I tested the top-rated natural hand soap brands over the last few years, and created this in-depth guide. The best non toxic hand soap is made without any parabens, phthalates, triclosan, dyes, MIT, artificial colors or fragrance. Keep reading to learn how to find the safest hand wash for the whole family, which ingredients to avoid and my favorite brands compared!

How to find the best non-toxic hand wash

After testing all the top-rated natural hand soaps, my favorites are Blueland (foam), Flamingo Estate and Homecourt. Plus they all offer eco-friendly refill options.

Ingredients to Avoid

Avoid greenwashing hand soap brands like Seventh Generation and Attitude.

Sulfates: known to cause irritation.

Quaternary Ammonium Compounds: These are known irritants and corrosive agents at high concentrations.

Perchloroethylene or “PERC”: irritating to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract

Phthalates: known to disrupt hormone production

Polyethylene glycol (PEG): can be contaminated with ethylene oxides and 1,4-dioxane, which are known to be carcinogenic.

Synthetic Fragrance – can include carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, allergens, respiratory irritants, and neurotoxic substances

I’d love to hear from you! What has been your favorite natural hand soap?

Non-Toxic Hand Soaps Compared

I tried Flamingo Estate Natural Hand Soap

Flamingo Estate’s hand soap blew me away! I find this to be the most nourishing and moisturizing all natural hand soap that comes in an actually beautiful sustainable bottle. I love their eco-luxe, made-right-from-the-garden products. Their 100% natural hand soap skimps on nooothing and has six times the normal amount of essential oils compared to other natural hand soaps. And I can definitely notice the difference! I tried their Heirloom Tomato scent and Clary Sage scent. The olfactory experience is next to none and transports you right to their garden estate. I rarely see rosehip oil in a hand wash and Flamingo Estate uses the highest quality kind harvested in Patagonia. The rosemary oil is harvested in Italy, lavender and olive oil in California and Babassu Seed Oil is harvested in Brazil. This bottle is huge and lasts longer than other natural hand washes! To make it last EVEN longer, my favorite hack I like to do with my liquid hand wash is add more water. It dilutes it thinner but the formula is so concentrated it still cleans well.

Price: $44 for 16.9 oz
How it feels: thick and moisturizing liquid gel
Key ingredients: Rosehip oil, Babassu seed oil, Meadofoam seed oil, essential oils
Scents available: Rosemary & Clary Sage, Roma Heirloom Tomato
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ ✔ Palm-free ✔ Packaged in recyclable aluminium

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I tried Homecourt Liquid Hand Wash (Luxe!)

I looove Homecourt’s hand soap in the scent Cece – smells divine and impresses all my house guests. Homecourt is the only hand wash brand in this list with scents that aren’t entirely made of essential oils, but they are sooo good (especially if you’re a fragrance snob!). I love that it’s got moisturizing Argan oil, hydrating Australian hibiscus flower extract as well as coconut-derived surfactants to cleanse without irritating skin. It’s a decently thick and moisturizing liquid gel consistency with a lasting scent that lingers longer than most hand washes. I recently tried their Balsam Fireplace scent as well as Cocomoi, but Cece is still my all-time fave. It smells grounding yet sweet with cedarwood smoke, sweet cardamom, & white leather.

Price: $32 for 12 oz
How it feels: thick and moisturizing liquid gel
Key ingredients: Australian hibiscus flower extract, Argan oil
Scents available: Cece (Andrea’s fave!), Cipres Mint, Steeped Rose, Neroli Leaf, Mandarin Basile, Balsam Fireplace
Refills available: Yes ($84 for 33.8 oz)
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Includes sustainably-sourced essential oils

Use OBL for 15% off

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I tried Rowe Casa Natural Hand Soap

This is a super moisturizing non-toxic foam hand soap with tooons of nourishing oils. It’s also the only one I’ve tested that contains anti-bacterial colloidal silver! The first thing I noticed about Rowe Casa Organic’s hand soap is the size – it’s larger than most other natural hand washes even though it’s not the biggest. I find that it’s gentle yet leaves my hands thoroughly cleansed and silky smooth, never stripped. The scent is 100% therapeutic grade essential oils and smells divine. My only complaint is the pump size is on the shorter end so it’s not as easy to use. Rowe Casa is also a convenient one-stop shop for all things home.

Price: $14 for 8 oz
How it feels: foam
Key ingredients: Colloidal silver, organic glycerin, organic grapeseed oil, essential oils
Scents available: Immunity, Peppermint & Vanilla, Rosemary & Lemongrass, Pumpkin Spice, Christmas Cheer, Kids Hand Soap
Refills available: No
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free

Use OBL for 20% off

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I tried Blueland Eco-Friendly Hand Soap (refillable!)

