Our hands go through a lot every day. Doorknobs, transit poles, keyboards, shopping carts, other people’s handshakes… they pick up more than we’d like to think about. Washing up regularly is one of the simplest habits for staying healthy, whatever the season.
But the soap you reach for matters too! Some formulas contain controversial preservatives as well as allergenic fragrances, and a good hand soap shouldn’t come with a trade-off.
To make things easier for you, here are 10 top-rated hand soaps on Yuka, formulated without harmful ingredients.
| 1 |
 |
Free & Clean Hand Wash - Seventh Generation
Excellent - 100/100
Formulated with plant-based ingredients and free from fragrances, and dyes, this hand soap is ideal for sensitive skin and all ages. |
| 2 |
 |
Unscented Hand Soap - Attitude
Excellent - 100/100
This hand soap is made with over 98% naturally sourced ingredients, including oat, with no added fragrance, ideal for sensitive skin. |
| 3 |
 |
Lemon & Eucalyptus Hand Wash - Koala Eco
Excellent - 100/100
Scented with rosemary and lemon eucalyptus essential oils, this hand wash is formulated to be hydrating, without synthetic fragrance. |
| 4 |
 |
Bubble Guard Hand Soap - Shabondama Soap
Excellent - 100/100
Made with a natural potash stone base, this soap is formulated without additives, fragrance, alcohol, dyes, antibacterial agents, or synthetic surfactants. |
| 5 |
 |
Rosemary Mint Hand Soap - Simple Truth
Excellent - 96/100
Packaged in a 12 fl oz dispenser, this rosemary mint hand soap is made with organic oils and free from parabens, phthalates, and sulfates. |
| 6 |
 |
French Lavender Hand Soap - EO
Excellent - 96/100
Containing organic aloe vera, chamomile, calendula, and green tea leaf extracts, this hand soap is scented with lavender essential oil, and is refillable. |
| 7 |
 |
Avocado Oil & Lavender Hand Wash - Acure
Excellent - 96/100
Infused with organic eucalyptus, this hand wash is made with 100% regenerative avocado oil, cold-pressed sustainably on a farm in California. |
| 8 |
 |
Fresh Sea Salt Liquid Soap - A la maison de Provence
Excellent - 93/100
Made with natural coconut, olive, and argan oils, this hand soap features a marine, woody, and musk fragrance blend of essential oils. |
| 9 |
 |
Lavender Bergamot Liquid Hand Soap - Burt's Bees
Excellent - 93/100
This hand soap is scented with lavender and bergamot, and is formulated with hydrating ingredients such as aloe vera and plant-derived squalane. |
| 10 |
 |
Natural Castile Hand Wash - Freshwater Farm
Excellent - 93/100
This hand wash is made with lemon myrtle oil and manuka honey from the brand's farm bees, packaged in a refillable glass bottle. |
Like all our rankings, this one was conducted completely independently, and no brand has paid to be included.
Appreciate this, thank you!
Excellent, Thank you! Great help!
Thank you
Thank you!!
How are the bacterial killing components in these handsoap recommendations?
As always, thanks to the team at Yuka for the incredible job they do with getting the information out there!
Thank you
Are any of them antibacterial? That would be helpful to know. Ty!
Thank you so much for sharing this important information. There’s so many products to choose from and it’s so much easier knowing exactly which one is better.
Without including bar soaps, it makes me think Yuka is a shill for the liquid soap industry.
What about Mrs Myers soap?
Can you do this with hand lotions and body lotions please?
I prefer bars to hand soaps in liquid form. How do these stack up?
I use Cervae is that good? My Dermatologist recommends it
All of a sudden I am having hand issues. Fingertips drying and peeling. I was using bath and Body hand wash I stopped. Never really had an issue till now. What’s the best handwash?
Scan it, I did and threw Cervae out.
I had hands that peeled too and I went to the dermatologist, and she suggested I used Eucerin Eczema Relief Hydrogel. Everyone at that office uses it and it works great for my hands too without the greasy feeling that regular lotion has. I really like it and it has a 93 excellent on your site.
