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Homemade Dish Soap Recipe for the Zero-Waste Home
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January 8, 2021 · 26 Comments

Homemade Dish Soap Recipe for the Zero-Waste Home

Beauty· Household Products· Natural Home Ideas· Popular Posts· Soap

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A simple homemade dish soap recipe with long-lasting fluffy bubbles that get dishes squeaky clean. Perfect for the natural and zero-waste home.

I’ve been making handmade soap for over ten years but in all of that time, I’ve focused on body soap. Cold-process bar soap for whole-body use, and liquid hand soap for filling up pump dispensers. Natural cleaning doesn’t stop with personal care though, which is why I’m sharing how to make homemade dish soap. Unlike most body soap, this recipe creates very hard bars that are long-lasting and extremely effective at cutting through grease. It leaves dishes clean and sparkling while also being unscented, palm-oil free, Vegan, zero-waste, and best of all, 100% natural.

This recipe makes four to six bars of dish soap and the method is a very simple cold-process recipe. There’s a unique adjustment for the amount of lye you’ll use, and the two fats used are not in a proportion that you typically see in a soap recipe. Together, they create a soap that’s ready to use after two days and that has a thick sparkling lather for cleaning pots, pans, utensils, and dishes.

A simple homemade dish soap recipe with long-lasting fluffy bubbles that get dishes squeaky clean. Perfect for the natural and zero-waste home #soaprecipe #soapmaking #homecleaning

Wet the brush or scourer and rub it against the dish soap to create a thick lather

Cold-process dish soap

Most of the time when you make cold-process soap you add a superfat. This is a percentage of extra oil that does not saponify (change into soap) and stays free-floating in your bars. This extra oil makes body soap conditioning and gentler on the skin, but it can also leave an oily residue on dishes. When making cold-process dish soap you make the bars with 0% superfat to avoid this issue. Homemade dish soap also needs to have a much higher cleansing power than body soap, which is why this recipe is 70% coconut oil and 30% soy wax.

Soy wax is high in stearic acid and helps create a soap that has a long-lasting and stable lather. Stearic acid also helps bar soap to last longer when it becomes wet. Coconut oil, on the other hand, is highly cleansing, and most soap recipes tend to include it at a rate of about 25%. Sometimes a bit more, and sometimes a bit less, depending on your skin type and the superfat. When used at 70%, it creates a soap that can clean dishes (and your skin!) of oil. If you have sensitive or dry skin, I’d recommend using washing-up gloves when doing the dishes with this homemade dish soap.

A simple homemade dish soap recipe with long-lasting fluffy bubbles that get dishes squeaky clean. Perfect for the natural and zero-waste home #soaprecipe #soapmaking #homecleaning

The thick soap lather has a slight fizzing sound from cleansing citric acid

Using Citric Acid in Soap Recipes

Soap scum is bad enough in the shower, but it’s even worse on dishes. That’s why we add citric acid to dish soap recipes. Citric acid is a naturally fizzy substance that you often find in bath bombs; it’s also antibacterial and has a host of other useful properties. The magic of citric acid in soap making comes down to how it reacts with lye though. That reaction creates sodium citrate, a chelator that greatly reduces soap scum.

However, citric acid can also neutralize lye in cold-process soap making. What that means is that each gram of citric acid will neutralize 0.624 g of sodium hydroxide (source). Because this recipe uses 14 g of citric acid, we need to compensate by adding an extra 8.736 g of sodium hydroxide. If you fail to do this, then your soap will have a superfat of about 11%. Meaning that 11% of your oils do not turn into soap and that when you use the dish soap it will be slippery on your dishes and may leave a greasy residue.

Don’t worry though, I’ve worked out the difference and have worked it into the recipe.

A simple homemade dish soap recipe with long-lasting fluffy bubbles that get dishes squeaky clean. Perfect for the natural and zero-waste home #soaprecipe #soapmaking #homecleaning

This dish soap’s thick fluffy soap lather gets dishes squeaky clean

Washing dishes with homemade dish soap

The bars this dish soap recipe makes are pure white, very hard, and very brittle. Though you can pour the soap batter into a mold for traditional bars, pouring the soap into ramekins is even better. They’re perfect little containers that both store the soap and give you a surface to hold onto when creating the lather. After use, you can conveniently set them next to the sink or in a cupboard for the next time you wash up. Soap and soap dish in one! The ramekins I’m using are glass and the type that some desserts come in at the supermarket.

Washing dishes with homemade dish soap is a little different than using liquid dish soap. First of all, the soap is solid so you’ll need to work up a good lather on the brush. At this point, you can either wash the dishes with the brush or add the lather to your basin of hot water. The lather can be a little more slippery than conventional dish soap and you should thoroughly rinse the dishes with water before leaving them to dry. Without that rinse, it’s possible to get a soapy residue on your dishes and it’s particularly noticeable with glasses.

