Aloe & Glycerine Liquid Hand Wash

Weekly DIY

Aloe & Glycerine Liquid Hand Wash

Bring a little homemade care to your bathroom sink with this Aloe & Glycerine Liquid Hand Wash. Two mild surfactants create the cleansing blend, while Aloe Vera and Vegetable Glycerine add a skin-conditioning touch.

If you’ve been curious about making a cleanser from scratch, this is a lovely place to start. You’ll learn how to make a smooth gel, blend your surfactants and adjust the finished pH — useful skills to take into your next DIY project.

Enjoy it unscented, or take inspiration from the fragrance ideas below when you’re ready to make it your own.

This recipe builds on our DIY Liquid Hand Wash guide, using Aloe Vera Liquid-Gel and straightforward measurements by weight.

Everyday Hand Care • Learning to Formulate • Bathroom & Kitchen

25–40 Minutes, Plus Time to Settle
Beginner+ • Includes pH Adjustment
Concerns
Frequent WashingDry-Feeling HandsEveryday Skin Comfort
Benefits
Gentle CleansingSoft LatherAloe & GlycerineUnscented
Format
Liquid Hand Wash • Standard Pump Bottle
Shelf life
See Storage Guidance Below

What You'll Need

Let’s make a 100g trial batch. At this size, each percentage matches its weight in grams, which makes the recipe easy to follow and scale later.

Decyl Glucoside
10% | 10g
Our main cleansing ingredient, chosen for its mildness and lather. We’ll check and adjust the finished pH once everything is blended.

Cocamidopropyl Betaine
15% | 15g
A helpful partner to Decyl Glucoside, supporting the foam and mildness of the cleansing blend.

Xanthan Gum 200 Mesh
1% | 1g
Gives the wash its gel texture. A little patience during hydration helps it come together smoothly.

Vegetable Glycerine
3% | 3g
A moisture-attracting humectant that also helps us wet the Xanthan Gum evenly before adding water.

Aloe Vera Liquid-Gel
3% | 3g
A botanical skin-conditioning addition. Use our preserved liquid aloe ingredient for this recipe; fresh leaf gel behaves differently.

Geogard 221
1% | 1g
The preservative in our recipe, included to help protect your water-based hand wash during storage and use.

Deionised Water
Balance to 100% | up to 67g
The main liquid in the recipe. Keep a little back for the pH adjustment and final top-up.

Citric Acid (Anhydrous)
As needed, prepared as a 10% solution
Helps bring the finished pH down to 5.0–5.5. The amount of solution you use counts towards the final 100g batch.

What Else You’ll Need

  • A digital scale reading to 0.01g, two clean bowls or beakers, and stirring utensils
  • A small separate container and a dropper or pipette for the citric acid solution
  • pH strips suited to the 4–7 range, or a suitable calibrated pH meter
  • A clean standard liquid-soap pump bottle

The fixed ingredients total 33g. The remaining 67g is shared between plain Deionised Water and the full amount of Citric Acid solution you use. For example, if your pH adjustment takes 1g of solution, you’ll use 66g of plain water. The actual amount of solution depends on your pH readings.

How to Make

  1. Clean and sanitise your mixing vessels, utensils and pump bottle. Weigh your recipe ingredients, keeping a little of the Deionised Water aside for the pH adjustment and final top-up.
  2. In a separate small container, dissolve 1g Citric Acid in 9g Deionised Water to make a 10% solution. Weigh this separately from your recipe water. You’ll use only as much solution as needed; the amount you add will count towards the finished 100g batch.
  3. Stir 1g Xanthan Gum into 3g Vegetable Glycerine until all the powder is evenly wetted. Take a moment to work out any dry pockets.
  4. Gradually stir the main portion of the recipe’s Deionised Water into the paste. Give the gum time to hydrate, stirring until you have a smooth, even gel.
  5. Stir in 3g Aloe Vera Liquid-Gel and 1g Geogard 221 at room temperature until evenly incorporated.
  6. In your second mixing vessel, slowly combine 10g Decyl Glucoside and 15g Cocamidopropyl Betaine. Gentle stirring will keep the bubbles manageable.
  7. Gradually fold the surfactant blend into the gel, mixing until everything is evenly combined. A few bubbles or slight cloudiness are normal.
  8. Check the pH, aiming for 5.0–5.5. If it needs lowering, add your prepared Citric Acid solution a little at a time, mixing thoroughly and retesting between additions.
  9. Top up with Deionised Water until the complete batch weighs 100g. Mix gently and check the pH once more to confirm it is 5.0–5.5.
  10. Once the final pH is within range, let the bubbles settle, then transfer your hand wash to a clean standard pump bottle.

