Her Simple Home: Foaming Hand Soap

Who doesn't enjoy a yummy smelling hand soap?! I'm sure we have all had those foaming hand soaps from Bath and Body in our bathrooms and enjoy picking out new scents, or we have gotten them as gifts. Over the years I have gotten more selective in the scents I choose, nothing floral and perfumy, or that smells to strong. Eventually I was only getting ones like vanilla, cinnamon or lemon because I liked the more natural smells. Now that we are hearing more negative talk about anti-bacterial soap I started wondering if using these yummy smelling soaps was such a good idea. Then I read about triclosan and I really got nervous.

Triclosan is commonly used as the anti-bacterial agent that could be found in hand soap, toothpaste, cosmetics and lotion. One article I read explained that triclosan was tested on animals and they noticed hormonal changes, so they don't recommend pregnant women to use anti-bacterial soap. So I'm thinking, if pregnant women aren't suppose to use it, I don't think anyone should!

What's so bad about anti-bacterial soap? I'm not a scientist or doctor so don't quote me on this, but it was explained to me like this and it makes sense:

Anti-bacterial soap is designed to kill all germs, even good germs. This weakens our immune system, raising our chances of getting sick. Anti-bacterial soap works the same way antibiotics do, so we are putting antibiotics on our skin (thus into our system) several times a day. These few reasons were enough motivation for me to make a change in my home.

Save the foaming hand soap dispencers and you're ready to make your own soap :) I peeled the labels off and scrubbed any sticky residue off with lemon essential oil and a rag then washed them with hot soapy water.

I used Dr. Bronner's Unscented Baby-Mild Pure Castile Soap because it's scent free, this allows me to add essential oils for different yummy smells. I have also used free and clear dish soap. You can use any kind of soap you like....the choice is yours! Pour 3 tablespoons of soap into the bottle along with 10 drops of your favorite essential oil, this time I made a lavender and a Theives (blend from Young Living).