I have dealt with peeling nails for 3 years and finally conquered it. I went to a “Top” MD who only specializes in nail issues. Hee only advice was to not use polish with formaldehyde.
Here’s what worked. Applying Jojoba Oil to the cuticles and to the skin under the fingernail top. I massaged it into these areas multiples times a day. I purchased high quality crystal from the Czech Republic, not China) nail files and only use those. Emery boards ruin frail nails and manicurists saw fingernails back and forth which destabilizes frail nails more. In 2-3 months my nails were healthy but require upkeep so I use organic Whole Foods jojoba oil daily still. There is a reason why this oil works- research it with Gemini AI. Its composition is unique in being able to help nails heal. I apply it to my toenails too to keep them properly moisturized.
Eight of them are very expensive-any others $5 or under??
Thank you so much for the updates.
Thank you as always for all the updates of so many different items, including non-food and food. So grateful
What about Dr. Woods- Castile soap? I thought all Castile soaps were good.
Dr. Woods
• Excellent
Lavender castile soap 100/100
Great information to have. Thank you so much!
I really appreciate you and yuka very much you both have taught us how to live a healthy life with healthy products.Thank you so much!
I appreciate you very much! I loved your article on your life in New York. I love New York but I could never live there! My hats off to you! Your a brave soul! Keep doing what your doing ’cause we all benefit!
Thank you so much! Your information is gratefully appreciated. Keep it up! I use your app every time I go shopping!
Looking forward to your next informative post!
Thank you 😊 information is appreciated.
Thanks for all the information that you send. I love your app and appreciate knowing about the products I use.
Diana Lush
Fabulous work, Julie. Thank you so much for you and your team. 👍
Thank you for this🦋
Thank you!💕 I use one of the hand soap.
Thank you for your hard work keeping us safe.
Love it! I use one of these and couldn’t agree more with the importance of a good/safe hand soap
It looks good
Thank you for sharing this information. It is very helpful. Can you rate body wash for us?
Can you list the safest bar soaps?
I enjoy the knowledge that y’all share; especially the breakdown in the ingredients. Thanks for all you do.
I use YUKA for everything. Thank you so much, you guys are awesome
Thank you so much
Thank you for helping us to choose better priducts
As always thanks for providing info to protect us
Me encanta su página y gracias a ella he mejorado mi salud, con las evaluaciones de los productos que ustedes ofrecen
Thank you for including the cost! What a huge difference for basically the same product. There are two on the list that I will definitely try.
Thank you so much for this! I’m always looking for Yuka-approved hand soaps!! Looking forward to your top ten list of body washes!!
I love the information
Thank you for good work
I use YUKA on everything that has a bar code. I love it.
Thank you so much Julie for all these excellent soaps
I have a question do these soaps kill bacteria
Question is do any of these hand soaps kill the bacteria we encounter everyday?
Julie,
I truly appreciate all of your efforts and hard work you and your team put into helping us choose healthier choices. Your research has been invaluable to my family and I. Kudos to you and your staff for all that you do!
So appreciate this.
Love your app
Keep up the great work 👍🏾 I use the APP all the time.
Thank you, excellent information
I use this app all the time and constantly recommend it to everyone I know!!
Keep up the good work !!! I use the app all the time !
I also have passed the app to many people and they agree that it is very helpful. Thank you.
Thank you for all you do! I have passed on this app to several people and they love it also!
Can you tell me if Meyers hand soap is a good one to use?
♥️♥️♥️
What would I do without you?!
Thank you for the tips!
I’m surprised Dr. Bronner isn’t on this list
Thank you for the feedback. I make better choices because of you!
This is excellent! I never gave it much thought when buying hand soap. I just go by the scent.
How about Simple Human liquid hand soaps?
9 to 18 dollars ?! No thanks. I’ll stick with my $1.25 bottle and put the savings in my retirement account.
I check all products with Yuka and if it’s not rated positive I don’t buy it. I only buy the best for my family. Thanks for your research.
