Homemade Body Wash

Homemade Body Wash: Oatmeal infused for a soothing touch.

Homemade body wash is so simple to make, and gives you a chance to take control of what’s going on your skin and into your body! I particularly love this body wash because it’s simple to make, it’s cheaper than store-bought, and it has some nourishing ingredients to keep my skin moisturized and happy. As we head into the colder months this becomes super important for my dry skin.http://www.thankyourbody.com/homemade-body-wash/

The Problem with Most Commercial Body Washes

Ever turn a bottle of commercial body wash over and look at the ingredient list? It’s usually long and full of unpronounceables:

• Alpha Hydroxy Acid
• Salicylic Acid
• decyl poliglucose
• ammonium laureth sulfate
• disodium cocoamphodiacetate
• cocamidopropyl betaine
• glycolic acid
• acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer
• triethanolamine
• methylparaben
• propylparaben
• urea
• phenoxyethanol
• triclosan
• polysorbate 20, etc.

To be clear, just because something sounds big and scary on a chemical ingredient list, doesn’t mean it’s always bad. After all, “Acqua purificata” is merely purified water. BUT, plenty of the above ingredients DO make me leery of the product and are harsh on the skin. Some of the ingredients are just down right scary. Best to avoid it all and create your own homemade body wash where you know exactly what’s going in it.

So what goes in this homemade body wash?

Simple, all natural ingredients designed to clean your skin AND provide a soothing and moisturizing experience. Winner winner.
The base of the recipe is pure liquid castile soap. I prefer to use the baby mild kind (like this) because I have a history of sensitive skin. I also feel good using this body wash on my toddler because of that, too. But you could choose a more “exotic” variety of castile soap like this one or this one. (Okay, so maybe “exotic” is the wrong word. Just go with it.)
Let’s look at the other ingredients in this homemade body wash and what they bring to the party. (Because, OBVIOUSLY, homemade body wash is always a Par-tay!)

Oatmeal

Oatmeal has made the rounds in a number of commercial products due to its soothing properties. I love taking oatmeal baths when my skin needs a little extra love so it seemed like a perfect addition to this recipe. The oatmeal infused water is a perfect way to make this foaming homemade body wash a little more of a spa-like experience.

Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender essential oil is one of the best of the essential oils for skin. For starters it’s a really safe essential oil and easy to find. It also tones, revitalizes and can heals all skin problems including acne, oily skin, dry skin and sunburns. Besides, it smells luxurious… and that’s half the battle, right?

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is often included in skin and beauty products. That’s because it’s a powerful antioxidant that can help lengthen the shelf life. It also nourishes and repairs skin. It’s a must-have for winter skin in my opinion. You can find Vitamin E oil here.

Jojoba or Avocado Oil

Both of these oils are super moisturizing. I love to use them as part of the oil cleansing method so it only makes sense to add them to this, too! You can also find these online here and here, but if you can’t get your hands on these oils, I have also used extra virgin olive oil in this mixture and it works well, too!

Are you excited yet!? Let’s get our homemade body wash ON!