23 Best Bar Soaps for Men
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23 Best Bar Soaps for Men
<p>Product photos from retailer site</p>

23 Best Bar Soaps for Men

Think You Know Bar Soaps? Think Again

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Product photos from retailer site.


Bar soaps still get a bad rap, but the truth is, not all men’s bar soaps are created equal. While there is an endless supply of body soap products that will get you squeaky clean, some are better at multitasking and caring for your skin than others. Sharp scents and splashy suds are important, but the best bar soaps balance your skin’s moisture while getting rid of dirt, oil, grime and sweat. Here are a few things to consider when picking the right bar for you.


Bar Soap vs. Body Wash


Body wash is great — no argument there — but there are a lot of great qualities that get overlooked when talking cleansers of choice. Technically, soap is a long chain fatty acid alkali salt with a high pH between 9 and 10, and modern body soap and bar soaps are made with ingredients that are less harsh and better for skin than those bricks your grandparents used. 

RELATED: 15 Best Natural Deodorant of 2021

Even so, some bar soaps can be slightly more drying than body washes, which means men with normal to dry skin, or people looking for milder product formulas, might think body wash is best. For those with oily skin types or people just looking for a very deep wash, a bar of soap is an easy way to get clean. 

The main difference between the two is obviously the delivery. A bar of soap requires nothing more than a little water and the will to get clean. Body wash, however, requires a little help from a cloth, puff or scrubby glove. At the end of the day, it boils down to how you want to get clean. 


Bar Soap Ingredients to Look For


Moisturizing oils. Oils play the role of fat in soap and aid in both cleansing and moisturizing. Popular oils include palm kernel and coconut oils thanks to their high concentration of lauric acid — a saturated fatty acid. Additionally canola, hazelnut, sunflower, marula and olive oils all have high fatty acid content making them good bar soap oils. 

Shea butter. Shea butter is a fat extracted from the nuts of the shea tree which is native to West Africa. It has been used as a cosmetic ingredient for centuries due to it’s high concentration of fatty acids and antioxidant vitamins A and E.

Vegetable glycerin. This is a humectant found in any decent body soap that draws moisture into the skin and can help counteract the drying effect of the soap. Made by heating triglyceride-rich vegetable fats under pressure or together with a strong alkali such as lye, vegetable glycerin is a popular skincare treatment because of its moisturizing power and ability to protect the skin barrier.


Bar Soap Ingredients to Try to Avoid


Fragrance. The term “fragrance” is largely used to protect a company's "secret formula." That means fragrance can have a lot of stuff companies don’t want you to know about. If they don’t want us to know about them, we have to wonder why. 

Parabens. Parabens are widely used preservatives that prevent the growth of bacteria, mold and yeast in personal care products yet they contain estrogen-mimicking properties that are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. 

Phthalates. A group of chemicals used in many personal care products to increase the flexibility and softness — of plastics. They are proven endocrine disruptors and have been linked to increased risk of breast cancer, early breast development in young girls and reproductive birth defects in males and females. 

Propylene glycol. Propylene glycol is a small organic alcohol commonly used as a skin-conditioning agent. It's classified as a skin irritant and penetrator and it has been associated with causing dermatitis as well as hives in humans. 

Sulfates (SLS and SLES). Sulfates are in the vast majority of personal care products due to their ability to provide a rich lather. SLS's are known to be drying as well as being skin, eye and lung irritants. 

Synthetic colors. Synthetic colors — noted by FD&C or D&C — are derived from petroleum or coal tar sources. (Sounds so clean.) Synthetic colors can be a skin irritant and are suspected to be a human carcinogen.

Triclosan. Tricolson is widely used antimicrobial chemical that's a known endocrine disruptor. Studies suggest that triclosan contributes to making bacteria antibiotic-resistant and doesn’t provide better protection from bacteria than plain soap and water.

With all that said, keep reading for our picks for the best bar soaps for men.


