Homemade Body Wash and Recycled Jar Dispenser

I am a big label reader. I used to be just with food, but now I read labels on everything. My husband complains when we go grocery shopping because I read the label on almost everything I put in the cart which can make for a long shopping experience. When I started looking at what was in shampoo, soap, body wash, etc. I realized that organic products were vegan (meaning it does not contain animal products...who really wants animal products in their soaps?), not tested on animals, paraben free, etc. At first I didn't necessarily know what all of that meant, but when I compared those expensive organic products to the cheap crap I was buying I found that the cheap stuff was loaded with chemicals, contained animal by-products, and said no where on the bottle that they didn't test on animals which means they most likely do.  This was reason enough to spend more money on better quality products. However, I still wanted to do more research on these paraben things. 


I learned that parabens are essentially chemical preservatives put in cosmetics and personal care products to extend the shelf life...imagine that. If it weren't bad enough that stores are cramed packed full of preservatives in the grocery section but the personal care section too? So why does that make parabens so bad? Parabens mimic estrogen and disrupts your body's hormone balance and endocrine system which can cause all kinds of other problems such as weight gain, skin problems, fetus development, fertility and the list goes on and on. Since parabens promote cell growth they have been found in breast tumors as well. Bottom line they're scary. 


Click here to read more about parabens


Several months ago (probably about the time I became addicted to Pinterest) I decided to make as many products I could instead of buying store bought because: 
1. It saves a ton of money 
2. I can control what goes into the products
3. I have always liked the idea of doing things the old fashioned way
4. I get a kick out of making random stuff


So after months of forking over $8 for an 18 oz bottle of quality body wash I started making my own. I found a recipe on Pinterest from One Good Thing by Jillee whose blog I LOVE. It's incredibly easy to make and maybe takes five minutes. The five minutes I used to spend reading those labels deciding on what body wash to buy. 


Here is the recipe:


1.5 bars pure soap (locally made if possible)
3 cups water

 I got this cucumber soap from one of my favorite little health food stores for 1.89 each. Visit them here.

I warmed the 3 cups of water over a medium heat.

In the meantime I put the bars in a bowl then melted them in the microwave for 90 seconds.

Next I added the melted soap to the hot water and mixed until well combined.

I needed a container for my body wash so I hit the recycle container in my basement. I found this glass salsa jar and an old soap pump. It's like going garbage picking in your own trash and finding everything you wanted! This made my day :).

I drilled a hole in the lid for the soap pump to fit through. It wasn't quite big enough so I used needle nosed pliers to make it a little bigger.

I stuck the pump in the lid. Secure it with glue if needed.

I cut the straw part so it barely touches the bottom of the jar when the lid is secured.

Lastly, I poured the body wash into the jar and put the lid on. Let the body wash cool for several hours before using so the consistency can thicken.  

I used to pay $8 for 18 oz. 

Now I pay $3.78 for 28 oz and get the satisfaction of making it on my own and have a really neat little reusable container! Can't beat that!

-Shanny