7 Best Vegan Hand Soap Brands You Can’t Live Without

However, leading a cruelty-free lifestyle involves more than just going vegan with your diet and acquiring only sustainable goods. It also means making small yet important changes to your daily life.

For instance, instead of using the more conventional variants of soap, you’ll require vegan hand soap—and I’ll help you find just the right one!

In a Hurry? Here’s Our Quick List of Top Picks

• Sonett Organic Hand Soap Rose
• Puracy Natural Foaming Hand Soap – Lavender & Vanilla
• Citrus Sunshine – Foaming Castile Hand Soap
• Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap
• Dr. Bronner’s Organic Lemongrass Lime Sugar Soap
• Mrs Meyers Clean Day Soap Hand – Liquid Parsley
• Puracy Natural Liquid Hand Soap – Lavender & Vanilla

How to Choose the Best Vegan Hand Soap

Vegan soap isn’t exactly something everyone is familiar with at this point.

It’s still relatively new, and because of that, more than a few interested buyers may not be completely aware of what to look for when they’re looking to purchase.

I’ll help you change this by highlighting the essential factors you should know about before buying any vegan soaps!

How Can I Be Sure That I Am Looking at Vegan Soap?

We’ll begin with the most basic issue, which involves the process of actually identifying it.

Manufacturers are quite helpful here because they’ll usually include a label which indicates the nature of the soap.

Such labels, which you should look for, will state the soap is either “cruelty-free” or “vegan.”

Now, in the cases where someone has told you “brand X” is vegan but you’re not seeing labels, what you need to do is to check the ingredient list.

You need to be on the lookout for specific fatty acids that may be included in bars or bottles of soap such as linoleic, myristic acid, oleic, palmitic, palmitoleic, and stearic among others.

It’s possible some fatty acids are plant-based, but they usually sourced from various animal fats so keep this in mind.

Is the Process of Manufacturing the Vegan Soap Sustainable?

It’s not enough for the soap itself to be vegan, you also have to be sure it’s manufactured through a sustainable process if you want to buy the best product.

When considering sustainability, look at the packaging. The vegan soap may be made out of only the finest organic materials, but this can be offset by the fact that it’s packaged in a lot of plastic.

Look for soap wrapped or contained in recyclable materials. If getting a vegan soap packaged in plastic is unavoidable, then at least make sure the amount of plastic used is kept to a minimum.

It’s also wise to check the ingredient list for any harmful chemicals.

Remember the soap you’re using for washing your hands also goes down the drain and eventually reaches larger bodies of water.

If it contains harsh chemicals, then it’s still doing damage to the environment.

As you can tell, it’s not easy finding the right type of vegan soap, but it’s worth putting in the effort to obtain it.

Should I Get Vegan Soap in Solid or Liquid Form?

After you’ve found the right brand, you can now move on to deciding whether you should purchase a bar or liquid option.

For a while, rumors were circulating about liquid soaps being more effective cleaners than their harder counterparts.

However, Ethical Consumer notes that tests conducted on both types of soap reveal they work equally well when it comes to cleaning your hands.

So, what does that mean?

In the absence of more data saying one type of soap is better than the other, the decision of whether to go with solid or liquid soap essentially boils down to your own preferences.

Personally, I like purchasing liquid soap because I can keep it in a glass dispenser meaning I can purchase refills instead of getting new containers. This helps me further reduce my carbon footprint.

Plus, liquid soap also looks great when kept inside a stylish glass bottle!

What Other Features Do I Need to Look for in Vegan Soap?

Scent still matters when it comes to soap, regardless of whether it’s vegan or not.

Obviously, you can just let your preferences guide you here. Citrus scents always rate highly for me.

I’d also look for soaps that feature a moisturizing quality. If your soap can help you cut down on your usage of other beauty products, that’s obviously a huge positive.

What about Palm Oil Vegan Soaps?

Palm oil is a bit of a tricky subject. The Vegan Society notes palm oil itself can be produced without the involvement of animals, but the manufacturing practices involved aren’t always ideal.

Because of how palm oil can change the consistency of the soap, there are still manufacturers who rely on it.

As much as possible though, I encourage you to get soap free from palm oil.

7 Top Picks for Vegan Hand Soaps

Let’s talk about specific products and brands we recommend.

Included below are some of the top hand soaps currently available as well as the companies responsible for bringing them to market.

Sonett Organic Hand Soap Rose

The first item on my list is the Organic Hand Soap Rose from Sonett.

This liquid soap boasts a mix of excellent ingredients such as olive and coconut oil combined with various essential oils. The result is a hand soap that lathers quickly.

When applied to your skin, it doesn’t feel harsh and you can keep using it for an extended period of time without experiencing discomfort.

It also possesses all the qualities you’d want to see in a vegan soap.

The only real issue I had was its scent. It’s a tad too strong for me and I wish it was as gentle as the feel of the soap on my skin.

Puracy Natural Foaming Hand Soap – Lavender & Vanilla

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I love washing with hand soaps that foam easily.

They’re fun to watch pop up and they tend to encourage you to keep washing for longer because they feel so light and airy on your hands.

Puracy’s Natural Foaming Hand Soap turns into foam almost immediately!

