DIY Hand Soap

I made my own hand soap recently.  It only took a few tries :)  My hands get so dry washing them frequently, despite the "moisturizing" refill soap I had purchased.  I would have to apply lotion constantly.  I used this tutorial.  


My downfall was choice of soap (which actually was pointed out by the tutorial author, I just didn't read closely).  Don't use Dove Sensitive skin--it won't thicken.  I ended up looking for the brand the author suggested--Yardley.  Bonus they had a lemon variety (I love lemon soap).  One batch will make a lot of soap, 10 cups worth.  It can take forever to gel--like a whole day--and then the texture can be a bit funny and you may want to try to beat it (I wish I had a stick blender) to make it more smooth.  Funny texture aside, I love my new soap.  It smells better and is much more moisturizing than the refills I was buying.

I have been loving the mason jar trend for a while now.  I particularly liked the jar turned soap dispenser--what a clever idea.  I could have made it myself (after acquiring some tools and supplies), but bought a fancy lid from Etsy with some of my Christmas money.  I didn't have the right size jar on hand at home so found one for fifty cents at the thrift store.  I think it's super cute in my kitchen.