How To Make Shower Gel

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How To Make Shower Gel

Do store bought shower gels irritate your skin? 

They contain so many unnecessary ingredients that can do more harm than good. Making a homemade shower gel means you can use more natural ingredients and avoid all of those nasty chemicals!

Read on to try our two diy shower gel recipes!

Contents

Why Make Your Own Shower Gel?

Many store bought shower gels are full of surfactants to make the product lather a lot. But these surfactants are irritating for a lot of skin types and can cause redness, sensitivity and itchy skin.

Making your own shower gel means you can avoid unnecessary chemicals and irritants. Our premade bases are great natural alternatives and they only contain the necessary ingredients. 

It is also so simple to make and you can also personalise it with your favourite scents!

You will notice the homemade shower gel does not lather up a lot compared to commercial shower gels, but this does not mean it is not cleansing your skin!

Difference Between Castile Soap Base and Body Wash Base

The body wash base and castile soap base are very similar. Both bases contain certified organic and naturally derived ingredients. They are also SLS and SLES free, meaning they are very gentle on the skin and great for sensitive skin types!  

However, they do contain slightly different ingredients.

Castile soap base ingredients

Our castile soap base is made up of organic coconut and high oleic sunflower oils. It is also suitable for both bottles and foam dispensers. The liquid castile soap base contains less ingredients than the body wash, so it may be more suitable for those with really sensitive skin.

Here’s a breakdown of the ingredients:

Body wash base ingredients

Our body wash base is made with organic sunflower and coconut oils and it makes a velvety lather! The body wash base does contain a few more ingredients than the liquid castile soap base, but it is still great for those with sensitive skin.

Here’s a breakdown of the ingredients:

Shower Gel Recipe With Castile Soap Base

Ingredients

Method

1. Weigh the castile soap base and essential oils

  • Weigh the castile soap base into a bowl.
  • Measure the grapefruit, lemon and bergamot essential oils in a separate container.
  • Pour the essential oils into the liquid soap base and mix well.

2. Make a salt solution (optional)

  • If the consistency of the shower gel is too thin, make the salt solution.
  • Weigh the salt and warm water into a separate container and mix well.
  • Once fully combined, add the salt solution a drop at a time to the shower gel mixture. Make sure to mix each drop in well, until it reaches a consistency you are happy with.
  • We added around 3g of salt solution to reach the consistency we wanted.

3. Pour into a container

  • Once the shower gel is fully combined, pour it into a container of your choice.
  • Now your diy shower gel is ready to use!

TIP: The castile soap base is very thin to start with, so we highly recommend adding salt solution to thicken it.

This shower gel does lather up, but it may be difficult to get a lot of lather from it. It doesn't lather up as much as a commercial shower gel, as it doesn't contain the popular surfactants.

Shower Gel Recipe With Body Wash Base

Ingredients

Method

1. Weigh the body wash base and essential oils

  • Weigh the body wash base into a bowl.
  • Measure the essential oils in a separate container.
  • Pour the essential oils into the body wash base and mix well.

2. Pour into a container

  • Once the shower gel is fully combined, pour it into a container of your choice.
  • Now your homemade shower gel is ready to use!

TIP: We have tested this diy shower gel recipe and it has a lovely velvety lather. It doesn't lather up as much as a commercial shower gel, as it doesn't contain the popular surfactants. But remember, if it doesn't lather, it is still cleaning your skin!

This base already has a thick consistency, so we did not add any salt solution. 

How Can I Customise The Shower Gel?

If you don't love the essential oils in these recipes, it is so easy to swap them! Explore our full range of natural essential oils here!

If you are going to change the essential oils in the recipe, it is important to note that you can only add up to 0.5% essential oil to the castile soap base and the body wash base. You will also need to check category 9 in the IFRA for your new essential oil to check the maximum usage rates. If the usage rate is lower than 0.5%, you must stick to the usage rates on the document. You can find the IFRA documents in our technical documents file here.

Here are some more blends you can try in your diy shower gel…

Refreshing Blend:

Sweet and Woody Blend:

Can I Add Other Ingredients?

Many recipes online say you can add extra carrier oils, butters, aloe vera and other ingredients to the premade bases. However, this is not the case with our premade bases.

The castile soap base and body wash base are only suitable for fragrance oils or essential oils to be added. Adding extra ingredients will affect the stability of the base.

Similarly, castile soap base is often diluted with water. Our castile soap base is prediluted so you do not need to dilute it further!

Can I Leave My Shower Gel Unscented?

Absolutely! If you have really sensitive skin, essential oils may not be suitable for your skin and may cause irritation.

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Now you know how to make your own shower gel, why not continue reading?

Did you enjoy this diy shower gel recipe? Show us how it turned out! Tag us on Instagram or Facebook or use our hashtag #thesoaperyuk

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