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Super easy diy shower gel

How To Make Shower Gel At Home Without Lye

My super easy diy shower gel recipe that you can whip up and use at home in literally minutes. I'm using mild, natural, and easy to use surfactants that are suitable for even the most sensitive of skins. 
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Prep Time: 5 minutes
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Course: DIY Bath & Body
Cuisine: N/A
Difficulty Level: Easy
Yield (adjustable): 200 grams (aprox)
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Ingredients:

Equipment:

Instructions:

  • Place the glycerine into a jug or beaker, then add the xanthan gum to it. Mix well until the xanthan gum has completely dissolved into the glycerine.
    20 grams Glycerine, 2 grams Xanthan Gum
    Step 1: Add the glycerine and xanthan gum to a beaker and stir thoroughly
  • Weigh the coco glucoside into a small beaker and add the essential oils. You will need to stir the coco glucoside to fully disperse the essential oils within it. This needs to be done carefully so to prevent unwanted foaming.
    If you are using an oil-based preservative you will also need to add and blend this in now. A water-based preservative should be added later in step 5.
    25 grams Coco Glucoside, 0.5 grams Grapefruit Essential Oil, 0.5 grams Bergamot Essential Oil
    Step 2: Weigh out the coco glucoside and add the essential oils, stir slowly to prevent foaming
  • Pour the coco glucoside into the glycerine and gum mixture. Once again you will need to make sure you combine this well, whilst being careful not to foam up the surfactant too much.
    Step 3: Add the surfactant/essential oil mixture to the glycerine/xanthan gum and stir slowly to prevent foaming
  • Whilst stirring, slowly add the distilled water to the gum mixture. Stir gently until it has fully combined and has thickened.
    150 grams Distilled Water
    Step 4: Add the distilled water to the mixture and stir slowly to prevent foaming. Liquid soap dye should also be added at this stage
  • Once the gel is nice and thick, stir in the preservative then add a couple of drops of liquid soap coloring (if using).
    2 grams Preservative, Liquid Soap Dye
    Step 5: Add the preservative and stir slowly to prevent foaming
  • Coco glucoside can have a high PH level so it's good to test your shower gel using a PH strip. This needs to fall slightly onto the acidic side with a range of between 4 and 6. If it’s a little too high, you can use a PH modifier to bring it down. You can use Lactic acid or Citic acid.
    To test the PH, dip one of your universal indicator strips into your body wash mixture. Compare this to the scale that comes with your strips. If it’s a little too high, you can add a couple of drops of lactic acid to bring it down.
    If you are using citric acid as a PH modifier, it will need to be diluted in a solution of 10% citric acid to 90% distilled water. Make sure to add small amounts at a time and then test again, repeating until you reach a reasonable PH. You don't want to risk wasting your entire batch by adding too much of your PH modifier.
    Because this recipe contains a surfactant, it is highly unlikely that your body wash will test lower than a 4 on the PH scale, so don’t worry too much about needing to raise it.
    PH Modifier
    Step 6: Test the PH level of your soap, it should be slightly acidic between 4 and 6. Add lactic acid to lower it and bicarbonate of soda to increase it
  • Transfer to a PET plastic bottle with pump or screw cap lid to store. Keep out of direct sunlight, especially if your bottle is clear plastic.
    1 Pump Bottle
    Step 7: Transfer to a PET plastic bottle with a pump or screw cap lid

Notes:

This homemade shower gel contains a preservative so should last around 9 Months
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