Natural Bar Soaps to Obsess Over

I’m now officially back into clean beauty or “natural” bar soaps…and so is my husband, so you know it’s time for it to happen for you too!

If you haven’t tried out (or gotten back into) bar soaps yet, then now is the perfect time! Bar soaps offer a whole load of goodness – fewer ingredients, less packaging, and a lower price point! But not all bar soaps are created equal – per usual, so you need to aim for natural bar soaps.

Growing up, my parents always used bar soaps in the shower. I honestly don’t remember if I did or not – I must have, right? Somewhere – I’m guessing junior high – I made the switch to body wash and never looked back… Until I did.

What actually started me back on my bar soaps was using them in place of shaving cream (check out the safety razor tips). I noticed that when I used bar soaps when traveling to shave my legs, they were always softer. So why not try it at home?

Natural Bar Soaps

While I had a bar soap in my shower for shaving, however, I was still using body wash (albeit a clean body wash for the last few years).

Then when we moved to Sacramento, I discovered how many bars of soap we had and never used. So I finished up all the body wash we had on hand and started onto the bar soaps.

A few months later my husband ran out of body wash and I asked him if he’d be interested in bar soap and he said yes (obviously dependent on the scent). Now you can see all these all natural soaps for men!

Now we’re both using bar soaps exclusively (it gets a little cluttered when I’m using shampoo and conditioner bars too)!

How to Keep Bar Soaps Dry

One of the big turn offs for people about bar soaps (clean beauty or not) is that they retain the water and can get goopy. (Is there a better word for it than that?!). There are two ways to avoid this.

In the past, I’ve used a soap bag in the shower. It’s basically a mesh bag that holds the soap. Not only is it great for preventing the goop, it also makes the bar easier to hold on to and it’s a great way to use up all those little bits of soap! I bought mine at my refill store, but you can find them on Etsy!

As for bars of soap next to the sink and those in the shower, you need a soap dish with GOOD draining. This self-draining ceramic one is beautiful and seems genius! This zigzag one is neutral, but would also drain the water from the bottom of the soap. And this simple plastic one is practically invisible, so perfect for all sorts of setups!

Are Bar Soaps Good for Your Skin?

So here’s where the ingredients matter. Generally speaking, bar soaps have fewer harmful ingredients, but some of them still put things to avoid, including parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfates (this is drying – originally an engine degreaser), and any fragrances or dyes.

Do Bar Soaps Spread Germs?

Nope! This is a big fear of people, but they’ve done a lot of testing on this and bar soaps don’t spread germs!

Soaps for Men & Women

A few brands make bar soaps that I always love. Osmia, one of my go tos for the best in clean beauty, had a beautiful collection of bar soaps with seasonal offering as well! Their bar soaps (and facial bar soaps for that matter) are two of my favorite Osmia skincare products!

Another clean, B Corp brand, Dr. Bronner has their typical spread of scents in their bar soaps as well.

One of my favorite local Etsy shops (and Instagram friend), Meg, is the owner and soap maker behind Foraged Soap Co. Her scent combinations are exquisite!! One of her new scents, Cottage Herbs, is a combination of calendula, rosemary, citrus, lavender, and spearmint! Dreamy!

If you’re looking for good, clean, natural charcoal bar soap – Beautycounter has one that everyone loves!!! Use code CLEANFORALL20 for 20% off your first order.

• Milky Rose Body Soap
• Foraged Soap Co.
• Charcoal Cleansing Bar
• Lavender Pine Soap
• Morning Mojo Soap
• Lavender Castile Soap

Since clean beauty is an important part of sustainable living (what we wash down the drain matters as much as what we put on our skin), be sure to check out these other clean beauty roundups:

Non Toxic Makeup Brands
Clean Beauty at Nordstrom
Clean Beauty at Sephora
Clean Beauty at Target
Clean Beauty at Walmart
Clean Beauty at ULTA
Best Beautycounter Products

Common questions include do shampoo bars really work and how do you use them? What natural deodorant actually works? What’s the best safety razor for women (and how to use them properly). And the best makeup brush cleaner (on the cheap and easy)!

There are also great clean skin & hair care products for men!

And you’ll want to check out these wonderful clean beauty bar soaps as well as body tools for smooth skin all over yourself!

You can also check out how to get smooth legs (even with sensitive skin), gorgeous body tools, how to use a body plane for the softest skin, and these natural hand creams.