Lovely Greens Guide to Natural Soapmaking
A simple homemade dish soap recipe with long-lasting fluffy bubbles that get dishes squeaky clean. Perfect for the natural and zero-waste home #soaprecipe #soapmaking #homecleaning

Protect your homemade dish soap with beeswax wraps

Storing Zero-Waste Dish Soap

Homemade dish soap using my recipe has a zero percent superfat. That means that it’s extremely good at cleaning dishes while not leaving an oily residue. It also means that there are no extra oils floating around in the soap to go rancid. Once made, this soap has an indefinite shelf life but once you begin using a bar, make sure to use it all within six months. Until you use a bar, keep it stored in a place that’s dry and room temperature.

Handmade soap is best stored in the open, rather than in a sealed container. There is natural glycerin in handmade soap, and if you store it in a sealed container it has a tendency to draw moisture to it. However, beeswax wraps are breathable and will protect the soap from dust and spills. Simply fold the wrap over the soap and ramekin, and store until needed.

A simple homemade dish soap recipe with long-lasting fluffy bubbles that get dishes squeaky clean. Perfect for the natural and zero-waste home #soaprecipe #soapmaking #homecleaning

A simple homemade dish soap recipe with long-lasting fluffy bubbles that get dishes squeaky clean. Perfect for the natural and zero-waste home #soaprecipe #soapmaking #homecleaning

Homemade Dish Soap Recipe

Lovely Greens
A homemade dish soap that you can use for washing pots, pans, and dishes. It's ready to use two days after making it and is a great zero-waste cleaning product for the natural home. We also use citric acid in this recipe at a rate of 3% of the main soaping oils and because it neutralizes some of the lye, we compensate for the difference. Creates 4-6 solid white bars that last a long time and create thick, cleansing lather. Technical details: 0% superfat and a 35.7% water discount
4.8 from 5 votes
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Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Curing time 2 d

Equipment

  • Digital scale
  • Digital temperature gun (or thermometer)
  • Immersion blender
  • Stainless steel pan
  • Heat-proof jug for the lye-solution
  • 3 more jugs or containers
  • Rubber spatula for stirring and scraping
  • Glass or ceramic ramekins

Ingredients
  

Lye solution

  • 85 g Sodium hydroxide 3 oz
  • 123 g Distilled water 4.34 oz

Solid oils

  • 318 g Coconut oil (refined) 11.22 oz
  • 136 g Soy wax 4.8 oz

Citric acid solution

  • 14 g Citric acid 0.49 oz
  • 30 g Distilled water 1.06 oz

Instructions
 

  • Prepare your workstation with your tools and equipment. Put on rubber gloves, eye protection, and an apron. Carefully pre-measure the ingredients. The oil and wax into the pan, and the lye, 2x distilled water amounts, and citric acid into each of the four jugs.
  • Prepare the ramekins by washing and drying them thoroughly and setting them on a sheet of greaseproof paper. The ones I'm using came from a supermarket dessert pack and are 3¼" in diameter. At that size, you'll be able to perfectly fill four ramekins.
    If your ramekins are smaller, prepare a few extra and I imagine you can get six, or possibly more dish soaps. You can also pour the soap into ordinary molds but the soap hardens very quickly so I'd advise silicone cavity molds. If you use a loaf mold and cut the soap after two hours (or so) of making it, then it will crack and break as it's very brittle.
  • Next, dissolve the lye (sodium hydroxide) crystals in water designated for the lye solution. In an airy place, outdoors is best, pour the lye crystals into the water and stir well. There will be a lot of heat and steam so be careful. Try not to breathe it in. Leave outside in a safe place, or in a shallow basin of water to cool.
  • While the lye solution is cooling, make the citric acid solution. Pour the citric acid into the water set aside for it. Swirl and stir until the citric acid is fully dissolved. This can take up to a minute as the water will be room temperature.
  • Melt the coconut oil and soy wax in a stainless steel pan on very low heat. When melted, remove from the heat and set on a potholder. Pour in the citric acid solution and stir together well. You'll notice the citric acid solution beading up at the bottom of the pan. This is normal and simply because oil and water don't naturally mix.
  • Measure the temperatures of the lye-water and the contents of the pan. You should aim to cool them both to be about 125°F / 52°C*. The lye solution can be slightly higher than this but try not to soap at lower temperatures for this recipe.
  • When the temperatures are just right, pour the lye solution into the pan of oils.
  • Dip your immersion blender into the pan and with it turned off, gently stir the mixture. Next, bring it to the center of the pan, and with both your hands, hold it on the bottom of the pan and blitz it for just a couple of seconds. Turn it off and stir the soap batter, using the blender as a spoon. Repeat until the mixture thickens up to 'Trace'.
  • Trace is when the soap batter leaves a distinguishable trail on the surface. The consistency will be like thin custard. Trace happens very quickly in this recipe so please be prepared.
  • Working quickly, pour the soap into the ramekins. Give them a tap to settle the soap.
  • Leave the soap in a place that it won't be disturbed for two days. Saponification will be complete and you can begin using dish soap from that point. However, soap always performs better if you leave it to cure for at least 28 days.
  • To use your homemade dish soap I'd recommend using gloves, as the soap may be too cleansing for your hands. Wet the soap and work up a lather with a dish brush or scourer. When you have a good lather, use it to wash dishes or to add to your washing up water. Rinse dishes thoroughly with fresh water before drying.

