If you’re looking for a super thorough guide and comparison of the best natural facial soap bars, I got you covered! I’ve extensively tested sooo many popular organic soaps over the years and there’s only small number of them that are actually good for facial skin. Plus, the ones in my carefully curated list would convert any hater into a fan! Whether you have acne, sensitive skin or rosacea skin, there’s a cleansing bar for you. Keep reading to find the best facial bar soap for your skin type, concerns and budget.

Why I love facial soap bars

Non toxic soap bars are not only filled with clean and natural ingredients that heal skin, they’re also sooo practical, less wasteful (basically zero waste!), plastic-free and budget-friendly.

Not having to pay for fancy (and heavy) packaging makes them WAY more affordable than their $40-plus bottled counterparts.

I also find they tend to last longer than water-based face cleansers, are incredibly versatile and so convenient to bring on my travels. And if they’re good enough for my face, they naturally make excellent cleansers for hand and body!

How to find the best soap for face

Most soap bars on the market aren’t suitable for delicate facial skin! I wouldn’t want to use any old soap on my face. It needs to tick all the boxes! I want the best ingredients, the right amount of lather, a deep thorough cleansing and petal soft skin afterwards.

The best clean facial soap bars are carefully and thoughtfully formulated in a balanced manner to provide deep yet gentle cleansing and nourishment for the skin.

There’s always exceptions of course, but I generally would trust a reputable skincare brand to make a good soap for the face than any random soap brand.

First, when looking for a natural soap bar, be sure to avoid harsh surfactants, irritants and sulfates. The last thing anyone wants is one that leaves their skin feeling dry and tight (or worse, the skin barrier damaged!).

Instead, look for nourishing oils and butters in the ingredients. These will condition skin so you’re not left with that dreaded squeaky tight sensation. I love olive oil, shea butter, coconut milk and tallow in my soap bars.

Ingredients to Avoid in Soap Bars

Here are the harmful ingredients you want to avoid in soap:

• Triclosan and Triclocarban: antimicrobial pesticides that are toxic to the aquatic environment and may impact human reproductive systems. 
• Cocamidopropyl Betaine: synthetic detergent and surfactant
• Butylatedhydroxy Anisole and Butylated Hydroxytoluene: synthetic antioxidants used to extend a product’s shelf life, and are likely carcinogens, hormone disruptors and may even cause liver damage. 
• Diethanolamine: a chemical that can cause liver and kidney cancer
• Dioxane: can adversely impact kidney, brain, and liver function.
• Formaldehyde: a comm preservative that is a known carcinogen and linked to asthma, neurotoxicity, and developmental toxicity. It can be labeled as: quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3 diol (Bronopol).
• Methylisothiazolinone and Methylchloroisothiazolinone: chemical preservatives known to be common irritants, sensitizers, and causes of contact skin allergies. 
• Parabens (methyl-, isobutyl-, propyl- and others): preservatives known to be endocrine (or hormone) disruptors.
• Phthalates: known to be endocrine disruptors
• Polyethylene Glycol (PEG compounds): PEGs may be contaminated with measurable amounts of ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane, which are both carcinogens. 
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS and SLES): surfactants that can cause skin irritation or trigger allergies.
• Synthetic Fragrance: Can contain any combination of 3,000-plus chemical ingredients, including hormone disruptors and allergens. 

Compared: 7 Non Toxic Facial Soap Bars

Summer Solace Tallow Bar Soap (My Top Pick!)

Summer Solace’s tallow soap is my top pick and recommendation for an organic soap bar that goes way above and beyond the rest of the competition. It’s not only organic regenerative, which is the highest standard of quality in the industry, but it’s also made of organic tallow exclusively sourced from verified regeneratively raised cattle from Stemple Creek Ranch, not to mention it contains hydrosols (something I’ve never seen in a soap!). Keep in mind majority of natural soaps are made almost entirely of palm oil. 🚩And I don’t trust most US tallow brands because they don’t even know where their tallow is sourced from (gross!).🚩

So why tallow? Because it’s deeply nourishing, healing and sooo moisturizing! Tallow is an amazing source of vitamins and nutrients for the skin because it’s higher in omega-7, omega-9, conjugated linoleic acid, and vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12 than plant-based fats. It contains a similar fat content to human skin, making it capable of absorbing quickly and penetrating deeply.

