WellGal

This homemade eco-friendly cream cleanser not only smells fabulous, but is super effective at disinfecting, cutting through grease and grime, whitening, and removing dirt. Plus, it costs just pennies to make! Photo © Karen Peltier

Years ago I got sick of using bleach-filled, toxic, soft scrub cleansers to clean my kitchen sink, shower tile, and bathtub, so I researched some natural alternatives. I found that by simply mixing together some baking soda and liquid castile soap, I could get similar, if not even better, results. Plus, I discovered that by using castile soaps that contained essential oils, I could enjoy the aromatherapeutic benefits and make a disinfectant scrub cleanser without the need for bleach.

After using my own homemade scrub cleansers for awhile, I realized they were better than store-bought regular cleansers in many ways. For one thing, they were much cheaper. I could make several bottles of cleanser for the price of one conventional commercial cleanser. Also, I knew what was in my products, which was great considering many companies were not at all transparent when it came to ingredients. What I liked most of all is that I could modify them to suit my needs. My creative nature enjoyed that! For example, for the bathroom, eucalyptus or tea tree castile soap worked well for the disinfectant properties. For the kitchen, citrus or peppermint scented castile soap was very invigorating and didn’t make me mind scrubbing the kitchen sink or cooktop that much. (Seriously!)

So why not substitute your conventional cream scrubs and cleansers with this all-natural, home made cream cleanser that’s fantastic at zapping germs in the kitchen and bathroom? It’s easy on you and the environment and it only takes a couple of minutes to whip up a huge batch.

Ingredients

• 1 cup liquid castile soap scented with essential oils
• 1½ cups baking soda

Makes about 16 fluid ounces.

Many brands of castile soap are readily available these days, such as Dr. Bronners and Dr. Woods, and they come in a variety of heavenly scents. A few of my favorite scents are peppermint, tea tree, lavender, eucalyptus, rose, and ginger-grapefruit. Castile soap is readily available at most natural grocery stores or on-line from sources, such as Amazon, Mountain Rose Herbs, and Abe’s Market.

I’ve been using a lot of ginger-lemongrass castile soap lately, so I decided to use that to make some of this earthy cleanser.

Let me show you how easy it is!

Directions

A few minutes of good mixing are required to incorporate the castile soap into the baking soda when making the cream cleanser. Photo © Karen Peltier

OK. There’s not much to it. Simply mix together your castile soap and baking soda and store it in a tightly closed, labeled container. Hard, huh?

If you prefer to scoop out your creamy cleanser creation, say with a sponge, then I’ve found storing it in a left-over, large yogurt or whipped cream container helpful. But, if you want to squeeze it out, then recycle a flip-top shampoo/conditioner bottle or get a new travel-sized one.

That’s all there is to it! I told you it was easy.

Tips

• Don’t limit yourself to using just one type of castile soap. Feel free to mix and match! For example, lavender and citrus castile soap are fantastic together and so is lavender and tea tree.
• For the bathroom or for use during cold and flu season, tea tree castile soap is a great choice because tea tree essential oil has natural antimicrobial, antifungal, antiseptic, bactericidal, and insecticidal properties. You’ll be sure that you’ve zapped those icky germs dead and stopped the spread of unwanted viruses, such as the flu and herpes simplex.
• 

  The final consistency of the scrub is rather creamy and liquidy, which is OK because it sets up a little more over time. But if you find a lump like the one shown on the spoon, keep mixing! Photo © Karen Peltier

  I’ve found that depending on the temperature in my house, the consistency of this cleanser can change. So keep that in mind and modify the amounts of baking soda and castile soap as necessary.

Why It Works So Well

Baking soda is an awesome gentle cleanser that won’t scratch your surfaces. It also has inherent bactericidal and whitening properties, so it is great at removing stains and brightening porcelain sinks, tubs, and tile. In addition, it cuts through grease and grime without a problem, which is why I love using this cleanser for my pots and pans, even non-stick ones.

Many brands of castile soap are on the market, so you should be able to easily find one you like. Photo © Karen Peltier

Castile soap is simply a fantastic, all-around cleaner. Because it’s 100% natural and works as a surfactant, it easily lifts away dirt and grease. And when you combine that with the power of essential oils, many of which have natural antiseptic, antiviral, bactericidal, and fungicidal actions, such as lavender, you have a win-win situation.

Your Thoughts

Well, what do you think? Are you tempted to make this easy, two-ingredient, green cleanser? If you give it a try, please do report back and let me know how you liked it.

Copyright © Karen Peltier and Well Gal, 2014 – 2015. All rights reserved.
Photos © Karen Peltier and Well Gal, 2014 – 2015.