 |
Looking for an inexpensive way to pamper yourself? How about homemade invigorating body wash?
I have always been more of a “bar of soap” kind of gal but recently I have really been enjoying using a body wash in the shower.
Today I have a body wash recipe to share with you that I am really pleased with.
Like I said, I’ve always used bars of soap, or my Homemade Foaming Soap, but now I think I am sold on body wash.
I’ve never really liked showering. I think I held the record for the fastest shower taker when I lived with a household of 10 gals in college.
Something about the heat and dampness made me want to be done and out of the shower.
But since I’ve been trying to make my bathroom routine a little more “special”, I’ve been enjoying showering more.
Maybe I’m a little more clean as a result, hmmmm?
Maybe I should call this post “Why I Like Being In the Shower Now”.
Anyway, a reader shared her recipe for body wash with me. I needed to monkey with it a bit, but now you get to make this wonderfully-smelling, luxurious body wash for yourself.
Move over, body shop stores.
Why make your own personal care products?
1. Avoid harmful chemicals – use only natural ingredients and fragrances.
2. Reuse containers and reduce waste
3. Save money (one of my favorite reasons 
)!
Homemade Silky Body Wash
Makes about 3/4 cup wash
Ingredients
1 Tbsp shea butter
1/4 cup aloe vera gel
3/4 tsp guar gum or xanthan gum (See Notes)
3/4 cup soap base (I used Dr. Bronner’s Castille, unscented)
approx 25 drops essential oils (See my Best Essential Oils Series) I used a mixture of citrus oils (orange, lemon and lime).
Method
1. Melt shea butter over low heat.
2. Add aloe vera gel and warm together with the shea butter.
3. Add gum and stir well with a whisk.
4. Add the soap base. Mix well. I found I had to mix with my immersion blender or in a blender to get the gum completely distributed. It’s not completely necessary, but makes for a more consistent wash. After blending, your wash will be quite foamy but it will settle in a few hours.
4. After the mixture has cooled, add essential oils (if using).
5. Pour into container of choice. A funnel comes in handy here. (I used a super eco-friendly recycled body wash container.)
Notes:
1. I used guar gum, but my reader used xanthan gum and said 1 tsp worked for her. 1 tsp guar gum made the mixture overly thick. I saw recipes online calling for 1/2 tsp xanthan gum, but I just didn’t have xanthan gum in the house so I didn’t try it.
2. You can buy most of these ingredients at Mountain Rose Herbs, and if they are still listed, I have Essential Oils at cost on my Natural Store Page.
3. I think other essential oil blends would be great as well. As I find ones I like I hope to share them.
I love the smell and texture of this wash and I hope you do as well.
My son said, after smelling it, “Boy, Mom. You make some really good smelling stuff! And some really good tasting stuff too!”
What a sweetheart!
I’ll share more homemade personal care products with you as I develop them (working on a hair rinse right now.)
In the meantime, check out:
- Jojoba Face Wash
- Rose Water Spray
- “The Best” Eye Makeup Remover
- Easiest Deodorant Ever
- Simple Nourishing Hand and Body Lotion
- Nourishing Sugar Scrub
- Nourishing Lip Scrub
Do you use natural hair care products?
Shared at GNOWFGLINS, Sorta Crunchy, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Diet, Dessert, and Dogs, Food Renegade, and The Nourishing Gourmet.
I love this!! My sisters would love this body wash. I’m thinking ill have to make this for their birthday
Thanks for sharing this!!
You’re seo welcome! I hope they like it!
I love this, it look delicious! I wish you were my roommate in college! I cracked up at your shower theory. It is a good place to hide from the kiddos sometimes!! When they were tiny they would climb into the bath with me = no alone time!!
ThriftDee recently posted..Cold Hands Warm Hearts
So your roommate took long showers? Guess so? Not me. In and out. Alone time is hard to find. I think as they grow older I realize I will miss that as well, though. Hope you like the body wash!
Perfect timing! I was just going to search for a body wash recipe and I saw this. Can’t wait to try it out!
Krissa recently posted..Sparkling Apple Cider Vinegar Water
Let me know how it turns out – love your post on ACV!
I really love this idea for body soap, however I just wanted to point out that while this may be a decent choice for winter (since we are usually covered up), I would be wary of using it in the summer. Most citrus oils are photosensitive and can really do damage to your skin when exposed to sunlight. That being said I’m sure it’s a lot safer since you are washing it off, but when it comes to lotions or anything you will leave on your skin you definitely don’t want citrus. I bet it would make some amazing natural hair highlights!!
Hi Suzanne,
I did check with the owner of Native American Nutritionals about this and he said that photosensitivity would not happen in this diluted amount, especially if it was being washed off. I asked before I wrote the post
. He said that even Bergamot that hasn’t had the furocoumarin removed (which is much more photosensitive than citrus oils) wouldn’t be an issue in this amount. So….make the wash and enjoy it, I say 
. Thanks, though…good things to talk about!
Awesome
Glad you mentioned the Bergamot too. I love citrus and use them in my deodorant…
Interesting, eh? I think we’ll learn a lot together about oils
.
This looks wonderful.
Debi and Charly
Hope you enjoy it! I’d love to hear.
Can I make this fragrance-free? I have sensitive skin that causes me to break out.
Of course – just leave the oils out. I have sensitive skin as well and the oils don’t bother me, but do what you need to do
.
