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Getting clean is part of most of our days– be it showering, taking a bath, washing our face, and (especially now) our hands. But which soap & body wash formula is the safest based on the use of hormone-disrupting ingredients? You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you topics like best & worst lotions, best & worst shampoos, & best & worst facial moisturizers, now join us as we bring you the best and worst soaps from liquid body soaps to bar body soaps.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and was researched by Rebecca Elizabeth Sherrick Harks, RN, BSN.

Woman giving other woman bath in tub vintage

The Natural History Of Soap

Like many personal care things we can “no longer live without” – such as makeup, or toilet paper, or deodorant in our society today, a number of factors combined have shaped the emergence and history of bathing in the US.

Many Americans, before the mid-nineteenth century, believed that bathing was not good for you – as it “removed” the layer of protective dirt and oil while exposing the body to dirty water (and miasmas – this sort of diseased air was actually what had been thought to cause illness before germ theory of disease was established and after the good doctor died.)

While people in America did wash their clothes, they saw bathing as part of stereotypical European excess, moral softness, luxury, and physical laziness. Lather didn’t happen to your body.

Finally, the Civil War began to change attitudes about bathing – and Americans began understanding that pathogenic microbes caused illness, not dirty air, and by the 1880s, American doctors began to promote body cleanliness as one of the best, most important ways to stop diseases.

Unfortunately, not all of us had access to clean water until improvements in technology and plumbing allowed many cities to offer clean water and hygienic, safer sewer systems to their population. A great number of wealthy and middle-class people began to install bathtubs with running water into their own homes, while the poor, living in tenements didn’t have the same luxury. To help with this problem, New York City built free public bathhouses for those unable to access clean water at home.

Soap & Body Wash Investigation: Non-Toxic Brands 1

Suddenly, having good personal hygiene began to be a part of being a good American and by 1891, manufacturers of soap like Palmolive, Colgate, Proctor & Gamble, Palmolive, Bristol-Meyers, and Johnson & Johnson (brands which we should all recognize today) worked around the clock to ensure that there was enough soap to go around. Advertisements for soap encouraged soap as a means to wash away ignorance, poverty, criminal behaviors, and general immortality.

If only.

After the early 1920s, bathing had – and continues to be – a major part of our hygiene ritual. American soap companies, even then, were facing extreme competition from each other and from newly created lines of cosmetics soaps being introduced onto the market. Vegan, cruelty-free, natural ingredients, organic ingredients, extracts, fair trade, and gluten-free attributes battle for your money to fight body odor.

Even today, the fierce competition for the hygiene market plays out as we watch. Proper hygiene has become so centralized into our way of life that one in four houses in the US built in 2005 (or later) have three or more bathrooms.

Unfortunately, there is such a thing as too much soap – we’re now seeing people who are allergic to the contents of regular soap, boutique soap, and the soap we use to wash our clothes.

So a new market was born…

soap that was made at home with organic ingredients

The Emergence of the Homemade Soap Industry Brought Cleaner Ingredients

People with sensitive skin, and other skin types, or just people fed up with the crap we know is in our daily lives have spoken out in a big way: instead of getting mad, they’re getting even.

Handmade soap is a niche segment that’s working over the overall global soap industry, which is valued at $18 billion, with a surge to $24 billion expected by the year 2022.

With a lot of people making their own rules, hours, and working as their own boss, soap-making has become an industrious way for many people to make a little recession-proof money for their households. Why? It’s not expensive to start the process by comparison to other types of start-up business costs, handmade soap sells at a firm retail price, and is, like we said, a recession-proof industry.

As consumers we’re returning to buying bar soap for a lot of reasons: first and foremost because many of the liquid brands have allergens and/or people may face sensitivities to the fragrances and other ingredients.