I’ve used Blueland for myself and for all my airbnb guests for years because it’s the most economical (and nice-looking) hand wash I have. Each bottle lasts forever and I simply pop in a new tablet and add water to refill it. The Starter Set only costs $10 and comes with their beautiful glass bottle and three tablets. After that a refill only costs $2.25. Their formula is made without parabens, phosphates, ammonia, VOCs, chlorine bleach, or phthalates and sourced from vegan, gluten-free and soy-free ingredients. Their fragrance-free one is the safest since the scented ones do use synthetics. But if you must have a fragranced one, my favorite is Iris Agave. The only downside is that it contains no actual skincare ingredients. Also, learn from my my mistake, and don’t try to use another brand’s hand soap tablet because it will mess up the pump.

Price: $10 for glass forever bottle and 3 tablets
How it feels: comes out as foam
Key ingredients: no special key ingredients
Scents available: Fragrance-free, Iris Agave (Andrea’s fave!), Perrine Lemon, Lavender Eucalyptus, Pacific Mist, Evergreen, Toasted Vanilla, Wintry Pine, Sweet Chestnut
Refills available: Yes
✔ Vegan ✔ Leaping Bunny Cruelty-free ✔ Cradle to Cradle Certified™ ✔ EPA Safer Choice

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I tried Aleavia Natural Hand Wash

I bought Aleavia’s holiday hand soap as soon as it came out! Their hand wash is 100% plant based, made with organic ingredients and is paraben and sulfate free, non-toxic and vegan. It gives a gentle lather and feels incredibly hydrating on my skin. I love that their formulas all contain prebiotics to nourish the skin’s microbiome. Balsam Fir is my latest scent obsession and smells exactly like the holidays, full of warmth and spice from cinnamon bark and balsam fir. I find its liquid gel consistency to feel light and nourishing. Aleavia’s ingredients are always truly natural and high quality and the hand wash is made with organic butters, plant oils, Dead Sea Salt and Sea Kelp. Bonus points for being relatively affordable!

Price: $12.99 for 8 oz
How it feels: moisturizing liquid gel
Key ingredients: Organic coconut oil, Dead Sea salt, organic sea kelp, organic glycerin, organic cinnamon bark essential oil
Scents available: Citrus & Sea Kelp, Balsam Winter
Refills available: No
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Includes sustainably-sourced essential oils

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I tried Kosmatalogy Foaming Hand Soap

Kosmatology and Blueland are the two foam hand soaps I tested and if I compare them, Kosmatology’s foam feels more moisturizing and thicker while Blueland is thinner and more airy. Also, Kosmatalogy’s is scented with 100% essential oils while Blueland’s scented variants are not all natural. Sadly I don’t like Kosmatology’s packaging design but I appreciate how affordable it is at under $10. I find their Lavender Bliss scent veeery fragrant and relaxing. I love how the scent sorta lingers for a bit after I’ve dried my hands. Update: Kosmatology now offers eco-friendly refills ($34 for 34 oz), but I do find the soap gets used up faster in comparison to others.

Price: $9.95 for 8.5 oz
How it feels: comes out as foam
Key ingredients: Organic coconut oil, organic olive oil, organic essential oils
Scents available: Lemon Lovers, Botanical Bliss, Free & Clear, Herbal Fresh, Orange Sweetness, Goody Goody Grapefruit
Refills available: Yes
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Made-Safe, Leaping Bunny and PETA Certified

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I tried Truly Free Natural Hand Soap

I found Truly to be one the most affordable (and refillable) non-toxic hand soaps on the market. This is a very simple and gentle hand wash with just a handful of ingredients. It dispenses as thick foam that effectively cleanses skin without drying it out. Their Aloe Hand Wash is also a great sustainable option with paper refill packets filled with liquid concentrate that you simply mix with water. There’s no scent. With my generous code each bottle comes out to less than $6, which is an insanely good deal. My only complaint is that the design and colors may not match every household and it’s not the nicest looking packaging out there (feels and looks cheap). But for big families looking to get ALL their non-toxic home products from one place, Truly Free is the best value around.

Price: $16.95 for 2-pack (each makes 8.5 oz)
How it feels: comes out as foam
Key ingredients: Aloe Vera
Scents available: Unscented
Refills available: Yes
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Includes sustainably-sourced essential oils

Use OBL30 for 30% off

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