Best Bar Soaps for Men


Best Overall Men's Bar Soap

Cremo Palo Santo Reserve Collection Body Bar Soap

Dove Beauty Bar

Cremo men's soap won the 2021 AskMen Grooming Award for Best Shower Gel thanks to it's natural ingredients, rich lather, and absolutely amazing palo santo scent. So, it shouldn't come as any surprise that the exfoliating bar soap iteration of the stellar shower gel wins best overall bar. Lava rock and oat kernel to gently get rid of dead skin cells while shea butter, aloe, and glycerin keep skin soft and supple.  

$5.99 at Target.com

Best Natural Soap

Bearsville Soap Woodland Musk

LAFCO Feu de Bois Bar Soap

This bar is so simple yet so satisfying. Natural ingredients including coconut, olive and organic and sustainable palm oils, lye, shea butter, fresh goat milk and a little fragrance are what make up this masculine, rugged bar of soap. It’s so good, it was our 2019 AskMen Grooming Award winner for Best Soap Bar.

$7.50 at BearsvilleSoaps.com

Best Antibacterial Bar Soap

Dial Complete 2-in-1 Moisturizing and Antibacterial Soap Bar

Dial Complete 2-in-1 Moisturizing and Antibacterial Bar

If antibacterial soap is what you’re after, Dial is the gold (bar) standard. With benzalkonium chloride to kill pesky germs and glycerin, shea oil and palm kernel acid to keep skin soft and moisturized, this minty coconut concoction pulls double duty in both cleansing and conditioning.  

$9.99 for 8 at Amazon.com

Best Charcoal Bar Soap

Herbivore Bamboo Charcoal Cleansing Bar 

Best Charcoal Bar Soap Herbivore Bamboo Charcoal Cleansing Bar 

Designed for oily, combination and blemish-prone faces, this bamboo charcoal cleansing bar soap works great all over your body as well. Tea Tree oil provides a clarifying clean without stripping skin of the oils it needs. Truly vegan and cruelty-free, Hebrivore is perfect for just about everyone in the family.

$12 at Amazon.com

Best Luxury Bar Soap

Krigler America One 31 Soap Bar

Best Luxury Bar Soap Krigler America One 31 Soap

A scent worn by multiple Presidents — one such presidential patron confirmed to be John F. Kennedy — this all-American fragrance favorite can be found in a rich milled soap allowing you to not only finish off your morning ritual with the scent, but begin with it too. 

$55 at Krigler.com

Best Bar Soap for Face and Acne

Shea Moisture African Black Soap Bar 

Best Bar Soap for Face and Acne Shea Moisture African Black Soap Bar 

Shea Moisture's hero ingredient is nourishing, African black soap that gently cleanses dry skin and combined with the unique cleanser formula also works to absorb dirt and oil. The African black soap base is mixed with glycerin, aloe, oat kernel meal, rosemary extract, charcoal, and of course rich shea butter, to create a truly luxurious and hard working soap safe for face, body, oily skin and skin with acne.

$14.72 for 4 at Amazon.com 

Best Shampoo Bar

Ethique Solid Shampoo Bar

Best Shampoo Bar Soap Ethique Solid Shampoo Bar

Don’t think one bar can do it all? Think again — well, pretty much. This shampoo bar from cruelty-free, eco-friendly bar brand Ethique actually works to both cleanse hair (even color-treated hair) without all the added water. The most surprising aspect of this little guy — one concentrate saves almost 24 ounces of water and one plastic bottle from manufacture and disposal into landfill. 

$9.95 at Amazon.com

Best Organic Bar Soap

Leef Organics Nooks + Crannies Bar Soap

Best Organic Bar Soap Leef Organics Nooks + Crannies Bar Soap

CBD is making its way into almost everything now and natural bar soap is no exception … But not all these bar soaps should be considered equal. This sold option is packed with 20 mg of clean, organic whole flower CBD extract plus activated charcoal and organic chamomile flowers to calmly cleanse skin from head-to-toe without any harsh chemicals. Plus this is going to make your shower smell ridiculously good. 

