The Best Hand Soap | 2023
We looked at the top 12 Hand Soaps and dug through the reviews from 17 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best Hand Soaps.
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Our Picks For The Top Hand Soaps
- The Best Hand Soap
- 1. Dove Moisturizing Gentle Hand Soap, 4-Pack
- 2. Seventh Generation Free & Clean Plant-Based Hand Soap, 8-Pack
- 3. Method Sweet Water Foaming Hand Soap, 6-Pack
- 4. Softsoap Lathering pH Balanced Hand Soap, 6-Pack
- 5. Puracy Foaming Plant-Based Hand Soap, 2-Pack
- 6. Home & Body Company Italian Decorative Hand Soap, 4-Pack
- 7. Soapbox Paraben & Sulfate Free Hand Soap, 3-Pack
- 8. Everyone Gentle & Nourishing Hand Soap, 3-Pack
- 9. Mrs. Meyer’s Aromatherapy Chemical-Free Hand Soap, 3-Pack
- 10. J.R. Watkins Sensitive Skin Well-Balanced Hand Soap, 6-Pack
- 11. Dial Hydrating Mild Hand Soap
- 12. Bath & Body Works Essential Oils Hand Soap, 5-Pack
Lasts for HoursThis hand soap is PETA-certified and never tested on animals.
Safe For SkinThis liquid hand soap keeps hands clean and free of preservatives.
Stock UpThis hand soap is fragrance free and formulated without any harsh dyes, parabens or fragrances.
Affordable, Natural SoapThis foaming hand soap is a great, natural way to keep clean on a budget.
Why we recommend these hand soaps?
Products Considered
Products Analyzed
Expert Reviews Included
User Opinions Analyzed
Our experts reviewed the top 12 Hand Soaps and also dug through the reviews from 17 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best of the best Hand Soaps.
DWYM is your trusted roduct review source. Our team reviews thousands of product reviews from the trusted top experts and combines them into one easy-to-understand score. Learn more.
The Best Overall
Dove Moisturizing Gentle Hand Soap, 4-Pack
Our Take
After using this foaming hand soap, you'll notice your hands feel soft and smooth for several hours. The formula contains both aloe and eucalyptus, which nourish and soothe dry skin. Since the soap is made using plant-based ingredients, it's also gentle on hands.
The Best Bang For Your Buck
Softsoap Lathering pH Balanced Hand Soap, 6-Pack
Our Take
This liquid hand soap lives up to its name. This soap comes in a lively container and dispenses smoothly. The ingredients are free of not only parabens but also soy, gluten, nickel and many preservatives that are likely to cause allergies.
What other experts liked
Overall Product Rankings
3. Seventh Generation Free & Clean Plant-Based Hand Soap, 8-Pack
10. J.R. Watkins Sensitive Skin Well-Balanced Hand Soap, 6-Pack
Our Hand Soap Findings
Dove Moisturizing Gentle Hand Soap, 4-Pack
What We Liked: After using this foaming hand soap, you’ll notice your hands feel soft and smooth for several hours. The formula contains both aloe and eucalyptus, which nourish and soothe dry skin. Since the soap is made using plant-based ingredients, it’s also gentle on hands.
Seventh Generation Free & Clean Plant-Based Hand Soap, 8-Pack
What We Liked: Keep your pantry stocked with this pack of eight hand soaps. Each 12-ounce bottle is filled with plant-based ingredients that effortlessly clean away dirt and grime. The soap is hypoallergenic, which is perfect if anyone in your home suffers from sensitive skin.
Method Sweet Water Foaming Hand Soap, 6-Pack
What We Liked: This foaming hand soap is made from an array of natural ingredients. It is also free of triclosan or other harmful substances and is biodegradable. The foaming soap is very affordable and does a great job at keep hands moist and clean.
Softsoap Lathering pH Balanced Hand Soap, 6-Pack
What We Liked: This liquid hand soap lives up to its name. This soap comes in a lively container and dispenses smoothly. The ingredients are free of not only parabens but also soy, gluten, nickel and many preservatives that are likely to cause allergies.
Puracy Foaming Plant-Based Hand Soap, 2-Pack
What We Liked: Those who care about animals will love this gel hand wash and its cruelty-free policy. This soap is a vegan product and is made of biodegradable materials. In the wash, it goes on smooth and foamy, dries quickly and leaves the hands moisturized.
Our Hand Soap Buying Guide
In the best of times, many of us rarely think about hand soap. But ever since a certain global health crisis, people are a lot more concerned about the frequency with which they wash their hands — and what they’re washing them with.
The standard hand cleaner that you buy off the shelf these days is going to be liquid soap in some sort of pump dispenser. Even those who prefer old-fashioned bars of soap have to admit they leave bathroom sinks with a bit of a residue that can be difficult to clean. As we’ll see, commercial hand soaps can be made with a wide variety of ingredients, but the basic chemical process for making soap involves some kind of animal fat or (more commonly for modern soaps) vegetable oil. To that oil is added precise amounts of an alkaline solution. That initiates the process of saponification that turns those fats or oils into soap.
Of course, even a cursory look at the back of a soap container will tell you that those two ingredients are far from the only things in the bottle. The big active ingredient in your soap will typically be a surfactant of some kind. Surfactants are usually sulfate compounds, some derivative of alcohol, and they do the “heavy lifting” that you expect out of your soap: Namely, separating dirt and grease from your hands and dissolving it in water.
If your soap is antimicrobial or antibacterial, you might see a lot more ingredients with names that are tougher to pronounce. Benzalkonium chloride and chloroxylenol are just a couple of common ones. One antibacterial agent that was found to be potentially harmful to humans is triclosan. New mothers will especially want to avoid this one, as triclosan can cause hormone imbalances and show up in breast milk. The FDA banned the use of this ingredient for hand soaps in 2016, but keep an eye out for it in older or less regulated products.
There’s a number of other ingredients, antibacterial or otherwise, that health-conscious hand-washers will want to keep an eye out for. Parabens are a big one — these preservatives have also been found to disrupt hormone production and can even irritate the skin of some users.
Most hand soaps will also contain some moisturizing ingredients. These can range from natural oils like aloe vera or shea butter to chemicals like glycerin that can actually seal moisture into the skin surface. If you have uncommonly dry hands or live in a place with very cold winters, you’ll want a good moisturizing soap to protect that skin.
Want your hands to not just feel cleaner, but smell that way? Many hand soaps employ a fragrance of some kind. Again, keep an eye on the ingredient list. It’s harder to do in this case, since “fragrance” can be listed on many soaps without outlining the chemicals that produce them. More eco-friendly soaps will typically tell you what their scents derive from, as they can be added by natural means with plant oils.
DWYM Fun Fact
It can be tough to navigate the ingredients on a soap bottle these days, but (like a lot of things) it was a lot easier in the old days. There is a record that as early as 2800 BC, Babylonians were making soap by boiling animal fats such as goat tallow in a simple solution made with wood ashes.
The Hand Soap Tips and Advice
When it comes to hand soap, there are generally two types: Foaming or liquid. Which one is right for you? You’ll generally find foaming soaps in most offices and restaurants, and there’s a reason for that. These soaps require less water to make, and people tend to use less of it to wash their hands. That saves the business money in the long run, and it can save you cash as well. On the other hand, there’s research to suggest that people tend to stay at the sink longer when using liquid soap and therefore get their hands a bit cleaner.
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