Castile Soap Uses For Your Home & Body

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Castile soap uses for your every day life! Learn the many ways that you can use castile soap as a natural cleaning alternative for your home & body!

Castile soap uses for your every day life! Learn the many ways that you can use castile soap as a natural cleaning alternative for your home & body! #castilesoap #makeyourown #diy #usesforcastilesoap

Castile Soap Uses For Your Home & Body

If you have never used Castile Soap before, you’re missing out! This plant-based, biodegradable soap is so versatile and can be used for so many things. I’ve taken the time to compile a list of things I use Castile Soap for around my home, to give you some ideas on how you can use it yours.

Castile Soap can be found in most grocery stores now. Since it’s so concentrated and has so many uses, the price is well worth it for such a natural product. If you haven’t seen Castile Soap around the stores you shop at, you can always buy it at Azure. Our personal favorite brand is Dr Jacobs Naturals.

Castile Soap Uses

Body Wash
Castile Soap is a great soap to use for your body. It’s a very pure soap, and won’t dry out your skin. It’s also a great exfoliator, getting rid of any unwanted dirt and grime, that normal soaps may miss. Since it doesn’t have any artificial scents or ingredients in it, it’s also a great option for those with sensitive skin to use safely.

Face Wash and Makeup Remover

Castile soap is gentle enough that it can be used on your face as a facial wash. To make a simple makeup remover, combine 1/4 cup of castile soap, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, and 1/2 cup of distilled water into a small container or bottle. Apply with cloths or cotton swaps to remove your makeup and eye makeup.

—Keep your looking young with this Homemade Face Moisturizer.

Washing Enamel

Dish Soap

It can often be tough to find a dish soap to cut the grease on dirty dishes, that’s also natural and pure. Castile Soap does an excellent job. Since it comes in liquid form, as well as bar form, it’s easy to add a teaspoon to your dishwater. It cleans dishes easily, and doesn’t irritate the skin on your hands at the same time!

—Learn how to make your own Homemade Dish Soap.

Dishwasher Detergent

If you don’t wash your dishes by hand, and use a dishwasher instead, you can also use Castile Soap as a dishwasher detergent! Water down a cup of the soap with some water, and a few ounces of lemon juice. Add a few teaspoons to the pre-wash slot, and add several ounces of vinegar to the regular wash slot on the soap dispensers in your dishwasher! It works great, and doesn’t leave a white, filmy residue like normal dishwasher detergents!

—Here is another way to make Homemade Dishwasher Detergent.

Cleaning Spray

Castile Soap can be pretty concentrated but you can easily water it down and use it in a spray bottle for easy cleaning around the house. I use about ¼ cup to every 32 oz of water, and mix well. Shake to combine the ingredients, and then wait for the bubbles to reside to use. Add essential oils for scent, if desired.

9 DIY Recipes For Homemade Cleaners That Actually Work

Fruit Basket

Fruit and Vegetable Wash

If you buy store-bought produce, it’s necessary to wash it before consuming it. If you fill your sink basin with water and add a teaspoon of Castile Soap, you can get your produce sparkling clean in no time. Allow the produce to sit for 10-15 minutes, and watch the wax and grime wash right off! Rinse under cool water, and enjoy your clean produce.

—Find more ways to Wash Produce (The Frugal Way!)

Shaving Cream

Traditional shaving creams can be full of harmful toxins and artificial scents. They can actually harm your skin when it’s in it’s vulnerable, just-shaved state. Use a few drops of Castile Soap and lather and rub on the desired area to shave. This works well for men and women and is a wonderful, natural alternative.

–If you want a more detailed shaving cream recipe I’ve got one here: Easy Homemade Shaving Cream.

Shampoo

Just like shaving cream, traditional shampoo can also be very hard on your skin and hair. While most shampoos strip your hair of all its natural oils, Castile Soap can cleanse without taking away what your body needs. This will actually help your hair stay cleaner longer. Mix equal amounts of coconut milk and Castile Soap together in a bottle. Add a teaspoon of coconut oil for every four tablespoons of coconut milk. Use a small amount and massage it in your hair to cleanse. Store in the fridge to make it last longer.

–You can Make Your Own Homemade Dry Shampoo too!

Foaming Hand Soap

Fill a foaming hand soap container with ¼ cup of Castile Soap (or less), and about ¾ cup of distilled water. This mixture works well in these types of containers and will clean even the dirtiest of hands. This is also a very inexpensive way to have a natural hand cleanser as well.

—This is a great way to save money, especially if you have children. Find more Frugal Tips for Large Families.

Uses for Castile Soap

Ant Repellant

Castile Soap can be unscented or it can come with a variety of essential oils already added to it. A favorite amongst many people is the tea tree oil variety. Not only is tea tree oil a nice scent, but is also known for its cleansing, antibacterial qualities. Mix ¼ cup of tea tree Castile Soap to 32 oz of water and spray wherever you see that ants have been going (kitchen counters, window sills, etc). If you only have plain Castile Soap, you can add a few drops of tea tree essential oil to the mixture, and the effects will be the same.

—Looking to repel insects in your garden? Try this Homemade Bug Spray for Plants.

Pet Wash

Save money by making your own dog shampoo at home. Use a mixture of one part castile soap to three parts water to make a gentle shampoo you can use on your family pets.

—Find more Thrifty Pet Ideas for Frugal Living.

So, whether you’re new to using Castile Soap, or you’ve been using it for years, it’s safe to say there are a lot of reasons you should be using it in your home.

To find more uses for items that you have around your home, check out some of these posts:

What do you use Castile Soap for in your home?

