Cleansing bars
We have had great experiences with Aveeno body wash in the past, especially for touchy, eczema-prone arms and legs. The Aveeno Moisturizing Bar, however, struck us as sudsless and joyless in comparison with our Dove pick.
Out of the box, the Caress Daily Silk Bar appeared discolored and streaky, and it had an overwhelmingly cloying floral fragrance. In the shower, the rounded bar fit nicely in the hand and lathered well, but it was just a little too inelegant when placed against other bars in this category.
The CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser Bar gently washed faces as well as bodies, but it required more rinsing than other cleansing-bar contenders, and it had a slight fragrance that not everyone loved.
At first, the Cetaphil Gentle Cleansing Bar’s suds struck us as measly, but with continued use over several days, the froth filled out and got more luxurious — so much so that it became one tester’s second favorite, after the Dove Sensitive bar.
Our top pick, the Dove Sensitive Beauty Bar, comes from a big family of overachieving siblings. The Dove Original Beauty Bar is the classic, with lots of fans among our testers, but we generally preferred the fragrance-free option for sensitive skin. The Dove Gentle Exfoliating Bar, meanwhile, had a vaguely gritty texture (thanks to microcrystalline wax) and couldn’t hold a candle to our top pick’s creaminess. Testers deemed both the Dove Revitalizante Beauty Bar, a cherry and chia-milk version, and the Dove Cool Moisture Beauty Bar too fragrant for everyday, all-family use.
The Good Molecules Hydrate & Cleanse Bar is fragrance-free, but for our testers it still had a polarizing scent: While a few panelists didn’t detect an aroma, others registered an unwelcome tang, perhaps from the included shea butter and nut oils. “It smells like hotel soap,” one noted. Beyond that, testers generally applauded this firm, long-lasting bar’s juicy lather and creamy texture. It nearly converted a longtime Dove user, until that tester found out that the Good Molecules bar costs five times more per ounce.
The Olay Age Defying Bar Soap had a nice slip and frothy lather, but it was excessively fragrant. What’s more, this bar seemed to require extra rinsing, which put that scent front and center, right under our noses, for too long.
Testers appreciated the silky, bubbly suds of Vanicream’s Cleansing Bar for Sensitive Skin, as well as how gentle yet effective it was for in-shower face-washing. Still, the Dove Sensitive bar edged it out — even for the panelist whose go-to option for years has been this Vanicream bar.
Soaps
Right out of the bag, the square bricks of Amish Farms Bar Soap felt curiously slimy and chalky at the same time. The soap failed to froth nicely — it crumbled and shed chunks when wet — and was challenging to rinse off.
The Kirk’s Soap bar fit in the hand easily, lathered well, and had virtually no scent. Rinsing was just okay, though, and the bar got gooey in the soap dish.
When wet, the Ivory Original Gentle Bar Soap created a rich coat of tiny bubbles. It rinsed away easily, but afterward skin often felt noticeably dry and thirsty for lotion.
Many testers loved the big bubbles and rich texture of the Mountain Ocean Skin Trip Coconut Soap bar and remarked on how smooth and moisturized their skin felt afterward. Its ratings tanked, however, when it came to the indescribably off fragrance (“coconuts, but weird,” one panelist noted).
We found a lot to like about the Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Daily Bar Soap. One tester especially enjoyed its long-lasting solidity, as it didn’t turn to mush on a soap dish. Another noted that it foamed up great and rinsed nicely, though it left a slightly greasy residue. More to the point, that same tester said, “Once you’ve tried the Aussie Botanical, there’s no looking back.”
The Pears Glycerin Soap bar has been around since the reign of King George (of Hamilton fame), and it has definite staying power — a single bar can last for weeks in the shower and for months as a hand soap in the powder room. The pretty glycerin bar creates a veil of glossy bubbles, which testers loved, but ultimately our panelists’ skin felt a bit dry after use.
Our testers liked the creamy suds from the Tom’s of Maine Natural Beauty Bar, finding its texture and cleansing power commensurate with those of the Mrs. Meyer’s soap, but overall we preferred the Australian Botanical and Dr. Bronner’s bars.
We ruled out a number of other soaps and syndet bars from 365 Whole Foods, A La Maison de Provence, Aesop, Alaffia, Bee & Flower, Beekman 1802, Briogeo, Brixy, Caswell-Massey, Drunk Elephant, Glossier, Hand in Hand, Hanni, HiBar, Jack Black, Jukebox, Kiss My Face, Lafco, Le Labo, Lever 2000, L’Occitane, Lume, Marlowe, Mater, Moroccanoil, Mysore, Nablus, Natrulo, Nécessaire, Nudy Rudy, Pacha Soap Co., Rad Soap Co., Saipua, Santa Maria Novella, Sappo Hill, Shower Mate, South of France, The Soap Guy, Topicals, Ursa Major, and Wavertree & London. We chose not to test them for a variety of reasons, including insufficient or unfavorable reviews, and value concerns.
This article was edited by Nicola Dall’Asen and Jennifer G. Sullivan. Leta Shy edited an earlier version of this article.
