How to Make Foaming Hand Soap (a Step by Step Guide & Video)

Making your own fragranced foaming hand soap is so much easier than you might think! Whether you're whipping up a batch for yourself, gifting to friends, or adding to your product line, our MWFC Foaming Hand Soap Base makes it crazy simple. No complicated measuring, no guesswork—just mix, pour, and enjoy.

To show you just how simple it is, we’ve put together a step-by-step video tutorial so you can follow along! 

📌 Watch the video here

📖 Download the Foaming Hand Soap Base Guide for in-depth details

Now, let’s dive into the basics of making your own foaming hand soap!

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Understanding Fragrance Load & IFRA Guidelines

Before you start adding fragrance to your foaming hand soap, it’s important to stay within IFRA safety guidelines. Here’s what you need to know:

✔ Always check the IFRA document for the fragrance you’re using to determine the maximum allowable usage rate.
✔ Foaming hand soap falls under IFRA Category 9.
✔ MWFC’s Foaming Hand Soap Base can accept up to 2% fragrance load, but that doesn’t mean you need to use that much! We recommend staying between 0.5–1% and conducting your own testing to determine this!

How IFRA Limits Apply to Your Soap

Example 1: If your fragrance has an IFRA Category 9 max of 8%, you can use up to 2% since that’s the highest amount our base can hold. We recommend that you test 0.5%, 1%, or 1.5% to find the perfect strength/binding ratio.

Example 2: If your fragrance has an IFRA Category 9 max of 0.65%, you must not exceed 0.65%, even though our base can accept more. 

💡 Bottom line? Never exceed the IFRA maximum usage rate for your chosen fragrance oil AND we recommend around 0.5-1% fragrance load.

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Step-by-Step Guide: How to Make Foaming Hand Soap

What You’ll Need:

✔ Proper personal protective equipment (apron, gloves, goggles, and/or hairnet) 

✔ MWFC Foaming Hand Soap Base

✔ Fragrance oil

✔ Foaming pump top and bottle of choice

✔ Weighing scale

✔ Fragrance-safe measuring container (glass or HDPE plastic)

✔ Stirring utensil (ex: metal wire whisk)

✔ Funnel

✔ Water Soluble Skin-Safe Liquid Colorant (Optional)

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Instructions:

Here is a simple breakdown of the process, for more detailed instructions, read our in depth written guide or watch our tutorial video!

1️⃣ Measure – Pour the desired amount of foaming hand soap base into a clean mixing container.

2️⃣ Add Fragrance – We recommend using 0.5 – 1% fragrance load (never exceed the IFRA max for your specific fragrance oil).

3️⃣ Mix in Color (Optional) – Want to add a pop of color? Use a water-soluble, skin-safe liquid colorant.

4️⃣ Stir – For around 1 minute.

5️⃣ Pour into Bottles – Using a funnel, carefully transfer your soap into foaming soap bottles.

6️⃣  Label & Cure! – Apply your labels (see our labeling guide for compliance tips) and let cure for 24 hours. 

💡 Run into an issue and need help? Head to our troubleshooting guide!

We LOVE seeing what you make. Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram @MidwestFragranceCo so we can admire your beautiful foaming soaps in action! 🫧

Happy making!