Castile Body Wash

Photo by Kimberly Davis

This all-natural body wash is a far cry from what you’ll find on the shelves of a beauty shop, but it’s also much more gentle. The concentrated liquid soap can be diluted with either aloe vera gel, hydrosol, or just plain water — depending on how involved you’d like to get while customizing the recipe. Essential oil can also be added to give the body wash a pleasant scent or add customized skin care properties.

Gels or Hydrosols

All skin types: aloe vera gel, neroli hydrosol, rose hydrosol, rose geranium hydrosol
Oily/acne prone skin: lavender hydrosol or witch hazel hydrosol
Dry/sensitive skin: aloe vera gel, chamomile hydrosol, yarrow hydrosol

Essential Oils

All skin types: peppermint essential oil or rose essential oil
Oily/acne prone skin: niaouli essential oil or lavender essential oil
Dry/sensitive skin: chamomile essential oil or yarrow essential oil

Ingredients

12 ounces water, aloe vera gel, or hydrosol
4 ounces liquid castile soap
1 teaspoon essential oil (optional)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a 16-ounce bottle and shake slowly to combine.

How to Use

This body wash will have a very thin texture, and will lather a little less than the commercial body washes you may be used to. Scrunch it up into a moistened bath sponge, poof, or washcloth to get the most bubbles possible.

Persistently Dry Skin

If your skin insists on being dry even after you switch to an all-natural routine, you may need to take extra steps. The first thing I’d recommend doing is switching to the Castile Body Wash, and diluting it with an extra 4 to 8 ounces of water. Next, try to moisturize head to toe with body oil or body butter at least twice every day. Here are a few more tips to help beat dry skin naturally:

Drink plenty of water. Hydration is essential to happy skin.
Include healthy fats in your diet from foods like salmon, avocado, and virgin coconut oil.
Avoid bathing or showering in extremely hot water. The extra heat can dry your skin.

If your dry skin continues or escalates, consider seeing a doctor or dermatologist. Chronically dry skin can be a symptom of stress, undiagnosed allergies, or underlying health problems.