Another reason is that a lot of us are beginning to distrust the cosmetics/personal care industry and the large conglomerates and would like a shot at helping out a small business. People enjoy buying homemade products, whether it be in a boutique, online, door-to-door, it’s expected that over the next ten or so years that handmade soap may dominate the global soap market. There you’ll find ingredients like aloe vera, jojoba oils, argan oil, high-quality essential oils, and many other ingredients for your beauty routine.

woman holding soap in the shower

Ingredients Inside Soap & Body Wash That Are Problematic to Human Health

If you scan this list and think, hey, I feel like I’ve seen these a zillion times in different personal care product posts, don’t fret, you’re not losing your memory, they’re just all over the place and equally bad for your wherever they pop up. Let’s check them out again, for old time’s sake.

Fragrance  & Fragrance Additives

Fragrance ingredients can include chemicals linked to endocrine disruption, cancer and cell function, and without having full disclosure by the manufacturers and suppliers, we can’t make informed decisions. Avoid buying soaps with “fragrance,” fragrance/parfum,” “natural fragrance,” or “organic fragrance,” because they actually tell you nothing.

Some of the fragrances we’ve come across when we look at personal care products sound more pleasant than they actually are, so we tend to want to avoid these synthetic fragrances especially if you have sensitive skin or autoimmune disease:

  • Citral is a naturally occurring scent ingredient, but created synthetically on a large scale, and is associated with allergies and contact dermatitis.
  • Limonene is a scent ingredient and solvent that naturally occurs in the rind of citrus fruit. However, when exposed to air and sunlight after being stored, it degrades into a number of oxidation products that may act as skin and respiratory system irritants and sensitizers.
  • Linalool is a terpene (a large class of organic things that create smells to ward off their enemies, including bugs, leaves, and notably conifers) that is used as a fragrance ingredient and masking agent.
  • Hydroxycitronellal is a common scent ingredient that’s produced synthetically from naturally-occurring scent chemical citronellal.
  • Eugenol is a naturally occurring scent chemical found in clove oil; also manufactured synthetically. Has been associated with allergies and contact dermatitis.
  • Geraniol is a naturally occurring scent ingredient found in various essential oils such as rose oil and citronella oil.

Woman washing long hair in shower under water jet

Synthetic Fragrance Additives

“Fragrance” is likely to contain dozens of additional chemicals other than just one fragrance. Our favorite brands have full transparency with fragrance ingredients and their additives. But here are some synthetic fragrance additives we would like you to avoid:

  • Acetaldehyde
  • Benzophenone (also known as) benzophenone-1 (BP-1) and oxybenzone (BP-3)
  • (BHA) Butylated Hydroxyanisole:
  • (BHT) Butylated hydroxytoluene
  • Benzyl Salicylate
  • Benzyl Benzoate
  • Butoxyethanol
  • Butylphenyl methylpropional (also known as Lilial, its brand name)
  • Chloromethane (methyl chloride)
  • Dichloromethane (methylene chloride)
  • Diethyl phthalate (DEP)
  • Essential Oil Mixtures
  • Eugenyl methyl ether (Methyleugenol)
  • Formaldehyde or formaldehyde-releasing ingredients like quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, or polyoxymethylene urea.
  • Methanol
  • Oxybenzone (BP-3)
  • Resorcinol
  • Styrene
  • Synthetic Musks (Tonalide , Galaxolide, Musk Ketone, Musk Xylene)
  • Ethylbenzene
  • Vinyl acetate

Old wash tub with soap on rustic bench

Preservatives

Preservatives may be used in cosmetics to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and mold – and have gotten safer over time. But that does not mean that companies don’t sneak in some old enemies: parabens and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives.

These cancer-causing ingredients are still alive and kicking in many personal care products.. Parabens and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are commonly used preservatives in cosmetic and personal care products.

Parabens are preservatives that prevent the growth of bacteria, mold, and yeast in cosmetic products; associated with increased risks for breast cancer.

  • Also known as: ingredients ending with –paraben, like ethylparaben, butylparaben, isobutylparaben, isopropylparaben, methylparaben, propylparaben, isobutylparaben, isopropylparaben, other ingredients ending in –paraben.

