When I posted about my homemade healing lotion a few months ago, I told you that I have horribly dry skin. I had seriously tried everything under the sun to keep it from drying out including every commercially made lotion I could find, but nothing worked. It wasn’t until I started making that homemade lotion that I got any relief at all. It worked fantastic for a bit by itself, but a few weeks after, some of the itch had started to come back so I decided to take it one step farther. Enter this homemade body wash. When I combined the two, my dry skin was no more. It’s been over a year now and the combo of the two has not only ended my dry skin issues, but my skin is actually soft!
In my mind, the best thing about this homemade body wash is that it’s totally natural. There are no chemicals in it that will harm you or your family so that makes it safe for children as well. Both my 11 year old and my husband use it and they like it just as much as I do! The other great thing about it is that it can be made ahead of time. The vitamin E oil that is in it has a dual purpose. First, vitamin E is great for moisturizing your skin. Secondly, it acts as a preservative when added to natural beauty products. If you plan on making a batch or three up ahead of time, hold off on adding the essential oils that are in the recipe. You can add those as you get ready to use the body wash. Adding them early and storing it can cause them to degrade depending on whether your container is dark or light (or clear in my case), the temperature your homemade body was is stored at and other environmental factors. Instead, add them right before you use the body wash and shake well to make sure they’re well combined.
Homemade Body Wash
Finally, the last thing that I absolutely love about this recipe is that it is how easily it can be customized. If you’re looking for a calming body wash, use lavender essential oil. If you want something to help refresh and wake you up in the mornings, use citrus oils. For something that will be invigorating and help with sore muscles, use peppermint oil. You could even add a bit of oatmeal or course sea salt if you wanted an exfoliating body wash. The possibilities are huge and really are only limited to what you want your body wash to help you do. One caution though: If you’re going to use this one your children, be sure that you thoroughly research the oils you’re using. Some are not safe for kids so you’ll want to be careful which ones you add if they use it too.
You Will Need:
- 1/2 cup Liquid Castile Soap (or make homemade Castile soap)
- 1 Cup distilled water
- 9 Tablespoons sweet almond oil
- 12 Tablespoons vegetable glycerin
- 5 Tablespoons Vitamin E Oil
- 10 drops essential oil of your choice
To start, add the distilled water to whatever bottle you’re using. I recommend using these amber glass bottles to help preserve the essential oils a bit longer, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Add the water and then the liquid Castile soap.
Next, add the almond oil, vegetable glycerin and vitamin E oil. Put the cap on and shake well to combine the ingredients so far.
Finally, add whatever essential oils you’re using. Put the cap back on and shake well. To use, pour onto a bath poof and wash like normal.
If after making your homemade body wash, you find that your soap is too thin, you can thicken it by making a salt water solution. Add .5 oz regular table salt to 1.5oz warm distilled water and stir until it is dissolved. Then, in very small amounts (1 ml or less), add to your soap and stir. Continue adding the salt water solution to your soap until you’ve got the consistency that you want.