Best Bar Soaps and Body Washes for Men in 2024
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A classic bar of soap has been one of the most widely used skin and body care products for centuries, with the earliest reporting of soap recipes going back nearly 5,000 years ago. After all this time formulating and innovating the classic soap bar, we’ve unlocked a market full of modern soaps fit for the modern man.
While the first soaps were made using animal fat, the true soaps of today use fatty ingredients like oils (think coconut, palm, and olive, to name a few) mixed with lye in a process called saponification. This chemical reaction turns the oils into fatty acid salts, naturally producing gentle cleansing agents and the moisturizing ingredient glycerin.
However, not all soaps of today use this process. ‘Soap-free’ bars combine moisturizing and cleansing agents to create a soap-like bar that’s often more gentle than traditional soap. The more sophisticated formulas also include plant extracts, botanicals, natural exfoliants, essential oils, and fragrances to create a more luxurious, tailored body care experience.
But no matter their process and whether it’s traditional or modern, a good soap bar is a shower staple. To help you sort through the overwhelming selection, we’ve gathered 22 of the best soaps for men below.
Best of the Best Body Wash: Blu Atlas Body Wash
Combining the benefits of exfoliation into a cleansing body wash, this is our number one pick for men who want a body wash that will do it all – while smelling like a million bucks. Plus, it’s great for all skin types.
Best for Face & Body: Bravo Sierra The Original Solid Cleanser
This anti-soap bar utilizes plant-based ingredients such as shea butter, oat flour, and coconut to cleanse and moisturize the face and body. But that’s not all—you can also use this one-stop-shop bar soap to wash your hair.
Best for Dry Skin: Hawthorne Hydrating Bar Soap
This hydrating soap bar is packed with nourishing emollients to maintain the skin’s moisture barrier, preventing dryness or flaking.
Best for Sensitive Skin: DHC Mild Soap
This soap bar is incredibly mild and great for sensitive skin thanks to its no-bullshit formula that excludes unnecessary colors, fillers, and fragrance.
Best for Acne-Prone Skin: Joanna Vargas Miracle Bar
Targeted for those with combination, oily, and acne-prone skin, this soap bar uses ingredients like charcoal and bamboo powder to cleanse the skin and target impurities.
Best for Dull Skin: Hawthorne Exfoliating Bar Soap
This exfoliating bar soap is packed with natural exfoliants like oats and antioxidant-rich fruit extracts to target dullness and boost the skin’s radiance.
Best Drugstore Option: SheaMoisture African Black Soap Bar
This cleansing soap bar uses African black soap and moisturizing ingredients like shea butter to treat acne, deeply cleanse, and condition the skin. Plus, you can find it nearly everywhere, including Walmart, Whole Foods, Amazon, and Target.
Best Value: Savon De Marseille Olive Oil Soap
Not only is this natural, plant-based soap bar super moisturizing, it’s also a great deal. At just over 21 ounces (compared to the average soap bar of around 5 ounces), you’re essentially getting $0.75 per ounce.
Best Luxury: Dr. Dennis Gross Botanical Cleansing Bar with Tea Tree & Aloe
At $24 for 7 ounces, this botanical-rich cleansing bar by Dr. Dennis Gross features ingredients like tea tree, aloe vera, and papaya extract to protect and polish the skin.
Best Pine Tar Soap: Dr. Squatch Pine Tar Bar Soap
Pine tar is a popular men’s body care scent made from pine tree resin. In celebration of this naturally woodsy and soothing ingredient, Dr. Squatch’s Pine Tar Bar Soap is a best-seller among men of all ages.
Courtesy of Blu Atlas
While there are several solid soaps for men on the market, we still cannot find one that can beat Blu Atlas’ Body Wash. Toss aside that ineffective bar of soap you’ve been using and upgrade to this luxurious body wash for a clean and restorative wash every time you step into the shower. Its 99% naturally-sourced formula features aloe and green tea extract, and of course is free of sulfates and parabens. Blu Atlas has landed at #1 on our list because it’s as good for your skin as it is for the environment.