This particular type of soap also has moisturizing effects. You’re going to want to use it for washing your hands even if they aren’t dirty because of its moisturizing quality!

The consistency can take some time to get used to because it’s different, but this doesn’t take anything away from how effective it is.

It does seem as though a lot of lavender went into making this product, so, perhaps steer clear of this soap if you’re not a fan of lavender—otherwise you’re in luck!

Oregon Soap Company Citrus Sunshine – Foaming Castile Hand Soap

I mentioned earlier I’m a big fan of soaps with citrus aromas, so you probably won’t be surprised to learn I love what the Citrus Sunshine Foaming Castile Hand Soap brings to my home.

This hand soap has a kind of citrus smell that lingers, and I want to hang it around because it’s gorgeous.

I did notice this hand soap doesn’t bubble up as well as some of the items we’ve already talked about, but you can still get it to lather after working it a bit.

It’s also worth pointing out that the people behind the company make the effort to offset their emissions and they also plant trees upon reaching sales landmarks for Citrus Sunshine.

Those are just some additional reasons for why I love having this hand soap around.

Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap

Dr. Bronner’s family started making soaps in 1858, and he’s been selling their vegan, cruelty-free, and environmentally conscious creations since 1948. This classic Pure-Castile Liquid Soap has been a staple in many homes for decades.

Made from organic oils and no toxic or unnecessary ingredients, this “18-in-1” soap can be used not only for hand washing, but bathing, doing laundry, cleaning floors, washing dishes, and more.

This unscented formula is a great option for anyone with allergies, sensitive skin, or sensitivity to the strong smell of today’s conventional hand soaps.

An added benefit of this soap is not just the eco-friendly ingredients, but the bottles are made from post-consumer recycled plastic to help divert waste from landfills.

Dr. Bronner’s Organic Lemongrass Lime Sugar Soap

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We have another vegan soap that features citrus notes and this time, it’s the Organic Lemongrass Lime Sugar Soap from Dr. Bronner’s.

The combination of lemongrass and lime works brilliantly. The aroma teeters on the edge of being too strong without actually crossing that line.

What you’re able to inhale instead is a scent I personally found to be deeply soothing and stimulating.

I also want to highlight the fact this vegan soap isn’t just suitable for washing your hands or face. It works just as well if you decide to use it for your hair.

You’ll still want to reach for your favorite bottle of shampoo when you can, but Dr. Bronner’s creation can work as a great substitute.

You’ll probably want to transfer this liquid soap into a different container once you get it. The bottle it arrives in is prone to damage and the pump also has a tendency to malfunction.

Other than those minor packaging issues, there are no other reasons to shy away from using this hand soap in my book.

Mrs Meyers Clean Day Soap Hand – Liquid Parsley

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I quickly noticed the manufacturers of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Hand Soap highlighted the fact their product features aloe vera gel. Clearly, they have a market in mind and that’s not a bad thing.

For those who may be unaware, aloe vera gel isn’t just a substance useful for the purposes of cleaning your skin or providing a nice aroma. It also has specific uses that make it more helpful to certain people.

The antiseptic compounds present in aloe vera gel will come in really handy if you’re dealing with an acne outbreak.

If you have a teenager currently going through acne-related issues, you may want to give serious consideration to purchasing this.

Another notable characteristic of aloe vera is it naturally helps with the reduction of inflammation. That benefit is one you’ll be grateful for if you sustain a minor burn somewhere on your body, even sunburn.

This soap is also anti-bacterial so will help in this aspect as well.

Compared to many of the other vegan soaps, I’d say Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Hand Soap offers more benefits, but if you just need something that’ll properly clean your skin and smell good while doing so, there are some better options available.

The consistency of this hand soap also feels a bit off due to how thin it is.

Puracy Natural Liquid Hand Soap – Lavender & Vanilla

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Wrapping with the final soap in this round, we’ve got Puracy’s Natural Liquid Hand Soap.

This is the second Puracy product included here and unfortunately, it also suffers from the issue of featuring too strong of a lavender scent, at least for me.

That issue actually takes a backseat to the more pressing problem of this hand soap leaving your skin feeling dry.

It doesn’t feature the same moisturizing qualities present in other vegan soaps and that’s a little disappointing.

If you can get past those flaws, though, you’re getting a product helpful in so many other ways.

Aloe vera is once again prominently featured, and yes, you’ll again be able to enjoy the benefits it provides

Along with aloe vera, it also includes sea salt, which comes with the benefit of reducing the oiliness of your skin and also helps with deeper cleaning.

This Puracy product has its flaws, but its good points outweigh those by a lot.

Top Choice for the Best Vegan Hand Soap

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All right, now I’ll let you in on what I’ve found to be the best choice for a vegan-friendly liquid soap.

After getting the chance to use all these great products, I just can’t help but go with Dr. Bronner’s Organic Lemongrass Lime Sugar Soap.

The presence of citrus scents gives it many bonus points in my book. But beyond that, its versatility is also worthy of praise.

Plus, you also won’t be complaining about how well it cleans because it efficiently evaporates germs and bacteria that could be present on your hands.

You’ll likely have to get a separate container for this hand soap, but it’s not a significant enough reason for me to like it any less.