Notes

* We can make this recipe at 125°F / 52°C for most types of soy wax. However, please check the melting point of your particular brand.
Keyword soap, soap recipe
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Haley Lafontaine says

    February 25, 2021 at 2:21 am

    Hi there. I’m looking to make this recipe and am wondering what my ramekin has to be made out of. Will A porcelain ramekin work? Can I pour my soap directly in to cure in there?

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      February 25, 2021 at 4:44 pm

      Glass or ceramic is best — I’m not sure about porcelain and wouldn’t want you to ruin the dish.

      Reply
  2. Janet says

    February 16, 2021 at 8:09 pm

    Hi, I’ve been making cold process soap for about 20 years. Just recently I’ve been trying to reduce my plastic usage and branching out.
    I’m the first to admit I’m no chemist! I find a recipe I like and stick with it.

    Here’s my problem. I have made another hard dish soap which worked wonderfully at our lake house. . Tons of suds and no residue. So I thought this is great and brought the same ramekin to our other place. It’s horrible! No lather waxy feel….so sad. I’m thinking the water has to be the difference. We have very soft water at our lake house.
    Do you think the addition of soy and citric acid will make a difference? My last recipe was coconut oil and tallow that came to zero fat.
    Now I’m afraid to make a another batch before the last can be used up.

    Care to give an opinion.?

    JR

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      February 17, 2021 at 7:02 pm

      Hi Janet, and you’re bang on the money with the water quality. Hard water can impede the lather of all-natural soap. However, adding citric acid to the recipe, as mine does, helps the soap to lather in hard water.

      Reply
  3. Leydie says

    February 16, 2021 at 1:58 am

    4 stars
    Hello,
    I really love this soap. The bubbles are truly fluffy and it lasts through piles of dishes!!! We dont get any residue on stainless steel pots or glass cups, they actually sparkle! But both my husband and I feel a little waxiness left on rubber or plastic material. I feel waxy residue leftover on our sponge and hands too even after a thorough cleaning, is this how the soap should feel? Is there any recommendation for reducing the waxy feel? Still very happy to have found your recipe, thank you!

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      February 16, 2021 at 9:19 am

      Hi Leydie, there shouldn’t be any waxy residue left in the soap as this is a zero superfat soap recipe. That means that the lye uses up every drop of oil and wax. If there’s a residue, it’s possible that you accidentally added too much oil or wax, or not enough citric acid. I’m glad it’s cleaning your pans and glasses though 🙂

      Reply
  4. Michelle Lee says

    February 13, 2021 at 3:59 pm

    Hello Tanya,
    I made these soaps but when I added the lye to the oil mixture it became in to trace instantly… I am not sure why this happened so I stirred really quickly and put it into the mold as fast as I can.. another thing is that I was excited to use these so when I tried it, on stainless steel pots and in the sink it gives like a white /film coating … so it doesn’t really feel clean… I wonder if this is from soy wax? Do you know what I did wrong?
    Thanks,
    Michele

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      February 14, 2021 at 4:17 pm

      Hi Michelle, this recipe does trace VERY quickly, but it’s possible that you experienced a false trace. That’s when the temperatures that you’re working at are so low that the solid oils re-solidify when you add the lye solution.

      Reply
      • Michelle Lee says

        February 14, 2021 at 4:42 pm

        I am not sure if that was the case because I made sure temperture in both oil mix and lye solution was at 125 degrees.

        Reply
  5. Liz says

    January 29, 2021 at 11:20 pm

    hi tanya
    oops – i meant the diameter at 3 1/4 inches
    cant type today – all fingers and thumbs it seems
    liz

    Reply
  6. Liz says

    January 29, 2021 at 11:19 pm

    5 stars
    hi tanya
    i am sooooooooo keen to try this recipe – you gave the measurement for the ramekin as 31/2 inches diameter – not a problem there – but what i am wondering about is the depth – my ramekins look so much deeper than yours and i dont want to make a huge block of it – i also have the 6 mold of round deepish pucks which i may end up looking for a dish to pop them in once they are set up – but if i could have the depth of the ones you used it would be easier to look for them
    hope that made sense – lol
    liz

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      February 3, 2021 at 10:52 am

      Hi Liz, the soap in my ramekins is about 3/4″ deep. Hope this helps 🙂

      Reply
  7. MeadowAndWoods says

    January 29, 2021 at 3:44 pm

    5 stars
    Hello Tanya, thank you for this wonderful, simple, and easy to make recipe. I made it as directed and it’s working great–so bubbly! I bought some cute ramekins on Amazon to match my kitchen. Love that I can use them over and over. This recipe filled six (6) traditional ramekins.

