Body washes are immensely enjoyable to craft, not only because they are relatively simple to make and flop proof, but because you know exactly what's going onto your skin, you can customise them to a degree, as well as pick any fragrance you want!
In my recent testing sessions, I've discovered there are two primary ways to make a body wash. First you can make up the liquid body wash and then add in a small amount of xanthan gum to thicken it, or, you can make a xanthan gum gel and then add the surfactants to the gel. Both work equally well and I've tried and tested them in the shower. You need only a small amount of body wash on a shower scrunchie for an amazingly lathery wash.
The below recipes can be doubled or tripled to make larger batches. And as always with surfactant formulas, if you want to add in some additional carrier oil, aloe vera or even honey for sensitive or dry skin types, it won't break the recipe. You can also add in additional xanthan gum or xanthan gel if you want a thicker shower gel type of consistency.
Below you can see both ways to make the body wash and decide which you find easier. I used pretty much the same ingredients in both recipes for simplicity's sake. Grapeseed oil is what I had on hand and it is a nice versatile oil, but you can use any carrier oil, or even a blend of two oils if you are feeling fancy or want to craft a luxury body wash. Vegetable glycerine is important for its moisture-giving properties. Try playing around with different essential oils to suit your scent and skin needs too.
1st Method - Basic DIY Body Wash
Ingredients:
- 3% lauryl glucoside
- 5% coco glucoside
- 6% OliveM 300
- 13% rosewater or another hydrosol
- 55% distilled or boiled and cooled water - can sub some water out for aloe vera to make more an even gentler wash
- 6% vegetable glycerine
- 1% xanthan gum
- 6% grapeseed oil or another oil of your choice
- Essential oils of your choice. I'm currently enjoying a sweet, warming blend of rose, geranium and vanilla, and thinking some spicy cinnamon would be really nice too!
- 4% coco betaine
- Citric acid solution to adjust the pH
- pH test strips
- 1% preservative such as Geogard 221
Method:
- Blend the glycerine and xanthan gum together in a beaker to hydrate.
- Slowly blend in the water to form a gel.
- Blend the two glucosides together to form a paste (lauryl glucoside is a very sturdy paste already)
- Add then to the xanthan gum gel.
- Add in the OliveM 300 and rosewater and blend.
- Drizzle in the grapeseed oil and blend.
- Add in the coco betaine and add in your essential oils.
- Adjust the pH with a citric acid solution.
- Add your preservative and blend everything with your blender.
- Test with your pH test strips to make sure the body wash is around 5 to 6. 5.5 is ideal.
- Pour into a pump bottle or a generic wide mouth bottle and enjoy.
12 comments
Hi Juliette, I used the recipe for the second basic body wash. Two questions please:
1. In making the xanthan gel, I wasn’t sure what the final consistency should be – mine was gel-like but still firm. Is this correct?
2. I had to use more water to get the body wash to a liquid consistency and the final product is opaque rather than clear. What is it supposed to look like? I’d really like to make a liquid clear gel body wash. :-)
Kind regards
Melanie
Hi Leona, a citric acid solution is simply a little citric acid in some water. I usually make a 10% solution, so 1g citric acid in 9g water.
Yes if your pH is very low you may need to bring it up. Use something with a high pH such as L-arginine, baking soda, or even sodium hydroxide. We also have a blog on pH which has some helpful info on this topic :)
When you say “citric acid solution” what exactly is that? I see the acid but how do I turn it into a solution? Also if the ph level is low how do I bring it up? Because citric acid is used to decrease the ph level so how will it work? Thanks
Hi Sandra, yes you can use Euxyl instead of the Geogard.
Can Euxyl be used since there aren’t any High levels of ethoxylated surfactants?