Meet the New Generation of Bar Soaps That Deserve a Spot in Your Shower
We get it: Bar soaps seem like they’re harboring germs — and bring back memories of summer camp or your grandfather. But a new crop of old-fashioned bars boasting some seriously cool benefits (intense moisturizing, acne-clearing detoxifying, or dead-skin sloughing, anyone?) will make you venture outside your cleansing comfort zone. (And, don’t worry: Any germs are basically harmless.) Here, 13 bar soaps that are totally changing the game, one soapy lather at a time.
1. Caress Botanicals Charcoal & Rosehip Soap Bar ($3): While charcoal and rosehip oil deliver a purifying cleanse in this paraben-free soap, we fell in love with the subtle scents of rose and musk.
2. Bastide Artisanal Provence Soap in Figue d’Ete ($8): Get transported to the French countryside with this triple-milled soap boosted by Provence olive oil, sunflower seed oil, and rosemary extract.
3. Dial Complete 2 in 1 Mint & Shea Beauty Bar ($3 for 3): Suds up and zap germs with this anti-bacterial beauty bar that is gentle enough to be used on your face as well. For a refreshing start to your day, pick up this mint scent.
4. Herbivore Pink Clay Gentle Cleanse Clay Soap Bar ($12): Sensitive skin will be smitten with this gentle, French pink clay-based soap that draws out all the grime in your pores without stripping it of moisture. It’s free of artificial ingredients, fillers, alcohol, fragrances, artificial colors, and unnatural preservatives, so you can be completely confident using it if you’re prone to irritation.
5. Shiseido Honey Cakes ($10): This translucent cleanser helps maintain supple, healthy skin and will leave you smelling like honey.
6. Yes to Coconut Milk Bar Soap ($5): A double-whammy of coconut (milk and husk) deliver much-needed hydration and exfoliation to dry, dull skin.
7. Sulwhasoo Herbal Soap ($40): A luxurious cleansing experience is in the palm of your hands — literally — when you use this highly concentrated bar soap. The square bars are formulated with fir leaf extract, which clears your pores of gunk; Chinese peony, which calms the skin; and honey, which acts as a soothing moisturizer.
8. First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Body Bar ($8): Oily-skinned gals will relish this soap made with detoxifying red clay, toning rosemary leaf oil, and moisturizing glycerin.
9. SheaMoisture SuperFruit Complex Bar Soap ($5): A blend of shea butter, superfruit berries, and green coffee bean extracts work together to deeply clean your skin while preventing early signs of aging.
10. LUSH Cosmetics Honey I Washed the Kids Soap ($8): This natural soap’s warm caramel scent will immediately transport you to total relaxation mode, while Canadian honey and beeswax soothe, soften, and leave your skin feeling silky smooth and moisturized.
11. Drunk Elephant Pekee Bar ($28): Natural-beauty-loving gals will rejoice over this fragrance-free facial bar soap that deep cleans your pores, tones, and moisturizes your skin without leaving it feeling dry and tight. It contains antioxidant-rich blueberries, virgin marula oil, and honey to balance the skin and reduce inflammation.
12. Fresh Seaberry Exfoliating Soap ($17): For a light exfoliation and seriously smooth skin, this triple-milled soap works wonders, thanks to its softening seaberry oil and cranberry, bamboo, and bitter orange that gently slough off dullness.
13. April Skin Magic Stone Gray ($7): If your face is in need of a deep pore cleanse, this makeup-removing bar soap will do just that, thanks to its charcoal powder base. You’ll also find that this version keeps skin moisturized thanks to coconut oil, lavender, and rosemary extracts.
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This story was originally posted on April 12, 2017
