i know that Georgia Pacific makes one under the name of en motion, but it is rather large (10 x 5.5" and wall mounted. They may have others though

sloneby - It hasn't been my experience that the dispensers have broken. My current dispenser is a multiply-resused/recycled Bath and Body one and I've been using the same one where I've refilled it for over two years now. The one in the bath has been at use longer than that and is used much more than the one in the kitchen. It's been my experience that the soap doesn't separate out at all - it stays and even dilution without a problem. It may be worth noting that I don't use an anti-bac soap with the little beads nor do I use a creamy based liquid to make my dilution. The one I've been using the most often has been Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap (Pure Castile Soap with organic oils). It's avaiable scented or unscented (then you can add your own essential oils if you prefer). I've also used other soaps as well when I was out of Dr. Bronner's and needed to mix up a batch. Every once in a while, I need to rinse off the nozzle if it starts to clog up a bit, but I would say that happens maybe once in between a refill, if even that much. In the meantime, I bought one of these. Unfortunately, it's not satin nickle, but it works okay. I get one that matches the color of the room the best and then just use the sleeve over it. Not perfect, but better. I've been thinking of checking into getting some spray paint to see if I can paint over it in a satin finish. Here is a link that might be useful: Bath & Body cover

I understand the concerns about using dish soap if it tends to dry your hands. That hasn't been a probelm for me, but I do have a child with OCD who tends to wash more than necessary, so for a while I switched from the antibacterial dish soap to a dish soap that was not antibacterial. It was gentler on the hands, and kept my child's hands from cracking (and sometimes bleeding) as they had with the antibacterial soap. Since then, I've diverted my child from constant hand washing to using hand sanitizer in between a normal amount of hand washing, which has solved the problem. Now I can use whatever kind of dish soap I want. But if it doesn't bother your hands, dish soap is a perfectly good hand soap. (My grandmother even used dish soap for shampoo, which I do occasionally for a super cleansing of all hair products from my hair, with no discernible harm.)

First home, I too like making things from scratch, cold processed soap and masalas/currys (I get some of my spices from Sri Lanka, for example) are just 2 of them. I prefer cold process to hot. Some soapers prefer hot processed soap, I always struggled to make them look like store-bought, so I make cold processed and hate rebatching. It is economical? For a few bars definitely not. If you like giving as gifts or going retail, then probably, but you may never give up your day job, to pick this soapmaking up to keep food on the table (bin there, done that). It's a tough slog, some do it, but I would never rely on it now. While you are thinking about picking up tools and supplies, then start looking now. I get the stick mixers for example from second hand outlets, and I keep the buckets which the oils and fats come in to mix soap recipes. Good luck with whatever you choose. B.