance. That's optional but I'll share how to do it just in case.
LIQUID CASTILE SOAP: Soap by definition is a mixture of lye and oil that is saponified (aged until it cures and becomes safe to handle.) You could make raw soap yourself, but you'd have to procure lye, oil, and risk having extremely caustic lye around the house, then wait days or weeks for it to saponify... That just doesn't make sense for my lifestyle. I have bucket loads of respect for those home soap-makers who do it from scratch, but I don't think it would save any time or money for me. So I just buy plain soap in its simplest liquid form available: Castile Soap. It's just soap, nothing added, and already prepared so it's safe to handle. Here's the brand I use (below). The ingredient list is short and sweet: Saponified organic olive, coconut and sunflower oils, organic aloe vera, organic shea butter, natural rosemary extract and citric acid. Whichever brand you buy, make sure it is unscented and has no unnecessary ingredients; you'll want to be able to control the fragrance and additional ingredients yourself.
I love La Almona brand - it's almost totally comprised of organic ingredients, and it's significantly cheaper than Dr. Bronner's as of the time of this writing.
Cost Considerations: Castile soap is usually watered down significantly which stretches it out and makes it very affordable. But for dish soap, you basically use it straight. This works but could become pricey. I would say the cost to our health is worth making a change, but I also want to mention there is another way to make dish soap that is potentially cheaper. That is by using a product called "Sal's Suds." I'll be experimenting with that next and will share soon! Meanwhile, I'm going to share the castile version in case that's all you have on hand right now (like me).
THICKENING AGENT: If you want to slightly thick your castile soap, simply mix xanthan gum and oil. After it's dissolved, add to your soap. Here is a link for xanthan gum. You can also find it in most grocery and health food stores. While this will not be quite as thick as the store-bought versions, it will help!
Optional thickening agent: non-GMO xanthan gum.
COLOR: Plain castile soap is slightly brown in color since it has no dye or unnecessary ingredients. If you prefer the aesthetics of a brighter color on your counter, you can accomplish this in a food-safe way by using all-natural food dye powder. Mix it with a bit of water until you reach a color you like (it only takes a few grains of powder) then add to your soap - just to cheer it up a bit. :)
Optional ingredient: all-natural food color.
It feels so good to wash dishes without coating them in chemicals, preservatives, synthetic fragrances, artificial dyes, and other controversial ingredients. Let's get started!
BRIGHT LEMON DISH SOAP
Prep Time: 5 mins / Makes about 12-13 oz
Soap:
1.5 cups castile liquid soap (12 oz)
20 drops organic essential oil for fragrance (lemon)
Thickener (optional):
1 tsp xantham gum
1 Tbsp carrier oil (olive oil works)
Color (optional):
A few granules all-natural yellow food dye powder
1 tsp water
DIRECTIONS
In a bowl, gently stir together the soap and essential oil(s).
Optional: In another bowl, if using all-natural food dye for coloring purposes, dissolve a few granules (it is very potent) into a tiny bowl with the water. Then, add the colored liquid one drop at a time into the soap to your desired level of pigmentation, and stir it in.
Optional: In a separate small bowl, mix up your thickening agent, xanthan gum and oil. Stir again.
Finally, transfer the finished product into a re-usable pump bottle. Use a funnel if needed.
If mixture separates over time, gently swirl before dispensing.
TIP: If you don't dissolve the coloring powder into water first and instead add it straight to the soap, it won't dissolve well and stays clumpy. I learned this the hard way, but you don't have to repeat my mistake! The same is true for the xanthan gum; adding it straight to the soap will not mix well.
STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS WITH PHOTOS
STEP 1. In a bowl, gently stir together the soap and essential oil(s).
STEP 2. Optional: In another bowl, if using all-natural food dye for coloring purposes, dissolve a few granules (it is very potent) into a tiny bowl with the water. Then, add the colored liquid one drop at a time into the soap to your desired level of pigmentation, and stir it in.
STEP 3. Optional: In a separate small bowl, mix up your thickening agent, xanthan gum and oil. Stir into soap.
STEP 4. Finally, transfer the finished product into a re-usable pump bottle. Use a funnel if needed.
STEP 5. If mixture separates over time, gently swirl before dispensing.
TIP: If you don't dissolve the coloring powder into water first and instead add it straight to the soap, it won't dissolve well and stays clumpy. I learned this the hard way, but you don't have to repeat my mistake! The same is true for the xanthan gum; adding it straight to the soap will not mix well.
Healthy dish and hand soap made easy!
In case you need funnels, I have this set which also comes with a small strainer.
That's all folks, it's that easy AND you can enjoy any all-natural fragrance option or colors you like!
Do you have any other tips and tricks to share about DIY liquid soap? We can all learn together how to create effective and beautifully scented soap without all the harmful chemicals - and it's so easy to do!
With Love,
Molly
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