The things we do for our children's bad skin!

I have seen so many posts on Facebook lately about people making their own laundry detergent. Some for the reasons of money or environment, and some for their children's skin. My reason is for my children's skin. Paul had a severe reaction to the detergent we used to wash his cloth diapers in as a baby and so the research began. I discovered that it is usually NOT the fragrance that bothers their skin, it is the detergent. I didn't even know there was a difference between detergent and soap, but there is. They are completely different make ups. (I won't go into detail on that here.) I discovered that detergent is what bothers his skin so here's the recipe I've been using to wash ALL of our clothes and diapers in for years. The biggest draw back is that you have to wash everything in warm water to dissolve the soap. I like doing it this way over melting it on the stove and dealing with a liquid though.

10 bars of Ivory Soap - grated (yes it has fragrance - which I love - but NO detergent or SLS).

8 cups of washing soda

8 cups of either soda ash or borax (whichever I happen to buy for that round). 

Mix it all together.

I get my soda ash from the local pool store in a 50 lb bag - it last forever! I get my washing soda (also 50 lb bag) from the feed store - it's just baking soda, but it's not food grade. I tried many recipes and this has been my favorite. Feel free to ask questions here or call me if you are curious for more information. It was a huge battle for Paul's skin 4 years ago. I hope this will help another mom who is out there hoping to clear their child's skin.

Update: We now use Zote soap flakes (you can buy them at Walmart-mart), and mix with washing soda and baking soda. It is still super cheap and waaaaay easier than grating your own soap. 

Homemade Laundry Soap