How to Make Liquid Handwash and Shower Gel in Kenya

Handwash is the product institutions buy in volume, schools, hospitals, hotels, offices, and it is the one where cutting corners shows up fastest, because people use it many times a day on their hands.

The pH question

Healthy skin sits at about pH 5.5. A handwash at pH 8 or 9 strips the skin barrier and, with repeated use, leaves hands dry and cracked. Bringing your batch down to 5.5 to 6 with citric acid costs almost nothing and is the single most important thing you can do for the product. It is also the first thing a hospital procurement officer will ask about.

Formulation for 20 litres

Making shower gel from the same base

Increase the glycerine to about 400 g, lift the CAPB slightly, choose a richer fragrance and add a pearlising agent if you want the opaque look. The rest is identical. Being able to run two products off one base is what makes this worth setting up.

Antibacterial claims

Be careful here. Adding a biocide and printing the word antibacterial on the label brings you into regulated territory, and institutional buyers will ask for substantiation. If you want to make the claim, talk to us about which active is appropriate and what testing you will need first.

Packaging for institutions

Schools and hospitals mostly want 5 litre refill cans for wall dispensers, not retail bottles. That is cheaper for them and cheaper for you. Offer both, and price the 5 litre so that switching to it is obviously the sensible choice.