Five Easy DIY Recipes Using Castile Soap
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If you have castile soap on hand, you must keep these soap recipes in your back pocket. They are super easy to make and just as effective as store-bought beauty and cleaning products!
Castile Soap is a Must-Have Product
I am obsessed with castile soap. Obsessed. I first bought it to make my own foaming hand soap (first recipe below!) and slowly but surely realized how many wellness and beauty products I could replace simply by using castile soap.
What is castile soap? If you’re here you probably already know, but I’ll fill you in any way. Castile soap is a vegetable-based soap and it can come in liquid or bar form. It’s natural, non-toxic, eco-friendly and so incredibly useful! You can use it in your cleaning products and to clean your body. How awesome is that?
I’m a big fan of Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap, which is one of the most popular brands. You can find it at most grocery stores, all health food stores and my favorite spot, Thrive Market.
Usually, a 32-oz bottle of castile soap is around $15, but I can get it on Thrive Market for $12.99. Hands down the best price I have come across so far!
Foaming Hand Soap
I absolutely love making my own hand soap. It’s so fun to customize it with your favorite essential oils (wild orange is mine) and you never have to worry about running out!
Materials
Foaming Soap Dispensers
Castile Soap
Fractionated Coconut Oil (Optional – good for dry hands)
Essential Oils (optional)
Water
Directions
Fill your soap dispenser about 2/3 of the way with water. Add a teaspoon of fractionated coconut oil (if using) and 10 drops of essential oils (if using). Add castile soap and leave about 1/4 inch of room to put the top back on without overflow. I always eyeball it and it works every time. Easy peasy!
Laundry Detergent
I used to make a slightly more complicated recipe for my DIY laundry detergent (check it out here with a few other cleaning recipes), but one day I got lazy and decided to use just castile soap and water. Turns out, it does the job!
Materials
Large Container
Castile Soap
Water
Directions
This will depend on the size of your container. The ratio I use is one cup of castile soap per 1.5 gallons (6 quarts) of water. So when I use the 3-quart container I recommend above, I add about 1/2 cup of castile soap.
Add the water first. This is important because if you add the soap first it will bubble up like crazy and you will be annoyed. After you add the soap, shake it, shake it, shake it like a polaroid picture.
Make sure you shake it before each load of laundry. I add about 1/4 -1/2 cup per load. I have a HE washer and my clothes always come out great using this simple DIY laundry detergent. Honestly, I was shocked by how well this worked!
Dish Soap
Dish soap was one of the products that took a little bit of adjustment (mainly for the hubby). It doesn’t bubble up as much as conventional dish soap and some people just need to see that lather! We both use it now with no complaints:)
Materials
Squeeze Bottle
Castile Soap
Directions
Add about 3 teaspoons castile soap per 1 cup of water. Shake up before use!
Body Wash
This is my newest castile soap recipe and I am loving it! I added Rosemary and Lavender essential oils to make it smell extra good AND Rosemary acts as a natural preservative so it extends the shelf life of the body wash a bit.
Feel free to add your favorite essential oils. Peppermint with any type of citrus oil would also make for a yummy body wash.
Materials
8-ounce container with pump dispenser
Distilled Water (from your local grocery store)
Castile Soap
Vegetable Glycerin
Carrier Oil (I recommend fractionated coconut oil)
Essential Oils (see above recommendations and my shop page for the best EOs)
Directions
Add 1/4 cup of distilled water or hydrosol, 1/4 cup castile soap, 1 Tablespoon vegetable glycerin, 1 Tablespoon carrier oil and about 10-15 drops of essential oils into your container (preferably with a funnel!). Put the pump on the top and shake it up. Done!
Makeup Brush Cleaner
I love this castile soap recipe to clean makeup brushes. It’s simple to make and it cleans your brushes so well! This was one of the first recipes I posted on my blog so it’s near and dear to my heart.
Materials
1 cup distilled water
1/2 cup witch hazel
2 tsp castile soap
5-10 drops essential oils (I recommend Tea Tree or Geranium)
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a mason jar. Shake up before each use. For specific directions on how to clean your brushes, check out this post. Be sure to clean your brushes weekly!
Castile Soap for the Win!
I absolutely love how versatile castile soap is. I hope you pick some up for yourself and try these recipes. If you have a castile soap recipe you love, share it in the comments!
p.s. – don’t forget to grab your free gift from Thrive Market!
Five Easy DIY Recipes Using Castile Soap
Yay Morgan! Definitely give them a try!
xo Maryjane
I use Castile soap as foaming hand soap and body wash, but I hadn’t thought to use them as laundry soap or dish soap or that it would even be good for that. Thanks for the tips! I’ll hopefully be able to try them out soon!