How to make body wash from bar soap

[nuisance26]

Or at least, this is how I did it.

1. Grate 2 bars of soap with a fine cheese grater. I used 4.25oz Olay Shea Butter bars. It took about 20 minutes while watching tv to grate.


2. Pour 2 cups of water and grated soap in a saucepan. Heat together over medium low until soap is dissolved, about 5 minutes.


3. Cool slightly. My soap had the consistency of whole milk at this point. Pour into bottles. I used 3, 8oz BBW lotion bottles. You can top off your bottles with more water to make 24 oz if you want. I didn't.


4. Cool completely overnight. Mine had the consistency of melted ice cream when cooled. Use a dime or nickle sized dollop on your poof.

And lather up!

My daughter took that picture.
Creates lots of suds just like the commercial stuff although the product itself isn't as thick.
I may experiment with less water next time.

[Libby]

OOh I like this idea! Thanks for sharing your method and making it seem less scary The new B&BW bodywash bottles are 10oz here in Canada but I do have the older style 8oz's laying around.

Did you use reg pot and whisk or are those assigned for crafts? Just wondering if others have two sets when they do crafts or homemade body products.

[nuisance26]

~I use my regular cooking stuff. Stainless steel cleans up beautifully in my dishwasher. ~

[zakity]

I think it would be fine to use your regular cookware. The only reason you need seperate for soap making is because of the lye. The stuff off the shelf would have the lye already processed. I always use my regular pans. I just figure that it is just soap and you wash it with soap.

[momof2boys2005]

Ok this looks like a fun baby project to do with DS! I'm gonna try it with the jar of bits and pieces I've been saving and meaning to do something with! Thanks! I can't help but ask why take a full bar of beauty soap and dilute it? Does it stretch the life of the bar of soap?

[nuisance26]

~Yes, you'll get more uses from body wash than the bars and it's more hygienic. I'm going to get a year of use out of two bars. I also replaced my facial cleanser with this. It also works well for shaving! ~

[Libby]

Hrm....never thought of the 'all in one' aspect...body wash, shaving, face wash - I wonder if when I finally deplete my entire body wash stock (I inherited DF's now ) if I should try making this with a Dove bar. Gonna have to keep this thread bookmarked for later.

[Sassyclass]

Ok, now I just have to find a good deal on Caress or Dove bars, and buy some bottles.

Cat

[momof2boys2005]

~Yes, you'll get more uses from body wash than the bars and it's more hygienic. I'm going to get a year of use out of two bars. I also replaced my facial cleanser with this. It also works well for shaving! ~

The potential of having soap last me a few months excites me a year would throw me into fits of joy!!! I'm on it!!!

[Vanilla]

Wow, thanks for this post.
I shall try this.

[madjen]

Sounds like a good future project for me! I'm not a fan of bar soap but I'm definitely not a fan of the price of body wash!

[Tess B]

bumping this up a bit....as i'd been SO pleased with the homemade laundry detergent even tho i did get an eye roll from my husband and gently teased about going all Little House on the Prairie from a co-worker, i thought i'd give the homemade body wash a try. on my last shopping venture i picked up a couple bars of Olay, and then realized to my dismay no old body wash bottles rattling around in the cupboard. RATS. well the other day i was swapping out the old squeezy ketchup bottle from the fridge and thought to myself HEY, squeezy bottle!!! so i rinsed it out well, let it soak to take the ketchup labels off, and wah lah perfectly suitable container given a new lease on life!!!

bit of poor planning on MY part to start the grating process before hitting the shower to get ready for work. however, it was so worth it. i just treated myself to a new loofah scrubby and it was a simply divine experience!!! who needs the spa????

[newstudent]

I tried it with a small piece of soap from a previous hotel visit and just put it in a glass jar with cold water. Just shake it every so often and it disolves just by itself. Love the result--don't have to buy liquid soap anymore. Nobody here likes the soap bars here.

[KnuckleheadNellie]

I'm new here but I am going to try this with the new soap I got from LUSH. its harder soap(but the smell is amazing! I hope it works the same! my DBF has a small piece he has been using since october that is still going strong!

[renmerc446]

Silly question: if you use a non-scented bar soap, how do you go about scenting the resulting body wash? Just add fragrances (the kind made for soaps)?

I tried it with a small piece of soap from a previous hotel visit and just put it in a glass jar with cold water. Just shake it every so often and it disolves just by itself. Love the result--don't have to buy liquid soap anymore. Nobody here likes the soap bars here.

Cool. Thanks for this. I had thought to try something like this but ended up throwing out the soap bits. Right now I"m going through my current stock of liquid soap but will try this when I finally get back to my soap bars.