Summer Solace soaps are a cut above the rest – they feel sooo buttery and rich, give a good lather and leave my skin feeling not only deeply cleansed but baby soft. It’s next level creamy and actually works to balance out my dryness.

I was so impressed by their selection, sourcing and quality of ingredients. Most tallow skincare brands just hire a manufacturing company that makes tallow products, but Summer Solace makes their own tallow in-house the traditional way with certified regenerative, organic, ethically grown and hyper-local Northern California ingredients like indigenous-owned extra virgin olive oil made by the Seka Hills Tribe, heritage leaf lard, activated charcoal from Hawaiian coconut shells, sun-dried Mendocino bladderwack seaweed, E3Live super algae and even hydrosols. They offer 6 different varieties of tallow soap.

Price: $18 for 4.9 oz
Best for: all skin types
Other soap varieties offered: Unscented, Vetiver Grounding Soap, Third Wave Coffee Bar Soap, Rosemary and Manuka Pastured Leaf Lard Soap, Sea Change Seaweed Bar Soap, Yuzu and Sencha Toning Bar Soap with E3Live, Violet and Lemon Basil A2/A2 Milk Soap
✔ Regenerative Organic Ingredients ✔ Slow Made ✔ Palm-Free ✔ Imperfect soaps offered

 

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Use “OBL” for 15% off

 

Blissoma Oatmilk Mellow Facial Cleansing Bar

If you’re vegan, my top facial soap recommendation is Blissoma’s Oatmilk Mellow Cleansing Bar. I’ve purchased this multiple times over because I absolutely looove that it’s actually creamy (unlike most soaps) and has organic OATMILK made in-house by Blissoma!

I find that it gives me super squeaky clean skin without drying it out. Plus, it has the most soothing, gentle properties. The only potential con is that it contains titanium dioxide, which some individuals may avoid.

Many clean beauty brands use palm oil in their soaps, but Blissoma avoids this ingredient entirely. Instead, they use six naturally saponified oils of organic olive, coconut, sunflower, shea butter, pumpkin seed, castor, and cocoa butter. These oils mixed with a heaping base of oatmilk gives the bar its unique rich, creamy quality.

I can’t get enough of the scent! It’s delicate and elegant and smells of mild lavender, mint and vetiver. The calming and grounding aroma helps ease my overactive mind at night.

Price: $22 for 3.75 oz
Best for: normal, sensitive and all skin types
Other soap varieties offered: Pomegranate Supreme Facial Cleansing Bar
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Palm-Free ✔ Certified Organic Ingredients

 

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Ursa Major Morning Mojo Bar Soap (Best for Men!)

I find Ursa Major’s soap bar great if you have very oily skin because of how purifying and clarifying it is. It’s an invigorating and exfoliating facial soap bar perfect for morning soap users (or men!).

I find their bar gives the most excellent frothy lather but doesn’t strip the skin thanks to honey, coconut oil and shea butter. It’s also got volcanic ash to exfoliate skin but doesn’t feel coarse at all. In fact, I’m not sure it even adds much value because I can’t hardly feel it all.

Every time I use this soap the scent makes me feel like I’m waking up in the mountains. I can tell it has a very generous amount of rosemary and eucalyptus oils, because the scent is much stronger than most other soaps. I find the cooling fresh, minty immediately perks up my senses and has me feeling more alert and ready to take on the day.

Overall, I feel this is one of the best value natural soaps (that also works well for the face) on the market!