Benzylate: benzoic acid, and benzyl esters

Methylisothiazolinone (MIT): (2-methyl-4-isothiazoline-3-one, Neolone 950 preservative, MI, OriStar MIT and Microcare MT) are a widely-used preservative; has been associated with allergic reactions and neurotoxic effects in animals.

Methylchloroisothiazolinone (CMIT): (5-Chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one and MCI) is a widely-used preservative; has been associated with allergic reactions.

Triclosan (TSC) and triclocarban (TCC) are antimicrobial chemicals that are a known endocrine disruptor — most especially thyroid and reproductive hormones, and a skin irritant.

Bubbles from organic body wash

Ethanolamine Compounds

Many of these are known or suspected to cause cancer, organ system toxicity, bioaccumulation, and are found in all kinds of personal care products, especially soaps.

  • Triethanolamine
  • Diethanolamine
  • DEA, TEA, MEA
  • Cocamide DEA
  • Cocamide MEA
  • DEA-cetyl phosphate
  • DEA oleth-3 phosphate
  • Lauramide DEA
  • Linoleamide MEA
  • Myristamide DEA
  • Oleamide DEA
  • Stearamide MEA
  • TEA-lauryl sulfate

black woman taking a shower with nontoxic body wash

Ethoxylated Ingredients

Ethoxylated ingredients are generally of low concern on their own. However, they can be contaminated with ethylene oxide, a known carcinogen, and 1,4- dioxane, reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. They may also be linked to organ toxicity and reproduction toxicity.

  • -eths (steareth, laureth, ceteareth, and ceteth in the name)
  • Polysorbates
  • Ethylene oxide
  • 1,4 Dioxane
  • PEGs

Woman washing hands with soap in the bathroom

Formaldehyde/Formaldehyde-Releasing Compounds

Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are used in a shocking number of personal care products, especially in shampoos and liquid baby soaps. These chemicals help prevent microbes from growing in water-based products, and can be absorbed through the skin. They have been linked to many things – from cancer to allergic skin reactions.

Formaldehyde is also known as Formalin, Formic Aldehyde, Merthaldehyde, Methanal, Methyl Aldehyde, Oxomethane, and Oxymethylen.

Formaldehyde Releasing Compounds: While often used interchangeably, formaldehyde-releasing compounds vary in that they are often preservatives that are slowly released over time.

  • Quaternium-15,
  • DMDM Hydantoin Imidazolidinyl Urea,
  • Diazolidinyl Urea,
  • Polyoxymethylene Urea,
  • Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate,
  • Bromopol, and
  • Glyoxal

Soap & Body Wash Investigation: Non-Toxic Brands

Surfactants

Surfactants work by breaking down the dirt on your skin by tackling the dirt and oil into a suspension, allowing the dirt and oil to rinse away.

  • Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a synthetic surfactant found in a number of personal hygiene products including hand soaps. Health concerns around cocamidopropyl betaine include allergic skin reaction, contact dermatitis, and environmental toxicity
  • Sodium lauryl sulfate SLS/Sodium Laureth sulfate or SLES: known to be skin, lung, and eye irritants. A major concern SLS is its potential to interact and combine with other chemicals to form nitrosamines, a carcinogen. It’s also suspected to be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane.

A man's hand in a spray of water in the sunlight against a dark background. Water as a symbol of purity and life

Skin Conditioners

  • Retinyl Palmitate: A skin conditioning agent, Retinyl Palmitate is listed as a developmental toxicant by California’s Proposition 65 program. It may increase skin cancer risk. Also Known As: Retinol Palmate, Retinol, Hexadecanoate, Vitamin A Palmitate.
  • Tocopheryl Acetate: A skin conditioning agent, Tocopheryl Acetate may be contaminated with hydroquinone, which is linked to cancer and organ-system toxicity. Also known as: Vitamin E Acetate, DL- Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate
  • Propylene glycol is small organic alcohol commonly used as a skin-conditioning agent. It’s classified as a skin irritant and penetrator. It’s also known as methyl ethyl glycol

Young woman washing hair with shampoo in the shower

Artificial Colors

It is best to choose soaps with no color added as the fewer chemicals in a skincare product the better.

