Commercial body washes and soaps dry out my skin… and then I’m supposed to slather on lotions and creams with questionable ingredients… I’m out. The skin is our largest organ and what we put on it gets absorbed into our bodies, carrying all those toxic chemicals into our bloodstream and lymphatic system. What we put on our body is just as important as what we put in. 

After a bubbly mess in my kitchen… I have finally created a natural homemade body wash that contains healthy ingredients for skin. It is worthy of oohs and aahs!

Ingredients

Castile soap is made of vegetable oils such as coconut, jojoba, hemp or olive. It has amazing cleansing properties and comes in liquid or bar form. Choose either unscented or scented liquid castile soap!

Carrier oils are moisturizing and full of incredible skin benefits. Choose a good quality carrier oil that is organic, cold pressed, and unrefined with no additives. Carrier oils I love for this recipe: sweet almond oil, olive oil, apricot kernel oil, grapeseed oil, hemp seed oil, sunflower oil, jojoba oil, or coconut oil. For this recipe I used a mixture of coconut oil and jojoba oil. 

Raw honey is wonderful for moisturizing and cleansing. It contains antioxidants [important for mature and ageing skin] and has antibacterial and healing properties [important for facial or body acne, eczema, psoriasis]. It makes skin feel very soft and smooth. [This is one of the times its appropriate to put food on your face… and body.] I purchase my raw honey from a Ohana Honey Farm – which is local and amazing. 

Essential oils are an optional ingredient for extra skin benefits and scent. I usually add about 10-20 drops total [if you need to add more, you can]. I prefer to use a scented castile soap with a few drops of essential oils for skin benefits, rather than dumping an entire bottle of essential oil in this recipe to create a scent.

How to Make Natural Body Wash

Start by melting 1 cup coconut oil in a double boiler or by placing a small jar of it into hot water. Transfer to a large measuring cup for easy pouring. If using any other carrier oil, just pour 1 cup of the carrier oil into a large measuring cup. [Coconut oil thickens the body wash to a good consistency. Just wait until it comes to room temperature and re-thickens. If the body wash is still too runny, try adding a teaspoon at a time of vegetable glycerin and thicken to your liking.]

Add 1 cup castile soap, 1/4 cup raw honey, and 10-20 drops of essential oils.

I love the following essential oils for body wash scent and skin benefits:

• Lavender EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy)
• Joy EO blend (Young Living)
• Purification EO Blend (Young Living)
• Deodorizing EO Blend (Plant Therapy)
• Patchouli EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy)
• Roman Chamomile EO (Plant Therapy)
• Cedarwood EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy)
• Rosemary EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy) *Not for children age 2-15 or pregnant/nursing mamas*
• Lemongrass EO (Young Living or Plant Therapy)

{I use and recommend Young Living Essential Oils and Plant Therapy Essential Oils because they are 100% pure quality essential oils. There are other reputable essential oil companies to purchase from. Your local drug store’s cheap essential oil can give you a rash and not have the same positive effects because most only contain about 10% of the pure oil and the rest is filled with synthetics. Do your research and find a company you feel comfortable purchasing from.}

Add 1 cup of filtered or distilled water and gently mix the ingredients together with a spoon. Do not use a whisk or you will experience bubblemania and have trouble pouring it.

Finally pour your concoction into your choice of glass container and voila… body wash.

Psst… some extra tips

Many use castile soap on its own as a body wash, which can also be effective. I find that my skin is too dry afterwards, so I prefer the moisturizing combination with raw honey and carrier oils.

The honey may separate from the soap if it sits for awhile. Just shake the bottle before use and it will recombine!

I use approximately 1 tablespoon of body wash on my sponge. Rub the sponge to create a bit of lather and let the cleansing begin. Prepare for bubble fluffs!

Happy Showering 🙂

Have you made your own body wash before? What do you use to wash your body?