Price: $14 for 5 oz
Best for: all skin types
Other soap varieties offered: None
✔ Responsibly-sourced Palm Oil ✔ Some Organic Ingredients ✔ Certified Plastic Negative

 

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Use OBL15 for 15% off

Living Libations Cleansing Charcoal Bar Soap

I’ve been testing Living Libations bar soap on my face for the last two months and find it to be a gentle yet effective cleanser. This has got a super clean formula of saponified olive oil, cacao butter, jojoba oil, coconut oil, charcoal and essential oils of lemon myrtle, patchouli and palmarosa. It lathers decently and feels super moisturizing and nourishing. The charcoal helps detox the pores and the oils are high quality like with all Living Libations products.

Price: $14 for 4.23 oz
Best for: all skin types
Other soap varieties offered: Pink Clay Soap, Clarifying Clay Soap
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free

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Cleo + Coco Cleanse Bar

This is a gem of a find! I loooove how moisturizing, buttery and hydrating this bar and nobody even knows about it because Cleo + Coco is actually a deodorant brand. It gives a really strong, creamy lather and still feels oh so buttery on the skin. Like many natural soaps, it contains Sustainable Palm, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Olive Oil, Organic Shea Butter and essential oils along with extra goodness like honey and activated charcoal. It’s seriously such an amazing face soap! I find the specific formulation used makes it better than most other non-toxic cleansing bars.

Price: $16.99 for 5.5 oz
Best for: all skin types
Other soap varieties offered: None
✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Responsibly-sourced Palm Oil ✔ Contains Organic Ingredients

 

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Osmia Clay Facial Soap (Best for Sensitive Skin)

Osmia’s are a tried-and-true favorite for very sensitive skin and problematic issues like perioral dermatitis and rosacea. I finally tested their formulated facial soaps, which have been vetted by the clean beauty community for maaaany years. I recommend looking into Osmia if you suffer from serious skin issues and need a targeted skin treatment and soap in one.

Before I go into my whole experience with Osmia Skincare’s soaps, I have to mention how TINY they are. I first thought I had accidentally gotten the trial size, but nope! This is one of the most expensive soaps on the market. A few of the other ones in my list are 5 oz, so if Osmia’s soaps were the same size it would cost nearly $50!

They start off like most other soaps – responsibly-sourced palm oil. But I appreciate the wide variety of organic oils, butters and nutrient-dense ingredients like coconut milk, French pink clay and kaolin clay (or Black Australian clay and Dead Sea mud).

I find that the soap gives a very gentle lather and lasts quite a while for such a small size! It provides a soothing and gentle cleanse that doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry or tight afterwards.

Price: $24 for 2.25 oz
Best for: Dry, Mature, Sensitive and Rosacea Skin
Other soap varieties offered: Black Clay Facial Soap, Pumpkin Facial Soap
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Responsibly-sourced Palm Oil ✔ Certified Organic Ingredients

 

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The Yellow Bird Natural Soap Bar (Budget Friendly!)

If I were on a really tight budget, I would opt for The Yellow Bird natural soaps. They tick all my boxes and come in 15 different varieties, so there’s something for everyone! The ingredients are simple, organic and pure. All their soaps have a base of organic Sustainable Palm Oil, Sunflower Oil, Coconut Oil, Olive Oil and Shea Butter and are enhanced with different essential oils and actives depending on the soap type.

I find the Yellow Bird soap bar to be rich and moisturizing and they give a decent lather. It cleans super well and isn’t harsh in any way on the skin.

Price: $9.95 for 4.5 oz
Best for: all skin types
Other soap varieties offered: 15 varieties
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free ✔ Responsibly-sourced Palm Oil ✔ Certified Organic Ingredients

 

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Herbivore Pink Clay Cleansing Bar Soap

Herbivore also makes a great facial cleansing bar that’s all natural and safe for delicate facial skin. It feels rich and hydrating and has a very gentle lather. Love that it’s a decent size too at 4 oz. The ingredient quality isn’t as high as my previously mentioned top picks, since none are certified organic but it’s still an effective facial soap. It’s got sunflower seed oil, safflower seed oil, palm kernel oil, olive fruit oil, French pink clay and geranium essential oil.

Price: $14 for 4 oz
Best for: dry and sensitive skin
Other soap varieties offered: Bamboo Cleansing Charcoal Bar Soap
✔ Vegan ✔ Cruelty-free

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