  • To name a few: Blue 1, Red 33, Yellow 5, and Titanium Dioxide

However, when it comes to other personal care products like makeup, we find that artificial colors is okay because natural minerals are so contaminated with heavy metals you come out ahead.

Young woman in bathroom washing her hands with soap bar

Mamavation’s Investigation of Soap & Body Wash 

We essentially ranked soaps & body washes based upon the number of toxic ingredients listed above and how bad the ingredients were. We were pleasantly surprised to have so many products in the better category!

Worst Soaps & Body Washes

What follows are the worst soaps, with potential ingredients including some of the following: synthetic “fragrance” without labeling ingredients, PEGs, Propylene Glycol, petroleum, harsh preservatives, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Polyquaternium-7, Polysorbate 20, etc. We based this list on what we called out in the post.

  • Alba Botanicals Very Emollient Bath & Shower Gel – Honey Mango
  • Arbonne Shea Butter Body Wash #7277
  • Aveeno Positively Nourishing Purifying Body Wash (many scents available)
  • Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Wash
  • Aveeno Skin Relief Fragrance-Free Body Wash for Sensitive Skin
  • Bath and Body Works – Saltwater Breeze Shower Gel (20+ bad ingredients)
  • Bliss Lemon & Sage Body Wash
  • Bath and Body Works EUCALYPTUS SPEARMINT Bar Soap ((20+bad ingredients)
  • Dial Gold Anti-Bacterial Deodorant BAR Soap
  • Dial Body Wash Himalayan Salt
  • Dial Complete Anti-bacterial Hand soap
  • Dove Men Care Body Wash Minerals + Sage Body Wash
  • Dove Purely Pampering Relaxing Lavender Shower Foam
  • Dr. Teal’s Ultra Moisturizing Relax & Relief Body Wash with Eucalyptus Spearmint
  • Every Man Jack Body Wash – Signature Mint
  • Harry’s Body Wash
  • Irish Spring Deodorant Bar Soap
  • Jason Invigorating Rosewater Body Wash
  • Korres Liquid Japanese Rose Body Wash
  • L’Occitane Verbena Shower Gel
  • Lever 2000 Bar Soap
  • Live Clean Fresh Water Hydrating Body Wash
  • Love, Beauty, And Planet Coconut Water & Mimosa Flower Body Wash
  • Melaleuca Renew Intensive Skin Therapy Body Wash
  • Melaleuca’s Bar Soap – Gold Bath Bar – unable to locate any ingredients
  • Nivea Clean Moisture Body Wash
  • NIVEA Men 3 in 1 Body Wash – Cool
  • Oil of Olay Moisture Body Wash with Shea Butter
  • Origins GINGER BURST™ Savory Body Wash
  • Perlier Agrumarium 100% Sicilian Citrus Liquid Bath & Shower Cream
  • Perlier Lavender Bar Soap
  • Pert Plus – 3 in 1 Liquid Body Wash – does not make a bar soap
  • Philosophy Amazing Grace 3 in 1 – does not make a bar soap (20+ bad ingredients)
  • Raw Sugar Simply Body Wash Lemon Sugar
  • Soft Soap Body Wash
  • St. Ives Body Wash
  • Tone Bath Bar
  • Yardley London Soap Bar

Soap Bar Isolated on White Background

Better Soap & Body Washes

This category of liquid and bar soaps is better than the worst category, but they still have some ingredients that we could live without.  These brands could still be using an excessive amount of preservatives and undisclosed fragrances. But they likely have some additional ingredients from the caution list, but just not as much as the bad category. This was the nebulous area where they weren’t good or bad.