I have my phone in hand when I shop groceries, bath and body products and much more. I wish you were able to test supplement brands, at least which ones use more fillers than others. Thank you for all the honest information!
This advice is helpful to know. Everyone appreciates the resources.
Excellent feedback! thank you for your listing as these are little known product insights which Yuka details so nicely!
Any recommendations for products that don’t use plastic in the container or packaging?
Some of the descriptions state that the bottles are glass and refillable which is probably why some have a higher price tag.
Thank you
I would like to hear more from Yuka.
These are some of the best soaps.
Thank you so much for all you do.
Thank you for your work, but Seventh Generation and Burt Bees sold out to corporations. I hope you look into them.
Thanks for the information, though I was wondering if you have any recommendations for hand bar soap?
Love them but on the high $$ side
This is so amazingly beautiful and we are so GRATEFUL 🙏🏾
Thank you! I so appreciate your advice and all the support you give for healthy options. It’s so important!
You always help us to make better choices.
Most hand soaps have unhealthy ingredients so they entice you with aromatic scents. Thank you.
As always, thank you for your research and sharing the results!
I like the good information. It helps us choose the excellent products.
Norwex foaming hand wash powder, mixed with just water & 100% toxic free.
Fantastic. Just wonder if the above items are available in the EU, where we are living.
Thank you for all the information posted. I especially appreciate the information I receive from the products I request. Very helpful.
I bought Burt’s Bees hand soap for first time after using ur app & I love it. Thank you.
Thank be you for all the info. I have put back more food I thought was safe to eat.
Nine 9 out of 10 are very expensive. Also none of them are cataloged as antibacterial. 🧼
First, I want to comment to all those that want antibacterial, not necessarily good for you or anything else. Anybody with septic systems you do not want to use antibacterial soaps just like you do not want to use bleach. Keep using antibacterial and you’re just going to increase the different bacteria and bacteria resistance.. simple soaps and washing your hands for the appropriate time which I believe is 30 seconds is good enough , you do not need antibacterial.
I do have to comment to YUKA as when you look at most of the replacements for anything they use, It is very very expensive. There’s got to be a better way.
I’ve had some people tell me that they are overprotective, and it’s small amount of maybe what they consider bad ingredients so I take everything with a grain of salt with this app. I do appreciate what they’re doing and I do use it because if something comes out to zero or 10 or 20 I definitely rethink it.. nothing is perfect. No system is perfect. No app is perfect. Nothing.
Far as the plastic bottle, I realize what a role plastic now plays in our environment, it just makes me laugh though. Everything is in plastic , and I mean everything. It really cracks me at the grocery stores who won’t hand out plastic bags, but everything you put in that bag is covered in plastic or is in plastic. It’s going to take a major major change in the United States to make it worthwhile. I personally don’t see it ever being done. I do reuse my grocery bags. I recycle all my stuff. I try to be good, but then like I said, I look at everything that’s packed in plastic and I think it’s hopeless.
None of them are antibacterial
As a biologic/holistic dental hygienist, I do not recommend antibacterial anything. Our skin in porous and antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers can disrupt the bacterial balance in our guts. I encourage my patients to strive for balance between the good-guy bacteria and the bad-guys. We’ll always have both. We just want more good guys than bad. We’re not sterile, nor should we be. Even the bad-guy bacteria can have a positive role; they just can’t rule the roost, so to speak. I avoid oral care products that “kill 99.9% of bacteria” too. I heartily agree with Karen’s comment above. Plastic is an issue, so are chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers). Air, water, soil – all polluted. There’s much that needs to be done. Let’s link arms and march forward to a better today (as much as we can), and a wonderful tomorrow.
This is very good info on liquid soaps. Please do the same for bar soaps for those of us reducing plastic waste.
I agree! I’m trying to buy bar soaps only, to avoid plastic bottles! Glad you made the request!
Some of the descriptions state that the bottles are glass and refillable which is probably why some have a higher price tag.