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      February 3, 2021 at 10:53 am

      Fantastic, and thank you for letting us know that it fills six traditionally sized ramekins. That will be a big help for others 🙂

      Reply
  8. Ramona Briggans says

    January 17, 2021 at 10:16 pm

    Hi Tanya, thank you for sharing your dish soap recipe. It seems really different from most I’ve researched so far. Can you share more about why you add the soy wax, it seems counter intuitive to me, and I’m afraid of clogging up the pipes in my old house.
    Ramona

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      January 18, 2021 at 11:00 am

      Soy wax is high in stearic acid and creates a soap that’s long-lasting and with big fluffy stable lather. From your question, I can tell that you’re a beginner and I recommend that you pick up a copy of my Guide to Natural Soapmaking. It will introduce you to the chemistry of cold-process soapmaking and lead you on to how to make your first batches of natural soap.

      Reply
      • EVELYN Pereira says

        February 22, 2021 at 4:00 am

        Hola recién estoy incursionando en los jabones y quería sabes si es q le pongo más agua a esta receta podré obtener un jabón líquido

        Reply
        • lovelygreens says

          February 23, 2021 at 7:39 pm

          I put your comment into google translate and got “Hi, I’m just getting into soaps and I wanted to know if I put more water in this recipe, I can get a liquid soap”

          The answer to this is no. Making liquid soap is a much different process, using a different type of lye. Here’s my recipe.

          Reply
  9. Lisa Atwood says

    January 11, 2021 at 3:13 am

    5 stars
    Hi Tanya!
    I love your website, recipes and helpful tips! Thanks so much for sharing your hard work! My question is also about the soy wax. I don’t have any on hand, but I do have stearic acid. If I put that in the soap calculator along with the coconut oil and citric acid, will that produce the same hard bar with fluffy lather? I saw a S.C. with citric acid on the list, but I can’t remember which one. I think soap calculator made the needed adjustment for the citric acid. Assuming I can find that calculator again, would you recommend the use of stearic acid as a substitute to soy wax?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      January 11, 2021 at 4:42 pm

      Hi Lisa, I don’t work with stearic acid in soapmaking personally, but yes it’s possible to add it to the recipe to compensate for the 26% lost from the soy wax (The total recipe contains 28% stearic acid naturally occurring in the oil and wax.) Doing that will help keep the lather thick and creamy.

      Reply
  10. Kim says

    January 10, 2021 at 4:26 pm

    Wow, amazing. I’ve never gotten into soapmaking before, and want to see if it is cost-effective.

    Do you have any suggestions for buying sodium hydroxide or soy wax in bulk?

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      January 11, 2021 at 4:49 pm

      Hi Kim, it will be different based on your country/region and suppliers but I have some listed at the bottom of this piece.

      Reply
  11. Shelly says

    January 10, 2021 at 3:11 pm

    Can it be any wax that you use I have beeswax and would prefer to use that or how would you adjust this recipe for that? Can you give me any advice? And also can you put essential oils in this soap?

    Reply
    • lovelygreens says

      January 10, 2021 at 4:27 pm

      Hi Shelly, to answer your question, no, you cannot replace the soy wax with beeswax. Handmade soap with more than 2% beeswax loses its ability to produce lather and to clean. If you wanted to make this recipe without soy wax, you could make it with 100% coconut oil but the lye amount would change. You would have to work that out using the SoapCalc and manually add the amount back in that the citric acid uses up.

      As for essential oils, I wouldn’t recommend using them on items that you wish to eat from. I don’t recommend that they’re used in dishsoap.

      Reply
      • Theresa Bauman says

        February 16, 2021 at 8:26 pm

        Hi Tanya!
        I was looking online for soy wax and all I am seeing is soy wax for candle making. Is this the same soy wax? I just want to make sure I buy the right kind. 🙂 Or, can you suggest a brand or share an Amazon link?
        Thanks!
        Theresa

        Reply
        • lovelygreens says

          February 17, 2021 at 7:03 pm

          Yes, it’s the same stuff 🙂 Just make sure that it’s 100% soy wax since some types can have additives.

          Reply

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Tanya Anderson Lovely Greens Welcome to Lovely Greens. I'm Tanya and I share ideas on growing organic herbs, vegetables, and fruit and then creatively using them in the home, beauty, and kitchen. Learn more about Lovely Greens

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