$22 at LeefOrganics.com

Best Exfoliating Bar Soap

Ursa Major Morning Mojo Bar

Best Exfoliating Bar Soap Ursa Major Morning Mojo Bar

Plant-based cleansers? Check. Mineral-based exfoliators? Check. Natural oils. You bet. Paraben and phthalates? Nope. Animal testing? Not a chance. Ursa Major puts its money where it’s Morning Mojo is by providing a quality body bar soap, at an affordable price with a sustainable impact. Lathering up isn’t the only thing that feels good when using this bar of soap.  

$14 at UrsaMajorVT.com

Best Unscented Bar Soap

Dr. Bronner's Baby Unscented Castile Bar Soap

Dr. Bronner's Baby Unscented Pure-castile Bar Soap

All of Dr. Bronners bar soaps are made with organic hemp oil for a hydrating, skin smoothing lather. Use it from head-to-toe for a fresh and clean shower session that’s safe enough for the whole family. If you love Dr. Bronners, but need a little fragrance, you can find this better-than-conventional bar soap with organic ingredients in scents including almond, tea tree, lavender, and of course, peppermint. 

$5.99 at Amazon.com

Best Smelling Bar Soap

Diptyque 34 Boulevard Saint Germain Soap

Best Smelling Bar Soap Diptyque '34' Soap

If unscented isn't your jam, and peppermint is a little too much, this luxurious bar of soap is enriched with diptyque's delicious 34 Boulevard Saint Germain fragrance to elevate the cleansing experience and is paired with rich ingredients including sweet almond oil and vegetable glycerin to make a bar of soap so good, it's worth the hefty price tag. 

$38 at NeimanMarcus.com

Best Bar Soap for Sensitive Skin

Cetaphil Gentle Cleansing Bar 

Cetaphil Gentle Cleansing Bar 

This is a favorite from the brand most recommended by dermatologists. This soap- and detergent-free formula gets rid of dirt and sweat for a full body deodorizing but is safe and gentle enough for even the most dry and sensitive skin.

$11.99 for 3 at Amazon.com

Best Bar Soap for Oily Skin

Neutrogena Facial Cleansing Bar

Neutrogena Facial Cleansing Bar

Bar soaps containing harsh detergents and dyes can cause acne to flare up. Skip the redness and irritation and use a gentler formulation instead. This glycerin-rich facial bar yields a creamy lather and cleanses away excess oil and pore clogging bacteria without over drying your skin. Your face will look healthy and clear in no time and for little money.

$13.49 for 3 at Amazon.com

More Best Bar Soaps for Men

Zum Bar Amber Goat's Milk Soap

Zum Bar Amber Goat's Milk Soap

Zum Bar Soaps are made from fragrant essential oil blends infused into a rich combination of olive oils, coconut oils, and castor oils, plus nourishing goat’s milk, good enough for everything from oily skin to sensitive skin. In fact, the hero ingredient, goat’s milk, is a naturally homogenized, silky-soft moisturizer. It’s full of the good fats that help your skin’s pH levels lock in extra hydration. If you're looking to take this scent out of the shower, you're in luck. The brand now offers it, and all the other best selling scents as a bar soap. 

$6.25 at IndigoWild.com

Duke Cannon Big Ass Beer Soap

Duke Cannon Big Ass Beer Soap

You want more soap? Go get more soap. Grab a bar of “big ass beer soap” that’s three times the average size (but who says size matters). You’ll get clean and smell good with Duke Cannon soap made just for men's skin. This company manufacturers their big soaps in the same plant that supplied the military soap for over twenty years. It’s also modeled after the “brick” style of soap airdropped to GIs during the Korean War. That’ll do, soap. That'll do.