Hey,since Xanthan Gum is used as a thickening agent, I wonder if you could use arrowroot poweder or cornstarch???? I don’t have Xanthan or Guar Gum and that stuff is $15 at Harris Teeter in my small town!
Those won’t have as much thickening power. You could just leave it out, or do what you can w/ the starches. They aren’t necessary, but they make the product more like store-bought versions. Did you check the links in my post? Amazon has the gums a lot cheaper.
I’m going to try this! I recently made a body wash that I just don’t love. It doesn’t lather at all, and while I know that suds don’t mean clean, I still want a luxurious lather when I’m showering. It just feels good.
Thanks for posting… I’ll bookmark it for later.
Pam OBrien recently posted..Sowing the Tomato Seeds
Not too much lathering w/ this but I do love it. Try it and let me know!
This looks fabulous! I am always in search of ways educate my health coaching clients on how to ditch the store bought beauty products for something natural and this fits the bill. Thanks!
I hope you like it! Just used it again today in the shower –
. So nice to not really want to get out of the shower as fast as possible.
I wonder if you could add Avon’s Skin So Soft oil for winter moisturizing? Love the fragrance and always spritz down after the shower for moisturizing in the winter.
You could, but I am not sure I am happy w/ their ingredients. What do you think?
Did you see my Nourishing Hand and Body Lotion? The ingredients are MUCH better for you.
What is the “Shelf” life? This would be great at my craft shows. I have been trying to do shampoo’s but can’t get any shelf life above 2-3 weeks and that just won’t work for the show circuit
Sorry – I can’t make claims about that but I would think it would be longer than that since the shelf life of the components is longer than that. Maybe look up the shelf life of the components and base it off that?
How fun!! I can’t wait to give this a try. We’d love for you to link up to our party! http://www.housewivesofriverton.com/2013/02/riverton-housewives-round-up-54.html
I have two questions:
1. I was looking on Vitacost for Aloe Vera Gel. Some of the specify the part of the plant it’s made out of. Do I want the inner fillet or the whole leaf?
2. Do you happen to know how long the shelf life for Aloe Vera Gel is? The best price is this one but it’s huge!! Aloe Vera
Good questions! I’ve read that the outer leaf is toxic so I am guessing you don’t want whole leaf.
Also I’ve heard 1 year for shelf life but better to use w/in 6 months. It looks like you have a juice there, though, and not a gel. They are different.
The recipe did not indicate when to put in the essential oils. Is it after you’ve mixed in the soap base or at the same time. Thanks for your recipes as always.
Thanks – good catch! I just added it.
Adrienne,
I just tried making this w/ the xanthan gum option. It noticeably thickened the shea butter/aloe mixture but my end product still seems runny. Will it thicken as it cools? I was hoping for more of a gel like texture.
It sure does. I am even thinking I want it a little less thick
.
Hmmm…Mine is still pretty runny. I used about 3/4 tsp of xan. gum and then I tried to add more later but that didn’t seem to do anything for the mixture. Bummer. Must be the difference b/t the two thickeners?
(I let it sit in the fridge all night)
That is very odd. The recipe I used as a start used xanthan I think. Is it too runny to be a wash?
Can you replace the Shea butter with cocoa butter?
I don’t think it would be a problem. Just slightly different consistency.
Hi. Has anyone had issues with the liquid castille soap? I have used it as a shampoo and body wash before, but it leaves a residue on my skin. Am I using the wrong ratio of soap to water or is my water too hard? Any suggestions?
I am new to making products and wanted to know what kind of Shea butter to use? I went Amazon to do some pricing. I am assuming that it’s the unrefined raw type?
I would prefer that but I used refined b/c I had some left over. Enjoy!
What’s a good aloe vera gel?
This Lily of the Desert is the kind I bought. Here it is on Amazon and I’ve bought it from Vitacost. If you haven’t ordered from Vcost before, click through here to get $10 off your first order of $30 or more. These are affiliate links, BTW.
So i just tried this recipe and somewhere, not sure where, something went wrong! Bummer! I tried doubling the recipe, which is PROBABLY where I jacked it up! But I ended up with an extremely thick and gummy result. Any deals how to fix? Also, is it ok to add some water? Thanks in advance!
I would add everything but the gum and mix it. I am thinking I will try this again with about 2/3 or 1/2 the gum myself. Most of the recipe is great but as I’ve used it it’s a little thicker. Hope it works!
I tried this recipe, I used lemongrass essential oil instead of citrus, which I find is more gentle on my skin. The other thing I did was use coconut oil and shea butter….
But, my body wash separated! Maybe it’s the warmer temperature this time of year or the added oil. However it works great and smells yummy! I find it lathers a ton… Maybe next time I should add more xantham gum?? Thoughts?
Thank you!
I personally think that there is already a little too much gum so I don’t think that’s it. Maybe try again and heat on low heat and blend well? I am not sure. Sorry.
I figured that’s what it was….I ended up adding some water to it cuz it was the quickest way I could think of to liquefy it a bit more at least to get into the bottle I had for this concoction. I used it this morning and I’m actually pleased with it. It smells great and hubby agrees! Thank you!
Hi, I made this body wash and I absolutely love it.
I didn’t use a lot of essential oils, so it doesn’t have a smell but I will just use more next time. Could you tell me how long this body was would last in my bathroom?
Thank you for sharing this recipe
I can’t make claims about shelf life but I have been using my smallish bottle since I wrote the post and it doesn’t smell “off” at all.