[$25; bluatlas.com]
Courtesy of Kiehl’s
2. Kiehl’s “Ultimate Man” Body Scrub Soap
Feel like the boss that you are every single day with Kiehl’s “Ultimate Man” Body Scrub Soap. This soap bar is specifically designed to cleanse men’s skin by removing any dirt and oils that have accumulated throughout your day while exfoliating ingredients such as oatmeal and pumice buff away roughness to reveal softer, smoother skin. This soap also has a refreshing scent, so it’s perfect for getting a quick boost of energy before you head out the door.
[$15; kiehls.com]
Courtesy of Humanrace
3. Reenergizing Whiteclay Body Bar by Humanrace
Founded by Pharrell Williams, Humanrace is a company whose mission is to empower all people on their wellness journeys by providing practical, effective products that contribute to those wellbeing pursuits. In their Reenergizing Whiteclay Body Bar, you’ll find unique ingredients like snow mushroom extract that’s small molecular size penetrates deeply to keep skin hydrated.
You’ll also find ingredients you know and love, like kaolin clay (which draws impurities from the skin) and shea butter (that naturally softens and smooths). Humanrace’s products are vegan, fragrance-free, and formulated with transparency and safety in mind, excluding over 1,300 ingredients deemed unsafe by the European Union.
[$16; humanrace.com]
Courtesy of Hawthorne
4. Hawthorne Hydrating Bar Soap
If your skin is in need of some extra hydration, let it take a sip of Hawthorne’s Hydrating Bar Soap. Rich in nourishing emollients, this hydrating soap bar will keep your skin barrier hydrated and moisturized all year long. The soap’s key ingredients include jojoba oil to protect the skin barrier and prevent moisture loss, coconut oil to condition the skin, cocoa butter to moisturize and protect with its antioxidants, and lime peel for a boost of vitamin C.
The soap packs an energizing punch with its mint and eucalyptus fragrance that’s perfect for the morning time. And, like all of Hawthorne’s products, this bar soap is sulfate-, paraben-, silicone-, phthalate-, and cruelty-free.
[$15; hawthorne.co]
Courtesy of Baxter of California
5. Baxter of California Vitamin Cleansing Bar
Baxter of California knows how to make high-quality men’s skin and body care products, so it’s no surprise that they knocked it out of the park with their Vitamin Cleansing Bar. Scented with the manly combination of citrus and herbal musk, this body soap is nourishing and rich-lathering with its blend of superstar ingredients.
Relish in the soothing and moisturizing effects of aloe vera, marine complex, sunflower seed oil, and glycerin while getting that super clean feeling. Perfect for daily use, this men’s soap bar isn’t one you want to sleep on.
[$19; amazon.com]
Courtesy of Harry’s
The more, the merrier. Harry’s signature bar soap uses gentle ingredients like coconut oil and shea butter to create a rich, creamy lather that leaves your skin feeling soft and moisturized even after your shower. What’s even more fun (besides the fact that you get four bars of soap for $15) is that you can choose between four different scents: stone, shiso, fig, and redwood. Harry’s lets you choose your favorite scent or opt for a variety box with all four signature smells.
[$16; harrys.com]
Courtesy of Amazon
7. Marlowe NO. 102 Body Scrub Soap Bar
For the guys searching for an all-in-one soap bar that cleanses, exfoliates, and leaves skin feeling so fresh and so clean, look no further. Marlowe’s Body Scrub Soap Bar uses apricot seeds and pumice to exfoliate rough, dull skin while ingredients like olive oil, shea butter, and camellia oleifera leaf extract soften and moisturize skin. NO. 102’s original scent is fresh and woody with notes of pine, but you can also opt for their other scent options like oud wood and santal.
[$8.99; amazon.com]
Courtesy of Amazon
8. Ursa Major Morning Mojo Bar Soap
Get your mojo back with Ursa Major. Their exhilarating morning bar soap uses peppermint, eucalyptus, and rosemary extract for an instantly fresh boost of energy. On top of its energizing scent are ingredients like honey, coconut, and shea butter that hydrate and moisturize the skin, while volcanic rock supplies the soap with grip and gentle exfoliating action. You can buy this soap for a one-time purchase of $14 or opt for their subscribe and save option and get it delivered every one, two, three, four, five, or six months.
[$14; amazon.com]