$13.79 at Amazon.com

Dove Beauty Bar

Dove Beauty Bar

You can never go wrong with Dove. This is a very mild formulation with an added quarter moisturizing cream to fight dry skin with no oily film to leave your skin feeling greasy. Super nourishing and gentle enough to use on your face, it leaves you with healthy skin, not tight and dry. Add to that, it's completely fragrance-free, so it's even great for those with sensitive skin.

$13.98 for 16 at Amazon.com

Dr. Squatch Soap Co. Pine Tar Soap

Dr. Squatch Soap Co. Pine Tar Bar Soap

You may live in an urban jungle but you can still escape to nature with a handmade soap from Dr. Squatch. There are eight soaps, each with a distinct masculine scent, with this Pine Tar soap being a big crowd pleaser. All are made with the cold press process mixing lye with water, natural oils and butters that harden or saponify. Exfoliators — such as oatmeal — and essential oils are added, making each bar unique.

$9.95 at Amazon.com

Caswell-Massey Woodgrain Soap on a Rope

Caswell-Massey Woodgrain Soap on a Rope

It’s not often that a bar of soap looks so good you almost don’t want to use it. That’s Caswell-Massey. However, we strongly suggest using this all-natural sandalwood essential oil scented soap with a rope as often as you can. The rich, creamy lather of this triple milled all-vegetable soap moisturizes and nourishes the skin as it cleanses — and it smells so damn good. 

$20 at CaswellMassey.com

Native Wild Mint and Spruce Soap

Native Mint Soap

Shea butter, vegetable glycerin, palm and palm kernel acids, and coconut oil sells you on this wildly popular bar of soap and the big, bold fragrances keeps you coming back for more. We like it so much, we recommend picking up the liquid soap and natural deodorant with the same minty, fresh scent.  

$8 for 2 at NativeCos.com

Marlowe Men's Body Scrub Exfoliating Bar Soap

Marlowe Exfoliating Bar Soap

Marlowe knows how to make a good product to satisfy the needs of the modern man. Often, exfoliating soap for men leaves skin very dry and tight. Not this bar. Leaving a man’s body clean and refreshed, the rich, hydrating formula uses glycerin, shea butter, and olive oil to moisturize while it exfoliates dead skin with pumice, willow bark, and dead sea mud deep sea algae extract.

$7.99 at Amazon.com

Ivory Original Bath Bar

Ivory Original Bath Bar

We all float.” Maybe not — but Ivory does. Crisp, clean and almost perfectly pure at 99.44% purity, Ivory is still a favorite of moms and men after 130 years. If you’re looking for a dependable bar of soap that gets the job done without extra bells and whistles, Ivory is going to be the one.  

$4.49 for 3 at Amazon.com

Irish Spring Deodorant Bar Soap

Irish Spring Deodorant Bar Soap

This isn’t going to be for the guy who craves a moisture-rich, shea-butter packed clean. However, even though this is a deodorant soap that leaves your skin squeaky clean (which, for the record, should not always be the desired result) the fresh, crisp, bright Irish Spring scent is one that will leave us with fond memories for years to come, so sometimes going full-on squeak is totally worth it.

$1.99 for 3 at Amazon.com

LAFCO Feu de Bois Bar Soap

LAFCO Feu de Bois Bar Soap

If Irish Spring isn’t your fragrance of choice, but you still crave something strong — here you go. As polarizing as a scent Feu de Bois — or wood fire — can be, LAFCO makes such a good hand-milled, olive oil-based soap that even if the smoke smell of this bar isn’t what you’re looking for, there are scents across the spectrum, from salty marine to rosemary eucalyptus and even champagne.

$11 at Lafco.com

With all these great soaps, the one thing they all have in common is that each one is more Earth-friendly than it’s plastic housed liquid counterpart. If you have been thinking about getting back into the bar, now’s your chance. With new, rich, awesome soaps bubbling up everyday, there is sure to be one out there just right for you.

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