Lemon Thyme Foaming Hand Soap

I’ve written before about the dangers of antibacterial soap and why I opt for homemade hand sanitizer. I turn to natural products when I need a good hand soap to get rid of anything nasty on my hands.  This lemon thyme foaming hand soap smells lovely and helps keep hands clean, safely.

Is lemon safe to use?

Even though this blend contains lemon, an essential oil that’s considered to be photo-toxic, it’s safe to use in this recipe. Since it’s a wash off product, you don’t have to worry about it lingering on the skin and potentially causing burns. It’s also used at a 1.5 % concentration, which is less than what’s considered a safe limit to use even for a leave on product.

Kick germs butt

The lemon essential oil gives this a fresh, clean scent and helps cleanse skin. Thyme essential oil is another powerful cleanser. It’s a good broad spectrum oil that will take care of a wide variety of nastiness on surfaces, including skin (source).

Lemon essential oil is:

• An antioxidant that can inhibit cancer cell growth
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antibacterial against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria
• Antifungal

Thyme essential oil contains thymol, a potent disinfectant. It’s EPA approved  for neutralizing drug resistant MRSA, coronavirus (including the novel covid-19), and other viruses on surfaces. Thymol isn’t government endorsed for hand soap, but has a long history of safe use in skincare products when used correctly. Thyme essential oil is also effective against a wide variety of bacteria. Gram-positive bacteria and E-coli are especially susceptible (source).

Even the FDA (who I don’t usually agree with), recently asked  hand sanitizer and soaps makers to prove their products get rid of germs and are safe.

Why foaming soap?

Foaming hand soap is so much more fun than the regular kind, especially for little ones. It also lasts longer. I love the smell of the Mrs. Meyers brand of hand soaps, but it can quickly get expensive, so I find it’s cheaper to make my own. This way I can also customize the scent, and leave out any questionable ingredients.

Where to get a foaming soap container

You can re-purpose a plastic foaming pump dispenser from any brand at your local store, which is what I’ve done. You can also purchase foaming dispensers online. There are some really cute ones that use a mason jar for the base, and you attach the foaming pump to the top. This one is stainless steel so it’s more durable than plastic, and it would look really pretty on one of those blue glass mason jars!

Lemon thyme foaming hand soap

Prep Time

4 minutes

Total Time

4 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup Castile soap
• 2 TBSP distilled water
• 1 tsp sweet almond oil
• 3/4 tsp lemon essential oil
• 1/4 tsp thyme essential oil -thymol chemotype
• 1/8 tsp vitamin E oil

Instructions

1. In an 8 oz foaming soap dispenser combine the soap, sweet almond oil and essential oils. Stir or shake until everything is thoroughly combined. It should look creamy.
2. Add just enough distilled water to fill. Be sure to leave enough room for the pump lid.
3. Place the foaming lid on your soap container and use whenever you need to clean up your hands.

Notes

Most vitamin E oil is mixed with soybean oil or other filler ingredients. Be sure to use a concentrated vitamin E oil - alpha tocopherol should be the only ingredient on the label. 

© 2024 Recipe from The Herbal Spoon

What are your favorite soap scents? Let us know in the comments below and don’t forget to share this recipe!

Sources:

• Klimek-Szczykutowicz, M., Szopa, A., & Ekiert, H. (2020). Citrus limon (Lemon) Phenomenon-A Review of the Chemistry, Pharmacological Properties, Applications in the Modern Pharmaceutical, Food, and Cosmetics Industries, and Biotechnological Studies. Plants (Basel, Switzerland), 9(1), 119. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9010119
• EPA. (2020, March 3). EPA’s Registered Antimicrobial Products Effective Against Methicillian Resistant Staphyloccus aureus (MRSA) and/or Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus faecalis or faecium (VRE).  https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-03/documents/2020.03.03_listh.pdf
• EPA. (2020, March 13). Pesticide Registration: Selected EPA-Registered Disinfectants. https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/selected-epa-registered-disinfectants
• Marino, M., Bersani, C., Comi, G. (1999). Antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of Thymus vulgaris L. measured using a bioimpedometric method. J Food Prot. 62(9):1017-23. DOI: 10.4315/0362-028x-62.9.1017