  • Alba Botanical Volcanic Clay Hawaiian Detox Body Wash – does not make a bar soap
  • Arbonne RE9 Advanced for Men Charcoal Soap Bar #6522
  • Burt’s Bees Citrus & Ginger Body Wash
  • CerVe Hydrating Body Wash
  • CerVe Hydrating Cleanser Bar
  • Dove Sensitive Skin Body Wash
  • Dove Sensitive Skin Beauty Bar
  • Dove White Beauty Bar
  • Every Man Jack Body Wash Bar – Cedarwood
  • Gud Vanilla Flame Natural Body Wash
  • Harry’s Bar Soap
  • Hemp Seed Body Care (Earthly) Minttastic Shower Wash
  • Jason Men’s ALL-IN-ONE Forest Fresh Body Wash
  • Kirk’s Castile Soap Liquid 3 in 1 Head to Toe – Original Fresh Scent
  • Kirkland Signature Natural Body Wash (unsure if this is still manufactured)
  • Kirkland Signature Bar Soap
  • Kiss My Face Sensitive-Type Fragrance-Free Liquid Body Wash (other scents available)
  • L’Occitane Shea Butter Extra Gentle Bar Soap
  • Maui Moisture Shea Butter Body Wash
  • Method Body Wash (many scents available)
  • Method Bar Soap Cedar + Cypress (many scents available)
  • Native Cucumber and Mint Body Wash
  • Native Coconut & Vanilla Body Wash
  • Native 3 Pack Body Wash: Coconut & Vanilla, Cucumber & Mint, & Lavender & Rose
  • Norwex – Lysere Body Wash
  • Ogx Sea Mineral Moisture Body Collection Body Wash
  • Origins GINGER BAR™ Savory Bath Soap
  • Raw Sugar Simply Bar Soap Lemon Sugar
  • Ren Body Wash Atlantic Kelp & Magnesium Ocean Plastic Body Wash
  • Rocky Mountain Soap Co ALOE THERE Bar SOAP
  • Shea Moisture Natural Bar Body Soap – African Black Soap
  • Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Bar Soap
  • Weleda Rose Bar Soap

a beautiful girl standing at the shower

Best Soap & Body Washes

These soaps are Made Safe Certified, EWG Verified, and/or had little to no problematic ingredients. These are the brands we recommend you purchase.

Pin it!

Soap & Body Wash Investigation: Non-Toxic Brands 3

Recent Product Investigations

Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Andrea Strey

    Hi! I’m looking at your post and notice you have Native listed under Best but on their site and packages they simply list “fragrance ” which you call out as a warning. Do you know where they list more details on fragrance or why do you have them listed under Best?

    Reply

    • June Holmes

      When I take a shower , I want a good strong and lasting fragrance. It’s getting ridiculed about all these so called chemicals they put in. Well I’m lived a long time and have taken many many baths and showers over the years and none have ever just me in any way. Give me back those good smelling fragrances

      Reply

      • Anonymous

        A large problem with your mind set is you think because nothing has come through fruition, that nothing will happen at all. Chemicals and toxic foods that we eat everyday slowly lower our life span by disrupting our natural bodies in a myriad of ways. These chemicals are just another avenue for inner destruction of homeostasis. You and many others could live much longer, happier, fuller lives if they took moments out of their days to educate themselves on the basics of what goes into the products/foods they consume. Most likely you wont see this reply but I urge individuals to for-go this way of living a educate your self on your own anatomy.

        Reply

        • Anonymous

          I’ve recently started doing this about 1-2 years ago… I became aware of what been put in our everyday products, foods, hygiene products, etc… and I’m doing my best to decrease the amount of toxins for my family and have turned to simple cleaning ingredients such as vinegar. I believe I became sensitive to chemicals, all of a sudden 2 years ago this is also why I’ve turned onto this path of (hopefully safer) products.

          Reply

  10. Leelah

    What about California Baby Super Sensitive Shampoo & Body Wash? My skin reacts negatively to all essential oils–and this is the ONLY body wash I do not react to. Any insight?

    Reply

  11. Annie Amantea

    It would be extremely helpful to be able to print just the list of BEST products so I can take with me when shopping.

    Thanks.

    Reply

  12. Linda Bundrick

    Thank you, I feel okay that I use an okay product like Dove Sensitive Skin Beauty Bar, but I can do better…I have a hard time with fragrances so your list will help me greatly. Thanks for all you do!!

    Reply

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