Raw & unfiltered honey makes for clean plates, but it can help with clean hands, too. There’s no end to the surprising ways honey can help out around the house, and while we’re all paying extra attention to our hygiene. If you’ve spent any time online in the past few months, you’ve seen it: handwashing content. It’s everywhere. There’s this instructional video from the WHO. And this article from the New York Times; it’s almost as thorough as a proper handwashing. Or, if those aren’t exciting enough for you, there are catalogues of songs to help you keep washing longer.

Well, we’re here to make your hand hygiene a little sweeter – and maybe even save you some money – with a homemade honey hand soap. This post was inspired by one of our followers on Facebook, Doll Champ, who makes her own hand soap.

It turns out, it’s remarkably easy to pull off. Her recipe calls for just four ingredients:

– Castile soap:

The potassium hydroxide inside will do most of the heavy (germ) lifting in your hand soap. For a popular, organic option, try Dr. Bronner’s.

– Vitamin E (optional):

This preservative and antioxidant helps keep your hands soft and moisturized. You can add more in, but you don’t have to. It’s also in Dr. Bronner’s in the form of tocopherol.

– Local Hive Honey: we’ve blogged before about raw & unfiltered honey’s antibacterial properties, and its texture makes it a perfect addition to a DIY cleanser for your hands, face or anything else.

– Essential oil

This is primarily for scent, so the exact combination is up to you. Lavender, tea tree, peppermint, eucalyptus – all are great choices. You can even mix them to create your own unique scent. 

Instructions:

1. Grab a foaming hand soap dispenser. Sure, you could buy one, but why not just reuse one you’ve already got at the house?
2. Fill it about 1/6 full with undiluted Castile soap.
3. Add the same amount of honey. Your bottle should be about 1/3 full.
4. Add a few (5-10) drops each of Vitamin E and essential oils.
5. Using a funnel, fill the rest of the bottle with hot water. Shake or swirl gently until it’s all mixed together.
6. Scrub away, and don’t delay. The CDC recommends washing your hands at least 10 times a day.