Thanks for this information on these liquid soaps to use.
Thank you for all you do at Yuka. I appreciate all the efforts of Yuka. I am however, disappointed that you did not rate Dr Bronners unscented, baby Castile soap. Dr Bronners soap is so versatile that you can wash your produce, laundry, hands, body and hair. The Dr Bronners liquid soap I use for everything except for my hair and my body. I use Dr Bronners unscented baby Castile soap bar and it leaves my hair, soft and shiny. The Dr Bronners unscented,baby Castillo soap bar will leather so well you can shave with it.
Thank you soooo much for sharing, love it. I have 2 of them, just happe to be in a store and thought I would see if the app worked on had soap and found out it does and I picked of two of them. I’m telling everyone I know all the time about Yuka and what you do and what you stand for. May God continue to bless you all. Your #1 fan
Thanks for the info! I’d like to see more of these ratings, so important for a consumer to make the healthiest choice for their family
Ridiculously expensive products for less than a minute handwashing exposure…literally washing your money down the drain! Get real please!
Remember, these are only recommendations, beloved. Yuka is not automatically drawing payments from your account for these soaps. Hope this helps.
Thank you. I’m gonna save this email and take it with me next time. I go shopping!
I have a terrible time with frequent hand washing. I was a nurse and not only did I wash, but I also scrubbed into cases where we put in pacemakers and catheterize the heart. 10 years ago before I retired. The surgical scrub routine changed with the advent of chlorhexidine. It eliminated the laborious scrub routine that we used to have to follow.
Most hand soaps, irritate my hands. And I still wash my hands frequently, even though I have been retired for 10 years. Grove carries some products by Method.
One of those is a hand wash which protects the hands.
My hands used to crack and bleed at the places where my joints bend, at the corner of my thumbnails, and sometimes even spidery cracks all over the back of my hands. Since I have been using the product by Method that is not happening.
Thanks for the soap update!!
Where can we purchase these soaps?
I use only bar soap. Have you studied those?
Thank you Julie and Yuka Team!! I SO appreciate your ratings! I use your app and check the codes on all the products that you have available! Its been a game changer for me as a health conscious shopper 👍😉
Where would I buy any of these soaps, Sprouts maybe?
Thank you for Yuka! My dietician told me about this app and have told everyone about it. I have even used the form letter on those products most harmful! Never thought about hygiene products!
I just double-checked JR Watkins that I have all over the house . . . eesh! It’s 45/100! I shouldv’e checked with YUKA first. Perhaps I can return the refills I just purchased. 🙁
Aww bummer ☹️! That’s what we have all over our house too😩!
Fantastic information 🙌Thanks!
Thank you for this information!
Judy
Thank you! I was getting ready to look into these.
Thank you. You’ve made such a great positive difference for everyone.
Thank you Julie. This information couldn’t have come at a better time with this weather changing and winter coming on. My hands are needing help already.
Thanks Julie for the information!
I will consider them
next time when I look for hand soap.
Thank you for this review on hand soaps. I appreciate it..
I’m wondering how does does Meyer’s Clean Day hand soap stack up against the rest?
I was also wondering about Meyer’s soap too and how it effectively cleans.
Thanks for the list. Glad you did the hard work for us. Would it be possible to have a top 10 for body wash/soap?
I am reducing my plastic use where possible. Please give us non plastic, bar, alternatives.
I actually love all the products from Blueland, including their hand soap, that is made by adding water to a tablet, which you can put into a reusable glass, metal or ceramic dispenser bottle
Where any of these soap brands evaluated for effectiveness – which clean the best and fight against bacteria and viruses?
What is effective, is the about of time you actually wash…(elbow grease)..
Unless you are a surgeon and “scrubbing in” one does not need anti-bacterial soaps.
Thank you for the soap list.
Governor Gavin Newsome from California is mandating new labeling for many processed foods.
Thank you !!
Thank you for clearing the “deck” for me! There are so many product lines to choose from!
If I were in charge of the world there would not be hand soap in plastic bottles!!!! Bar soaps are just fine.
