Are you interested in making liquid castile soap from bars? Then you’re in the right place! Keep reading to learn how to make liquid castile soap from bars.
I’m sure that you’ve seen liquid castile soap recipes all over the place. Liquid castile soap has so many uses that it’s insane.
It can be used to make all kinds of cleaners, detergents and even shampoos and body washes. Dr. Bronner’s is a really popular option, but comes with a hefty price tag.
I learned how to take the inexpensive castile soap bars and turn them into liquid castile soap easily to save you even more money.
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Why make liquid castile soap from bars?
You’re probably asking me that right now. Why bother making it when I can just buy it?
As I mentioned before, Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap is a really popular choice. However, it can be pricey. It’s usually somewhere around $15 for a bottle. I’m not saying that still isn’t a good value considering how far this soap can be stretched.
However, I like to stretch my dollars as far as I can.
You can purchase bars of castile soap much cheaper. I figured that there was probably a way to turn that hard soap into liquid soap.
After searching around online for a while, I found there were so many “right” ways to create liquid castile soap from the castile soap bars.
Making liquid castile soap from bars
To make the liquid castile soap, the bar has to be heated until it melts. Castile soap is made from olive oil, so yes, it will melt instead of cooking and crumbling like some soaps do. Once the soap is melted, hot water is added and they are mixed to combine.
Save me for later!
The first step to making liquid castile soap from bars is to break the bars into smaller pieces.
This helps the bars heat up faster and melt quicker. You can do this by chopping them into pieces or you can grate them with a cheese grater.
I wasn’t sure how long it was going to take the pieces to melt, so I made them pretty small with the large holes of my cheese grater. If you go this route, the soap does grate pretty easily but it will give you an arm workout, especially if you do more than one bar!
I used three bars since I bought a three pack. This is the package that I bought. It was cheaper to purchase the three pack than to buy three individual bars. Save even more money when making liquid castile soap from bars when you buy a 24-pack or a bulk case of castile soap. This is what I plan on purchasing next time now that I know how easy it is to turn it into liquid!
I grated all of my bars straight into my crockpot. Once they were all in there, I turned the crockpot onto high.
To make liquid castile soap from bars, add water to the mixture.
For each bar of soap, plan on adding 2 cups of HOT water. I mean boiling or steaming hot water. Pour it directly into the crockpot. For three bars of soap, add six cups of hot water.
Put the lid on the crockpot and let it work its magic. It will heat up the soap and water. Plan on about an hour for it to really finish melting all of the soap if the soap is grated. It takes longer if you have larger chunks.
Once the castile soap and water is completely melted, stir it up. You can use an immersion blender if you have one, but I simply whisked mine around good.
Make sure that it’s completely blended up. After it’s completely blended, turn the crockpot off and remove the pot from the warmer. Let it cool for about an hour then you can pour it into a storage container.
I had an empty fabric softener bottle that I had cleaned that I poured my liquid castile soap into. Any glass or plastic container will do. Use a funnel and pour the soap into the container.
Learn how I quickly and easily clean out old candle jars for repurposed storage in this post.
Using liquid castile soap
There are so many ways that you can use liquid castile soap that it’s not even funny.
I plan on using mine to make household cleaners, laundry detergent and foaming hand soaps. A little bit of this liquid castile soap goes a long way. Think like one tablespoon to make a foaming hand soap. The amount from three bars of castile soap is similar to the amount that you would get in one bottle of Dr. Bronner’s and it’s so much cheaper.
Interested in other soap-making projects? Learn how to make goat’s milk soap in less than five minutes here.
Have you used liquid castile soap? Have you tried making liquid castile soap from bars? Let me know below!
Great blog post! I like the clear instructions. Does the liquid soap harden up after a while at all? Or does it stay as liquid-y as after melting? Thanks!
Hey Alice,
Unfortunately, this soap hardens again after about 6 months but it was not as hard as the original bar was. I wonder if adding an oil or possibly blending with an immersion blender would help keep it liquid longer. I haven’t been able to test a new batch yet though to see.
I don’t know how did you made your soap,but if you made it right,don’t dry up the liquid soap!I have liquid Castile soap I forgot about ,left in my shed 5 years ago and still liquid.
I don’t know if you have ever made your own soap, but what you could do is make your own castile soap, using potassium hydroxide instead of sodium hydroxide … you would process it in your crockpot, and then finish it by adding water … This is not my video, but is very informative on how to make the soap yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WPIMsLk1P8
Hey Heather,
Awesome suggestion! Thanks!
I would like to know what else could i use this mixture for beside hand soap? Im just beginning to go diy products and changing to zero waste.
Liquid castile soap is used in many household cleaners. You should be able to use it as dish soap and a general cleaner.
Just removed the crock pot bowl from the unit. All the castile had melted but the mixture looks very watery. Does this thicken up at all? I used 3 bars of Kirk’s castile and 6 cups of boiling water as per instructed.
Thanks
Blake,
Mine was also watery when it’s still hot but it did thicken up more.
Additionally, I wanted to use the liquid hand soap in my bathroom and kitchen pump bottles.
Do I dilute before using? Also there is guar gum that can be used to thicken if people want a gel like consistency.
Maribel,
I didn’t dilute mine before using but I would think that you could use it to make foaming hand soap, which is diluted. And thanks for the guar gum tip! I’ll have to try that with my next batch!
I followed your recipe and when it cooled over night, it was hard as a rock again. How can I fix that?
Hi, I do not own a crock pot, do you have any suggestions for an alternative? Thanks.
I tried this with a single bar as an experiment. Followed your instructions, and the soap has solidified after only a couple of weeks. Did I maybe not mix it enough following heating in the crockpot? Or, should I maybe increase the water from 2C to 2C+?
Eric,
I would try to remelt it and try adding more water. Let me know how it goes!