How to Make Foaming Soap + Dispenser Ideas
Discover how to make foaming soap right in your kitchen that’s both easy and affordable. It’s a fun project that will not only save money but also help you to be more environmentally friendly by using more natural soap. So simple with either a DIY foaming dispenser or purchased one that you’ll wonder why you didn’t try this sooner!
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If you have ever wondered, “Can I make my own foaming hand soap?” then this homemade cleaning recipe is for you!
Being a naturally frugal person, I was thrilled when I first learned that you could turn any liquid soap into a foaming soap in only a few minutes AND save money. With just two ingredients – water and the liquid soap of your choice (plus optional essential oils), it’s literally one of the easiest cleaning recipes around.
That’s it. Don’t you love it?
While you can use any liquid soap, to keep our soap as natural as possible my favorite soap to use is Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap or other biodegradable soap that’s sensitive to skin so that you only need one soap for both dishes and hands!
You really don’t have to rely on store soaps that have all.the.things. in them (seriously, what?) – you can quickly make your own whenever you need it with just two ingredients!
Ingredients Needed
- Castile Liquid Soap Concentrate – or other natural liquid soap like Seventh Generation Sensitive Skin or Better Life soap with aloe. TIP: use these gentler dish soaps for both dishes and hands – see FAQs below for more details.
- Water
- Optional essential oils – my favorites include: Eucalyptus Oil for antibacterial, Lemon Oil, Orange Oil or Lavender Oil.
How to Make Foaming Soap
- Pour 1/4 cup of liquid soap into a pint size glass jar or a measuring cup if pouring into a refillable foaming container.
- Add 1 cup of water and mix with a spoon. Add essential oils at this point, if using, and mix well.
- Attach foaming pump lid or pour into an old soap pump.
There’s not much that’s easier and quicker than this, is there?
Does this really work with Castile soap?
In full honesty, I have to say that I wasn’t so sure how a foaming soap made with pure Castile soap would turn out.
I’d been making regular liquid soap with Castile for years, using it for both hand washing and dish washing – no need for two bottles on the sink, one does it all. So easy.
So when I learned that you could dilute the Castile to a 1:4 ratio for a foaming soap, I had my doubts. The soap is made from plant oils with no detergents or foaming agents so how could it be a foaming soap with no foaming agents?
Guess what? I don’t know how, but it really does make an awesome foam!
I love this since not only does foaming soap save money initially, it also seems to last a lot longer for us.
Foaming Soap Dispenser Ideas
As far as containers to use, the easiest thing is to reuse a foaming soap bottle from the store. But if you’d like something that might go better with your decor, I have a few ideas for you!
1. Zinc Lid & Mason Jar Dispenser
The soap dispenser pictured above is one I made using a mason jar and vintage zinc cap (the kind that has a hole in it – I think it was used with glass lids originally).
How To Make: To use a vintage lid like I did (they are thinner metal than full vintage zinc lids), use metal snips to cut the hole bigger to be able to fit a recycled foaming soap dispenser from a plastic bottle into and use hot-glue or Gorilla Glue to hold it in place.
TIP: You can do the same thing with reproduction zinc lids, since they are thin and don’t have the white caps inside them like most vintage zinc lids do. You will need need to cut a full hole in the top, though.
2. Ready-to-Go Foaming Pump Lids for Jars
Use your own jars and simply buy lids with foaming dispensers attached that you can screw on any regular mouth mason jar:
- Black lids (with waterproof labels)
- Brushed Nickel lids
- Bronze lids
3. Refillable Foaming Dispensers
You can also simply purchase the whole foaming soap dispenser:
- For a sleek look, here’s an inexpensive all white bottle
- Or try a touch-free mason jar foaming soap dispenser that’s USB rechargeable.
Gift Idea
Package one of the foaming jars above full of this soap with a label listing the ingredients and how to make it along with a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s castile soap for refills and a hand towel for an inexpensive, sweet gift.
This would be great for house warming, teacher appreciation, or hostess gifts.
Does making foaming soap really save money?
Making your own foaming soap really is economical. A 32-oz bottle of Castile soap lasts a long time when you only use 1/4 cup at a time. Our foaming soap lasts in our kitchen for 2-3 weeks, depending on how many people are using it.
Even if you add a few drops of essential oils, this comes to less than $1 for 1 cup of liquid soap.
More Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, if you choose one of the natural soaps I’ve linked to – castile or one of the dish soaps for sensitive skin. I’ve been using one soap for years for both and neither my dishes or my hands have suffered! TIP: Keep a heavy-duty grease cutting dish soap under the counter and use only on items that need it – it’s too strong for most dishes anyway.
Yes, it’s basically watered down liquid soap. The foaming action occurs when it goes through the special foaming pump that adds air. So if you buy a bottle of “foaming soap” then you’re actually getting less soap than normal liquid soap. That’s why it’s great to know this formula for making your own foaming soap!
