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Natural shower gel do it yourself

Make your own shower gel - Here's how

Can you actually get a Make shower gel yourself? You can often find questionable ingredients in shower gel from the drugstore. Some substances trigger allergies, others are even carcinogenic. Fortunately, you can make your own shower gel with just a few natural ingredients. You can also make your own shower gel in line with the plastic-free life make it yourself without producing plastic waste. In this article, I'll show you the best recipes for your own homemade shower gel. Have fun trying them out!

Here is another short Table of contents about the article:

Make shower gel yourself - The advantages

Conventional shower gel from the drugstore usually contains many questionable substances. Around 2/3 of our cosmetic products, including shower gel, contain microplastics. There are also fragrances such as hydroxycitronellal, which causes allergies in some people. Even the carcinogenic substance formaldehyde, which has been banned by the EU Commission, can be found in some shower gels. According to the ÖKO-TEST, PEG (polyethylene glycol) can be found in 18 out of 21 shower gels.₁ PEG is carcinogenic and can damage the genome. If you make your own shower gel, however, you know exactly what ingredients the shower gel contains. This way you can prevent allergies. You can also save yourself the plastic packaging that most shower gels come in. If you want to make your own shower gel, you can also use a small amount every month. Save money.

Make shower gel yourself - The basis

Soaps - homemade shower gel

Making your own shower gel is very easy if you know the basic recipe. You will need the following ingredients:

Ingredients:

And this is how it works: Grate the soap with a cheese grater (alternatively, you can also use a knife). Fill a pan with water and heat it on a medium heat. Now you can add the grated soap. When the soap starts to melt, stir the mixture with a whisk. Continue stirring until not a single bar of soap is visible. Then add cornstarch until the shower gel has reached a suitable consistency.

Notice: The shower gel becomes a little firmer when it cools down than it is when it is warm.

Ready is the homemade shower gel.

Refine recipe from homemade shower gel

Honey - make shower gel yourself

The basic recipe for homemade shower gel can be extended with some caring ingredients.

Vegetable oil

Plant oils such as olive oil or sesame oil nourish the skin and make the homemade shower gel smoother for the skin.

Essential oil

Essential oils are ideal for making your shower gel smell good. To avoid irritating your skin, make sure you use a natural essential oil. For a fruity fragrance, you can use lemon or orange, for example. Scents such as lavender and vanilla are suitable for relaxing. Add 12 drops of essential oil to your homemade shower gel.

Herbs

Herbs are just as fragrant as essential oils. If you want to add herbs when making your own shower gel, boil the water with the herbs before adding the soap. You can use fresh herbs from your own windowsill or tea. Chamomile is particularly soothing for the skin. See also the article 10 plants to plant yourself.

Honey

Thanks to the enzymes that bees produce, honey has an antibacterial effect. It also moisturizes. To prevent the enzymes from being lost, only add the honey once the shower gel has cooled down a little. If you are vegan, you can also use avagade syrup.

Coconut oil

Another vegan antibacterial alternative to honey is Coconut oil. Coconut oil not only smells good, it also has nourishing properties that are good for our skin. You can also use coconut oil for your homemade deodorant.

The right consistency

Shower gel foams - make your own shower gel

Depending on which soap you use, a different consistency will form after cooling. Your homemade shower gel should have roughly the same consistency as a normal shower gel from the drugstore. Ultimately, however, it depends on what consistency you like best. Fortunately, there are a few tricks you can use to get the right consistency even when it has cooled down.

The shower gel is too runny

If you find that the shower gel has become too runny when making your own shower gel, you can add a little more cornflour. It is best to add a teaspoon first and stir the mixture around. Repeat the process until the consistency of the shower gel is right for you.

The shower gel is too firm

If your shower gel is too solid, you can simply use water to make it more liquid. You should also be careful here and add water a millimeter at a time.

The shower gel has settled

As conventional shower gels from the drugstore contain preservatives, the ingredients in the shower gel do not settle. As your homemade shower gel does not contain preservatives, the substances will settle in the container after a while. Simply shake the shower gel once and the problem should be solved.