I’m with you, Ruth. Plastic is poison in every respect.
I saw a book which is pretty new in the library. I just started it. It’s called Plastic Inc
The author is Beth Gardiner
Thank you! Good to know the info
Thanks, but it would be helpful for you to include in your description whether they have refill jugs available. By clicking on the links I see that some of them do. But it would be good to know that first because I’m not going to buy a new bottle with a pump attached every time.
Thank you Yuka now I know what hand soap to use I’ll share with other people
I value your recommendations and tell family, friends and even people I meet in stores about Yuka. You are providing a much needed service. Thank you!
Mrs. Meyers ratings??
Meyers is fine. I use it. I don’t use anything without scanning it first. It has to have a good or excellent rating.
Thanks so much for your diligence. I tell lots of people about your link. 👏👏
How does Mrs. Meyers products rate?
I really appreciate you all. Thank you for these recommendations. I tell all my family and friends about Yuka.
Thank you so much for this information
You need to be very proud of yourself. There’s so much lies out there about what’s good and bad for you the world thanks you!! God bless
Thank you for sharing this information.
All the “what abouts”, scan them and find out!?! Obviously, she cant rate them all… 🤦🏻♀️
I appreciate your recommendations.
I was using this app and I’m disappointed that it didn’t pick up the peg in a product that I was using. I am highly allergic to it and you need to be better about disclosing PEG and PG.
That’s your responsibility. I am highly allergic to tomatoes but I sure wouldn’t depend on an app to do my research for me. I read the labels myself. Yuka can’t catch everything, it’s not an allergy app.
I appreciate knowing this but affordability is a must when one is retired and living on a fixed income. I personally use Thieves foaming hand soap from Young Living. It is a hydrating, plant-based clean—free from harsh chemicals hand soap. It leaves my hands clean and hydrated.
I think thieves is great!
Do any of the top hand soaps come in foaming instead of the gel?
Try Dr bronners. Highly concentrated and you need to purchase the foaming bottles but my sister swears by it. Only need a tiny bit then mix with water. I plan to do the same as soon as my Mrs Meyer’s runs out.
I can’t thank you enough for the information on hand soap.
Thanks Yuka. I will be trying a couple especially the Rosemary Mint Hand Soap – Simple Truth. Love Rosemary. Will possibly try the Burt’sBees
Thanks!! Love the app!
all too expensive!!’ 🙁
You get what you pay for
Seventh Generation is $4.99.
What are your thoughts on Kirk’s hand and bath soaps?
Yes, rating on Kirks please. Were any tested and not included?
What about ‘Softsoap Advanced Clean’ hand soap? Both the non bacterial and the antibacterial.
Thank you for keeping us informed. Like A la maison and Seventh Generation.
Thank you, so great to know. I will be changing my hand soap brand.
Thanks so much for the great information.
Have you done a review of shower bar soap?
Thank you!
So good to know
How about body soap?
Burt’s Bees is owned by Chlorox and Seventh Generation products are owned by Unilever and are known to be green washed. I will not support these corporations. Appreciate the work you do, but prefer to support independent businesses.
I hadn’t known about the purchase of 7th Generation by Unilever. Very disappointing news. I suspected that Burt’s Bees had sold out to Chlorox. I won’t be buying any more items from them.
Love your updates
Thank you for the information,
Thank you for the great imf could you let us know which soaps we could get in walmart Walgreens Marshall etc
If you Google a store you can put the product name in the search bar. It’ll let you know if its available in the store or if you have to order it on-line for delivery to your home.
What about Dial and Safeguard bar soaps , which is what I use?
What about the scented hand soaps from seventh generation? Are they good as well?
Nice selection , but where do you find these at
Links are included
Nice list! Do they soap up well and kill germs?
Thank you!! This is excellent information. Not to give more work but…Would you be able to review soaps from Grove Collaborative? And- love the suggestion of a review of bar soaps too (noted below)- I too try to minimize and eliminate plastic when possible.