Today we’re re-stocking my handwash inventory with a fresh, zippy Peppermint Foaming Hand Wash. It’s a fast, no-heat project, and I’ve provided two slightly different versions. One version uses peppermint hydrosol for our scent, while the other makes use of a solubilizer so we can incorporate peppermint essential oil for the scent instead. Both are simple and effective, so you can choose which one you want to make based on what you have on hand.
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The version I’m presenting on the blog is the solubilizer and essential oil version. Polysorbate 20 is our solubilizer, and peppermint is our essential oil (of course!). We’ll kick off the hand wash by whisking the two together, and when it’s done and everything has settled down it’ll give us a crystal clear hand wash.
Our surfactant blend is a gentle combination of anionic Sodium C14-16 Alpha Olefin Sulfonate (Bio-Terge AS40) and amphoteric Cocamidopropyl Betaine; both are liquid, making them easy to incorporate into the hand wash. If you want to use a different anionic surfactant, give this a read. (Pssst… did you know there’s an entire section of the FAQ dedicated to substitutions + the encyclopedia?)
The hand wash is finished off with some moisturizing vegetable glycerin, our preservative, and a bunch of water. And that’s it! It’s really fast and easy to make, which is a quality I really like in things I tend to run out of quickly. Happy minty sudsing!
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Peppermint Foaming Hand Wash
2.6g | 1% peppermint essential oil (USA / Canada)
13g | 5% polysorbate 20 (USA / Canada)26g | 10% vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
1.3g | 0.5% Liquid Germall Plus™ (USA / Canada)20.8g | 8% Sodium C14-16 Alpha Olefin Sulfonate (Bio-Terge® AS-40) (USA / Canada)
20.8g | 8% Cocamidopropyl Betaine (USA / Canada)175.5g | 67.5% distilled water
Weigh the lavender essential oil and polysorbate 20 into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup or beaker and whisk to combine. Add the glycerine and liquid germall plus, whisk again. Next, add the surfactants, whisking to combine.
Gently pour the water into the mixture and slowly stir to combine. Once the mixture is uniform (you shouldn’t see any blobs of surfactant paste), you’re ready to package it up! I poured mine into a 250mL foamer bottle from YellowBee. Use it as you would use any hand wash!
When made as written the pH for both versions of this hand wash is in the 5–6 range; the hydrosol version is slightly lower than the solubilizer/essential oil version. If you make any big changes, make sure you’re testing and, if needed, adjusting the pH to that range.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this hand wash contains water, you must include a broad-spectrum preservative to ward off microbial growth. This is non-optional. Even with a preservative this project may eventually spoil as our kitchens are not sterile laboratories, so in the event you notice any change in colour, scent, or texture, chuck it out and make a fresh batch.
Substitutions
As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the recipe, you will get a different final product than I did.
- As I’ve provided this recipe in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams this recipe will make 260g, which fills a 250mL bottle nicely.
- To learn more about the ingredients used in this recipe, including why they’re included and what you can substitute them with, please visit the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia. It doesn’t have everything in it yet, but there’s lots of good information there! If I have not given a specific substitution suggestion in this list please look up the ingredient in the encyclopedia before asking.
- If you’d like to learn more about the surfactants used and compare them to ones you might already have so you can make substitutions, check out this page.
- You could use propanediol instead of vegetable glycerine.
- You can use a different essential oil.
- If you’re like to use a different preservative, please review this page.
- If you’d like to use a hydrosol instead of a solubilizer and essential oil, remove the polysorbate 20 and essential oil, reduce the distilled water to 43.5%, and add 30% hydrosol.
Gifting Disclosure
The 250mL foamer bottle was gifted by YellowBee.
Why do you need a solubilizer? It is a small amount to oil. I would assume the surfactants would do a good job in dispersing them. It would only make them a tiny bit less effective, not?
I did initially try it without one; the surfactants didn’t do the trick.
Ich mische das ätherische Öl direkt mit den Tensiden. Dann funktioniert es.
Google Translate: I mix the essential oil directly with the surfactants. Then it works.
That’s what I tried, too 🙂 I did not find it to work with this particular surfactant blend—the end product was cloudy. It does work really well if Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside is in the surfactant blend, though!
Hi Marie, Could you I switch out the Sodium C14-16 Alpha Olefin Sulfonate and cocamidopropyl Betaine here for lamesoft PO65?
I just realised lamesoft is only recommended as 1-5%
In addition to the usage rate you’ve noticed, you’d dramatically reduce the lather and cleansing of the formulation. I don’t recommend it 🙂
Hello Marie. I love this recipe. If I want to add color, what kind of color do you recommend?
Hey Angie! You’d want to choose something water-soluble that won’t oxidize over time; FD&C dyes work beautifully and at incredibly low percentages! Start at 0.05% or less 🙂 Happy making!
Hi- it will be my first time working with Cocamidopropyl Betaine. What kind of protective gear do you use when working with this? Is a basic breathing mask and gloves sufficient? Any tips or advice on what you do when working with this would be very much appreciated. Thanks!
Gloves should be sufficient; I don’t find liquid surfactants bother my breathing, though solid ones certainly do!
Hello. Could I use AOS powder instead?
You could, but you’d need to use less as it will be more concentrated than a liquid surfactant. Please review this FAQ for more information: How can I substitute one surfactant for another? Happy making!
Hello Marie,
Please, help me out with a doubt about surfactants amount. I did go to the surfactants chart, but I couldn’t figure it out.
The only surfactants I have access to are: Cocoglucoside and Amphosol, so I substituted the Sodium C14-16 with Cocoglucoside.
First, I tried the same amount (cocoglucoside and amphosol), which was 20.8g (8%) for each one but the result was NO FOAM.
Then I tried 20.8g (8%) Amphosol and 13g (5%) Cocoglucoside.
Besides, instead of 13g Polysorbate 20, I put 15g and reduced 2g of the distilled water (this was because 1g of orange essential oil didn’t dissolve well, so I thought a little bit more of the solubilizer would help).
The result was: better foam but still not enough, the final product is still kind of watery.
Maybe I should also tell you that I used a different combination of Essential oils, in case this makes a difference concerning the foam issue.
Can you tell me how can I improve this formula to get more foam?
You have a recipe called Aloe Rosemary Spruce Foaming Hand Wash that you use:
15% Amphosol
10% Capryl Glucoside (but you said we could use Cocoglucoside instead of this surfactant).
My doubt is, what is the proportion I should be using when combining amphosol and cocoglucoside for a foaming hand wash?
Thank you very much, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer it.
Gabriela
Hey! Are you using a foamer bottle for these creations? A foamer bottle will create foam from almost any concentration of surfactants, so I am surprised by your reported results if you are using a foamer bottle 🙂
How can I adjust this recipe to make it unscented? Can I make it without hydrosol and/or essential oil? I would love it if you would have unscented recipes and/or suggestions to adjust your formulations to make them unscented.Thanks in advance. Love your blog
How can I make it more bubbly for a reg pump
Hey! You’ll find the answer to your question in my FAQ at https://humblebeeandme.com/faq/ Happy making!
Instructions say to weigh the lavender EO. I assume you meant peppermint.
Can polysorbate 20 be used in shampoo as a non-ionic surfactant? What would the ratio be? Thank