Make your own shower gel - extend shelf life

If you only use soap, water and cornstarch, your homemade shower gel will generally keep for several months. However, as soon as you add oils, herbs or honey, the best-before date drops to one week. The following options are available to make the shower gel last longer:

Use lecithin

Lecithin is a natural emulsifier that can help you make your homemade shower gel last longer. Use a plant-based lecithin for this. Another advantage of using lecithin is that the ingredients of the shower gel do not settle as quickly.

Mix high-proof alcohol with

If you add a little alcohol to your homemade shower gel, it will last much longer. Incidentally, you don't have to worry about your skin drying out. A concentration of around 20 percent is completely safe. Cleaning the shampoo bottle you use for the DIY shower gel with alcohol beforehand can also extend its shelf life.

Freeze small quantities

If you don't want to use any of the above options, you can also fill the homemade shower gel into several small containers and freeze them. Whenever you run out of shower gel, simply defrost a new one. This way, you can make a larger quantity right from the start, which may even last for several months.

The best recipes for your homemade shower gel

If you want to make a more special shower gel than the one described in the basic recipe, you can try one of the following recipes.

Make lemon shower gel yourself

Make lemon shower gel yourself

Lemons are very good for the skin as they have a high content of vitamin C, magnesium and calcium. Lemons also smell good and give the shower gel a fruity note. To make a really good shower gel from lemons yourself, you basically only need the following ingredients.

The ingredients:

  • 1 organic lemon
  • Four teaspoons of vegetable oil
  • 200 ml lemon tea
  • A cheese grater
  • A lemon squeezer
  • Container

And this is how it works:

Cut up the lemon and squeeze out one half using a lemon squeezer. Then scrape off some of the lemon peel. It is important that it really is an organic lemon. Now follow the basic recipe and use the lemon tea instead of the water. Add the lemon juice and grated lemon zest to the mixture. When it has cooled down, you can pour the homemade shower gel into the container.

Chestnut shower gel make yourself

You can also completely dispense with soap in your homemade shower gel and use chestnuts instead. Chestnuts contain saponins, which produce foam in the shower gel, among other things. Simply collect enough chestnuts in the fall, as they are not only suitable for a homemade shower gel, but also for other DIY products. The following ingredients will help you make your own chestnut shower gel.

The ingredients:

  • 5 Rust chestnuts
  • 1 apple
  • 300 ml water
  • 1 cheese grater
  • possibly coconut milk

And this is how it works: For the chestnut shower gel, you can either use fresh chestnuts or homemade chestnut powder, which you have previously dried in the oven or on a sunny windowsill. If you use fresh ones, chop them into as small pieces as possible. Then grate the apple with a cheese grater. Place the grated apple and chestnuts in a saucepan with the water and simmer on a medium heat for about 10 minutes. If you tend to have dry skin, you can add a little coconut milk afterwards. You can also use chestnuts to make your own Make detergent yourself.

Make shower gel yourself with these tips

Making your own shower gel is very quick and has many advantages. You save money and can significantly reduce plastic and waste consumption in your household - all in the spirit of the Zero Waste Lifestyle. You also know exactly what ingredients are in your homemade shower gel. By using alcohol and lecithin and cleaning it properly beforehand, you can make the shower gel last even longer.

What is your favorite recipe for making your own shower gel? Write it to me in the comments.

Stay sustainable,

Christoph from CareElite - Plastic-free living

PS: If you're also looking for a plastic-free alternative to shampoo, check out this article. Wash hair without plastic an. At Natural Cosmetics DIY Blog we have many more tips for you.

References:
₁ https://lichterschein.com/2017/09/01/oeko-test-duschgel-mikroplastik-und-gesundheitsschaedliche-peg-derivate

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Christoph Schulz

Christoph Schulz

I'm Christoph, an environmental scientist and author - and here at CareElite I'm campaigning against plastic waste in the environment, climate change and all the other major environmental problems of our time. Together with other environmentally conscious bloggers, I want to give you tips & tricks for a naturally healthy, sustainable life as well as your personal development.

2 thoughts on “Duschgel selber machen – So geht´s”

  1. Hello Tabea, I just came across your article and am very happy to soon make shower gel itself. Am already quite curious. I have one question. How could you bring color into the shower gels? The eye also showers. Colors also appeal to our senses. Do you have any ideas?

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