My Bio

This post on Castile Soap Uses was originally published on Little House Living in February 2017. It has been updated as of May 2020.

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32 Comments

  1. Hi Merrisa, I have been on an endless search for a natural shampoo and condition for a reasonable price. Do you follow shampooing with a vinegar rinse or any other conditioner? Any extra tips for shampooing would be great as well. Thanks!

    1. I have done a vinegar rinse which works really well (even though it doesn’t smell the best when you do it!) or I use a fragrance free conditioner on occasion. I’ve also used straight coconut oil. A small amount doesn’t seem to make my hair greasy.

  2. Love the idea for dishwasher detergents! Can’t wait to try it. Also, just an FYI….for hand soaps and stuff, if you add a little cococnut oil to the soap, it will increase the lather! But, I wouldn’t try it in shampoos, too oily!?

    1. I’ve been making foaming hand soap with Castile soap and water for a while. Recently my daughter suggested adding a preservative so
      as to not cause the soap to get moldy (we have city water). Do you use a preservative? I recently ordered one from Amazon.

  3. I have only ever used Dr. Binner unscented. We recently added a dog to our family and I have been using as a pet shampoo. Now everything I use it on (including my face wash) reminds me of wet dog. What other brands or scents to you enjoy? I have to be careful with over exposure to establish oils in my house.

    1. We like the Sweet Tea Tree Castile Soap that Dr Jacobs brand has. It doesn’t have the same “biting” scent as regular tea tree items and it’s been very useful!

  4. Thanks for another helpful post today. I use Castile soap a lot, usually the one for babies, as the regular is a little harsh for me. I am going to try your fruit and vegetable wash idea this evening.

  5. Hi. Question on using it as a body wash. You would just use it as as you would a regular bar of soap, correct? You didn’t really say. Thank you.

  6. Hello Merissa,

    The one thing you did not mention about this Castile soap, (or I just didn’t see it), was if it will get out stains in clothes? I have a white shirt that has some red food stains, and nothing I have used from the stores’ works, will this Castile work, do you know?
    Thank you, I enjoy reading you and I wish I had you years ago, haha, I would have loved to been more like you while the kids were little, I enjoy farm life and have always wanted to live on one, Lucky you, I dont know how you are doing the no spending thing, but good luck with that.
    Kathy

    1. You know I haven’t really tried it for that particular use yet but I don’t see why it wouldn’t be worth attempting. If you try it let us know!

        1. Try treating the spot with soap and letting it sit for 24 hours before washing. I’ve had good results just using bar soap, not even Castile soap.

  7. Hi Merissa,

    Thank you for sharing the different ways you use Castile soap.
    Allow me to clarify something though. Where you state that “Castile soap is a great exfoliator, getting rid of unwanted dirt and grime that normal soaps may miss”. That little bit of misinformation could be misleading to those unfamiliar with the term. Exfoliation doesn’t have anything to do with the removal of unwanted dirt and grime that other soaps may miss. Exfoliation is the removal of the oldest dead skin cells on the skins outermost surface. As a licensed Esthetician, I feel it very important that the correct information be given to your audience.
    Thank you!

  8. Thank you for the list of things that work with Castile Soap. I bought a jar a while back, but haven’t taken the time to mix up anything. Your list is a good reminder of why I bought it. Will letyou know how it all turns out.

  9. Did try some castile soap many years ago for my oldest son whose skin was so sensitive. Seemed no matter how quickly I changed his diaper, real ones, his poor little fanny was raw anyway. Washed his diapers in castile soap, was so glad somebody told me about it as poor little guy sure suffered.
    Back then (he was born 12/21/62) there were no disposable diapers, only one of 4 to have disposable for was last one, born 4/11/70. She also had delicate sensitive skin. Poor babies.
    Thanks for great info on how to use castile soap.
    Have wonderful Sunday and new week.

  10. This is such a useful post. I’ve already pinned it to come back to later. If you’re interested, I think it would make a great addition to my weekly link-up on Wednesdays called Be Clean Be Green With Kids. Hope to see you there!

  11. Great post. I have never used Castile soap before. I certainly need to try it.
    Thanks for sharing,
    Bev

  12. Merissa, thank you for the post! I also love Castile soap, but didn’t know about many uses you mentioned! I use it to clean my bamboo flooring. To every gallon of water I add 1/4 cup of white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of castile soap, and 10-15 drops of any essential oil. Then I fill Bona cleaning system cartridge with this mixture. It cleans great, leaves fresh smell of your favorite essential oil, and it is also non-toxic. I was glad to discover this recipe as our baby is in crawling stage now, and we don’t have to worry about chemicals entering her body.

  13. I’ve been using it for hand soap and it’s great. I’ll have to try some of these other great ideas.
    Thanks for sharing at Funtastic Friday.

  14. I love castile soap… for pretty much everything! It’s better for my wallet too, considering you can dilute it so much. The lavender scented Dr. Bronner Castile Soap is my favorite.

  15. I had no idea you could use castile soap to make your own vegetable wash! That is awesome (and is going to save us money)! Thanks for sharing all of your fantastic ideas with us at Merry Monday this week!

  16. Hello!

    Question on the body wash. Does this need to be refrigerated? Or am I able to place this into a soap mold and leave it in my shower?

  17. Love the many uses of castile soap. Since it is gentle I use it to clean my make up brushes. They dry up beautiful and fluffy with no residual chemicals.

  18. I’ve considered using Castile soap, but I’ve also read that Castile soap shouldn’t be used if you have hard water. (And since we do not have a water softener or whole house filtration, I’m guessing our water is at least somewhat hard.) Is there something that can be done to still be able to use Castile soap, or another alternative for cleaning with more natural ingredients?