How to Use

Guidance

Wet your hands, dispense a little hand wash and work it into a lather. Wash thoroughly, rinse with clean water and dry with a clean towel.

The lather develops as you rub the wash between your wet hands. A standard liquid-soap pump is the right choice for this gelled version.

Ruth’s little tip: Give your freshly made wash some time to settle before bottling. Even gentle stirring introduces a few bubbles, so a little patience makes for a neater finish.

Keep your pump bottle closed between uses and avoid adding water to it as you use the wash. Geogard 221 is included for preservation, but a shelf life has not been established by microbial and stability testing for this particular recipe. Make small batches for personal use and discard any wash that changes unexpectedly in smell, colour or texture.

For external use only. Avoid contact with eyes, patch test if you have sensitive skin, and discontinue use if irritation develops.

Make It Yours

  • Find a scent you love: Fragrance is one of the loveliest ways to give a handmade wash its own character. For a scented trial batch, follow your chosen oil’s rinse-off usage guidance and check that it blends evenly with the wash. Some oils or blends may need a suitable solubiliser. Count any fragrance and solubiliser within the final batch weight, reduce the water accordingly, and check the finished blend’s pH and stability.
  • Keep it simple: Prefer fragrance-free? Enjoy the recipe just as it is.
  • Play with the texture: For a lighter texture, try 0.5% Xanthan Gum in your next small trial batch, adding the 0.5% difference to the water. Let the gum hydrate fully, then check the finished texture and pH.
  • Make a little more: Happy with your first batch? To make 200g, double the fixed ingredient weights, adjust the pH and use Deionised Water to bring the finished batch to 200g.

Pro Tips & Storage

  • Why Use Two Surfactants?
    They work as a team: Decyl Glucoside provides cleansing, while Cocamidopropyl Betaine supports the lather and mildness of the blend.

  • What Do Aloe and Glycerine Bring?
    Aloe Vera adds a botanical skin-conditioning touch, while Glycerine attracts moisture. Glycerine also does a useful job in the mixing bowl by helping you disperse the gum.

  • How Do I Get a Smooth Gel?
    Thoroughly wet the Xanthan Gum with Glycerine first, then add the water gradually and give the gum time to hydrate. Once you add the surfactants, stir gently to keep excess bubbles down.

  • How Do I Get the pH Right?
    Decyl Glucoside is alkaline as supplied, so checking the finished pH is part of making this wash. Aim for 5.0–5.5, adding your 10% Citric Acid solution in small amounts and retesting as you go.

  • Why Do We Use a Preservative?
    A hand wash contains water and is used over time, so Geogard 221 has an essential role in this recipe. Keep the full 1% in your batch and follow the storage guidance above.

  • Which Bottle Should I Choose?
    Choose a standard liquid-soap pump. This wash lathers in your hands; a specialist foaming dispenser needs a much thinner formulation.
Decyl Glucoside (Sulfate-Free) - Essentially Natural

Decyl Glucoside (Sulfate-Free) - Essentially Natural

R39.00
Essentially Natural Cocamidopropyl Betaine - Sulfate Free

Cocamidopropyl Betaine (Mild Sulfate-Free Surfactant) - Essentially Natural

R15.00
Aloe Vera Liquid-Gel - Essentially Natural

Aloe Vera Liquid-Gel - Essentially Natural

R20.00
Sunlit notebook, pen, botanicals and amber glass bottle on Ruth Elston's writing desk

Ruth Elston

Ruth Elston is a published author and natural health enthusiast whose books include What Is Arnica? and How to Use Tea Tree Oil. With a love for botanical ingredients and sharing useful discoveries, Ruth enjoys making the fascinating world of natural ingredients a little more approachable.

Through Essentially Natural's Weekly DIY recipes, she brings that same curiosity and thoughtful approach to homemade skincare. Her recipes combine clear instructions, practical ingredient insights and a little gentle encouragement, helping you understand not just what to do, but why it works.

Away from her writing, Ruth enjoys reading, walking on the beach and spending time with her family and dogs.

After all, there's something rather lovely about making something yourself, especially when you know exactly what goes into it.

Explore Ruth Elston's published books on Amazon