The recommendation is to use distilled, filtered, or boiled and cooled water to eliminate the possibility of bacteria and make your soap last longer. If you are certain of your water source, you can use it as is like I have with our well water.
Yes, both regular liquid hand soap and foaming soap killed germs on hands in one study, though foaming soap was slightly less effective. (source)
Since you use less soap to water, you obviously save money, but there is another reason – studies have indicated that people who use foaming soap use less water – between 16 and up to 45 percent. So you save money and help the environment! (source)
Other DIY Cleaning Tips To Try
- Microfiber-Mirror Cleaning Secret
- Family Cleaning Night – my favorite thing of all time!!
- How To Clean And Care For A Cast Iron Pan
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How to Make Foaming Soap
Tools
- Pint mason jar
- Foaming soap pump
- Or full foaming soap & pump container
Materials
Foaming Liquid Soap:
- 1/4 cup liquid Castile soap or other natural liquid soap
- 1 cup water
Optional:
- 5 drops lemon or orange essential oil your choice – lavender is nice, too
- 4 drops eucalyptus oil for antiseptic and antibacterial properties
Instructions
- Add the soap to a glass pint jar or measuring cup. Gently stir in the water (and essential oils if using) to fully mix.
- Pour the mixture into a container with a foaming pump and pump the soap out of your jar (or simply recycle an old soap container).
- Use for washing both hands and dishes – with natural soaps it's both biodegradable and skin-friendly.
Notes
- 1/2 cup liquid Castile soap
- 1/2 cup water
This article has been updated – it was originally published in July 2015 and updated in 2021.
Disclosure: affiliate links in this article will earn commission based on sales, but it doesn’t change your price. Click here to read my full disclaimer and advertising disclosure.
Hi Jami:
Do you have a specific skin safe essential oil brand you’d recommend? After some quick research it looks like some essential oils aren’t recommended b/c they can be a skin irritant. Thanks for any guidance here.
I haven’t done a deep dive into this, Meri, and I do think that some oils may react differently to different people, but I would say that buying from a reputable company will at least make sure your oil is as good as can be. I’ve gotten really weak and odd-smelling cheap knock off amazon oils and I won’t do that again. 🙂 I like to buy from places like Mountain Rose Herbs (which is actually local for me) or well known brands like Plant Therapy. Some are know irritants (like peppermint) so if you have sensitive skin in other areas you can start with oils that are more gentle and see.
Thank you for your detailed response.
Did you add any clean soap dye options to make it colorful for fall?
I have’t tried that, Christie, but that is a fun idea!
Hi Jamie!
I’ve been doing this for years as well, but one drawback is that the pumps tend to stick and eventually stop working altogether. I end up going through more pumps than seem normal. For this reason I stopped bothering with the extra work. But I’d love to start again if I can make those blasted pumps last longer ;)! Any thoughts?
I have experienced that as well, Dee, but the pumps usually last a couple years so I’m okay with it. 🙂
Hi there! I just made the hand soap with mason jars and bought foam tops from Amazon! You mentioned this can be used as DISH soap, too?! Looking for dish soap recipe. The one I tried didn’t work out from elsewhere
I’m glad you like this, Julia! It’s the only thing I use at my kitchen sink. That’s because we’re using Castile soap which is an olive oil-based soap that once diluted is safe for any number of uses, including dishes, hand washing! You don’t need two recipes when using this soap. 🙂
Hi .. I would like to know how long this foamer soap would last I see posts that say only 30 days.. mine are several months old , but I only use distilled water and castile soap. Is this still safe?
Yes, I’d think so. I usually just make what I need and use it – I’m sure in some bathrooms it’s been more than 30 days and it’s fine.
Is the essential oil necessary if you’re using scented Castile soap?
Nope, if you’re happy with the scent as is. Some essential oils help fight bacteria, etc., but if you were adding just for scent, you’d be good to leave it out.
Will the essential oils eat away at a plastic dispenser?
I don’t believe so, Tracy, since there’s just a few drops.
Where can I get a dispenser like the one you have in the picture? It’s so cute.
Thank you, Kelly! I actually made that from a vintage mason jar and reproduction zinc lid that I cut a hole in for the foaming pump dispenser. 🙂
We love Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap at our house and love this idea of easy diy foaming soap with a Mason jar. Putting essential oils in it is a great idea too. So smart! 🙂
Thanks! It helps that it’s easy, too. 🙂
This is what we use for had soap we use the Dr. Bonners Almond cast ill soap in used foaming soap dispensers. Thanks for the heads up on the deal!
Thanks for the tip! Is it possible to buy a foaming pump separately somewhere?
I’ve updated the post to include links to a couple foaming soap dispenser options, Sue (great idea, by the way!) – an inexpensive plastic bottle and a slightly more expensive silver metal dispenser – both on Amazon, which has other options, too. 🙂