Buy This!
Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Baby-Mild Castile Bar Soap
Dr. Bronner’s Baby Mild Bar Soap has been a long time fave of mine, as it contains absolutely no fragrance! In the unscented version – they actually replace the scent + double the olive oil, making it perfect for babies + those with allergies + sensitive skin. All of their soaps are Certified Organic, non-GMO, Fair Trade, Vegan + Cruelty-Free. On top of that, each bar comes nestled in 10% hemp-flax + 90% post-consumer recycled (PCR) paper, meaning no plastic! These soaps are so clean, that you can even brush your teeth + wash your dishes with them! Can’t do that with Ivory! So this has been my replacement + I use the liquid version all the time!
Ingredients: Organic Coconut Oil*, Organic Palm Oil*, Sodium Hydroxide**, Water, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Sea Salt, Citric Acid, Tocopherol. * Certified Fair Trade Ingredients, ** None remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin.
Not That!
Ivory Bar Soap
Throughout my life I’d used Ivory Soap, for the simple fact that, like many others – I’d had sensitive skin + thought it was the cleanest, healthiest soap there ever was. Ivory is one of the oldest bar soaps there are {over 130 years old!} + claims that it’s “99.44% Pure” formula is simple, effective + clean, – being free of dyes + heavy perfumes. Of course, to my surprise, I found out it wasn’t exactly as pure as I’d thought… as soon as I started researching ingredients. I found out that in most cases, the words “pure”, “natural” etc. on a label mean absolutely nothing, as there are no enforced labeling laws or industry standards, here in the US. Unfortunately, Ivory contains ingredients like Tallow {Cow Fat – how soap used to be made, but, here, it’s probably from factory-farmed animals}, Fragrance – which can include 1 or more of up to 200 unknown chemicals that don’t have to be disclosed on a label due to Trade Secret Laws, + Tetrasodium EDTA – a preservative + penetration enhancer {that gets into your bloodstream} made from the known carcinogen, formaldehyde + sodium cyanide.
Ingredients: Sodium Tallowate and/or Sodium Palmate, Water, Sodium Cocoate and/or Sodium Palm Kernelate, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance, Coconut Acid (may contain), Palm Kernel Acid (may contain), Tallow Acid (may contain), Palm Acid (may contain), Tetrasodium EDTA.
Have you tried Dr. Bronner’s Baby-Mild Castile Soap yet? If not, what natural bar soaps do you use for sensitive skin?
12 Comments
Martha
September 16, 2014 at 10:01 pmNice breakdown! I used to use a lot of products from brands like Aveeno and Neutrogena that said “natural” or “pure” or “sensitive” on the label, and thought I was doing myself a huge favor. It wasn’t until a few years ago, when I got savvy enough to start dissecting the labels, that I realized how wrong I was!
Danielle
September 16, 2014 at 11:11 pmMe too! Thanks Martha! XO <3
Janelle @Wholly Healthy
September 17, 2014 at 2:45 amI too fell into the “natural” soap trap when looking for something for my sensitive skin. I’ve since developed eczema, which makes finding a soap that works even more difficult. I discovered a local brand called Scentuals that I like.
Amber Karlson
September 17, 2014 at 10:03 pmGreat post! I have sensitive skin myself so this was helpful :)
http://amber-allnaturallybeautiful.blogspot.ca/
Danielle
September 18, 2014 at 1:41 amYAY! So happy I could help Amber! ;) XOXO <3
Clear Skin
September 20, 2014 at 1:51 amI am quite keen on using Ivory thinking of it “purity” and it suits well for my skin, but the Dr. Bronner’s soap seems interesting. Thanks for sharing this post. – Ms. George
Meaghann
November 11, 2014 at 2:22 pmjust subscribed. Love it already. Thanks for all the informative info.
Natalie Darcy
September 14, 2015 at 11:04 pmIt is interesting to me that vegan beliefs go into soap as well. I have never thought about what goes into a normal bar of soap myself, but my sister is a very strict vegan. I wanted to get her some soaps that are more fun than what she’s got, do you have any suggestions? Thank you for your helpful tips on what to look for in good natural soaps like this, I will definitely keep your advice in mind!
Danielle
September 15, 2015 at 7:30 pmHey Natalie! Acure Organics makes some FAB Vegan Bar Soaps too! :)
Kristi Buysse
August 29, 2018 at 2:13 pmI make my own castile soap. I know for sure the quality of the ingredients.
Marsha Stapleton
July 6, 2020 at 4:11 pmMy sister and I have used Dove bar soap for sensitive skin for as long as we can remember. I can’t imagine there could be anything better.
Danielle
July 7, 2020 at 6:17 pmHey Marsha! Unfortunately, the ingredients in Dove are just as bad as Ivory. 😢