I’ve been trying hard to reduce my single-use plastic consumption, so plastic shower gel bottles and liquid soap containers were quickly consigned to my ‘never-buy-again’ pile as I decided to go back to the good old bar of soap. But which one? I hadn’t realised just how many soap brands there are available, and was blissfully unaware of the animal ingredients that many of them contain. But, after a fair amount of research, I have managed to identify – and test – a good range of the best natural soaps in the UK.
So, if you’re trying to reduce your consumption of single-use plastic in the bathroom, then don’t go getting yourself in a lather over it. Here at Vegan Mum, you won’t be ‘soaprised’ to know that we can help you clean up your act. Anyway, poor (but clean!) jokes aside, I hope that you find this guide to the best vegan soap bars useful, and that it helps you to reduce your consumption of single-use plastic too.
Vegan Mum’s Top Picks
- Best gift box: Mad about Nature
- Best fragrances: Wild
- Best men’s soap: Hiltwood
- Best organic: The Little Soap House
- Best natural: Mad about Nature
- Best soap-free: Fussy
- Best free-from: Little Soap Company
- Best for teens: Eco Warrior
- Best value: Faith in Nature
The following products are all cruelty-free, vegan soap bars tested here at Vegan Mum, although I should add some of the brands are not exclusively vegan. If you have any questions about vegan soap, check out my FAQs below. If that doesn’t provide you with the information you want, drop me a comment and I’ll see what I can do!
Mad about Nature
- Price: £18 for 7x60g soaps in a gift box
This lovely gift box of lovely artisan vegan soaps contains 7 bars handmade in the UK. Using natural ingredients and essential oils, they are a little piece of luxury and make truly wonderful presents for that real ‘wow’ moment. This particular set comprises 7 different 60g bars decorated with dried botanicals and with fragrances including mint, citrus and patchouli.
Mad about Nature has a huge range of soaps which can be bought separately, or in beautiful gift collections like this one, so take a look at their Etsy shop now – link below. I honestly think these are some of the best handmade soaps in the UK.
Wild
- Price: from £4 per bar
- 20% Wild Discount code: VEGANMUM
Wild Deodorant also produce these amazing-smelling Wild vegan soap bars (and a couple of exfoliating bars too) and very lovely they are too. They lather well, smell wonderful and whilst they have used some synthetic ingredients in the soap to improve on fragrance, they are still completely vegan, and cruelty-free. The packaging is also planet-friendly and recyclable.
There are 6 scents currently available including my 2 absolute favourites pictured here – rhubarb & raspberry, and amber & oud – although to be honest, it’s difficult to choose between them!
Incidentally, just in case soap bars really aren’t your thing, they now also do a refillable Wild Body Wash in bamboo compostable packaging which is pretty amazing, with a choice of colourful outer body wash cases! The same discount code below applies. Read more about their body wash in my Best Vegan Shower Gels guide.
Wild Discount Code: VEGANMUM is automatically applied at checkout using the link below:
Hiltwood
- Price: from £5.50 / bar
- Discount: 15% on subscription
These natural, rugged soap bars from Hiltwood smell fantastic and although described as ‘men’s soap’, I’m pretty certain they could also gain some female fans! The smells are invigorating – just what you need for your morning shower – and both my son and my husband love them (and the bathroom smells really nice afterwards too)!
Handmade in small batches, these soaps contain no palm oil and no harsh chemicals or detergents, and the ‘manly’ fragrances come from essential oils. Choose from combinations like Cedarwood & Spanish Verbena, or Lime & Charcoal and these are sure to be a hit.
I think they’re very fairly-priced given their quality, and to make the most of your money, buy the bundle on subscription and get 15% off and free shipping too.
The Little Soap House
- Price: £2.95 / bar
I really like these organic soap bars from The Little Soap House on Etsy. They are good quality, value for money, and come in the best fragrances including Sea Salt, Black Cherry, Chocolate Orange (you heard it here first!) and my particular favourite, Turkish Delight, with a beautiful rose fragrance and a gentle, moisturising lather.
But this is a just a small sample of their fabulous soap products, so I would strongly recommend you visit their very highly-rated store on Etsy – link below.
Mad about Nature
- Price: from £5.35 / 125g bar
Another entry in this guide for the best natural soap bars from the Etsy star-seller Mad about Nature. Made in the UK and nearly all vegan – with the exception of their small number of products containing honey, so be careful – they are made using a traditional cold-press method which preserves the natural glycerines to prevent skin dryness.
With no palm oil, artificial ingredients, or unnecessary chemicals, these soap bars contain essential oils, dried flowers and herbs, and moisturising oils including cocoa butter, coconut and olive oil. You also have over 18 different fragrances to choose from including exotic combinations like Earl Grey Tea & Bergamot, Pink Clay & Spicy Citrus, and Warm Spice with Cloves – there really is a fragrance to suit almost every preference.
Fussy
- Price: from £7.50 per bar
- 15% Fussy Discount Code: VEGANMUM15
Fussy – those natural deodorant people – have now produced this small range of vegan soaps. The white bar, containing coconut and oat is a luxurious soap free…erm, soap. The black charcoal bar is a fabulous exfoliating bar – perfect for sloughing off all that dead skin. Let’s face it, you don’t want that hanging around.
They come in 2 familiar Fussy scents and they last really well. The great thing too is that each bar relates to an equivalent 3 plastic bottles of body wash according to Fussy, so you’d be doing yourself, and the planet, a favour.
However, they do come at a higher price than most others in this list, although you can make use of my exclusive discount code below.
Don’t forget to use discount code: VEGANMUM15
Little Soap Company
- Price: from £3.27 / 100gms
Approved by the Vegan Society, this business is a B Corp too so certainly a brand that’s living its values.
There’s a good range of scents available, although some could be a little stronger. However, that (and the lathering of the soap) is down to the natural ingredients, and that’s got to be a good thing, right? So, if sustainability is high on your list, definitely give these soaps a try. It’s a very nice product and NO plastic packaging at all. It also lasts well.
Lots of natural scents and different ranges available too – Amazon has a good range of them.
Eco Warrior
- Price: from £2.53 / 100gms
Another offering from the Little Soap Company, with an ‘environmental activism’ branding that looks to me like it is targeting a younger audience – 2 younger teenagers in my wider family have been very pleased to receive these in the past. They do a wide range of soaps for bathing, shaving and face-washing, so covering all bases really. Again, lots of commendable, eco-friendly credentials so a great choice if sustainability is top of your list.
I’m not a fan of the coconut scent, but I don’t generally like it in body care products of any description, so don’t let that put you off (and they do have other scents if you share my dislike). I think the charcoal bar is great though.
Faith in Nature
- Price: from £2.99 / bar
Faith in Nature is a good old reliable brand. Their soaps are value for money, widely available and shaped in a way that makes them strangely comfortable to hold!
I find the fragrances are very pleasant, with a wide range of choices, although I find it doesn’t seem to last for the life of the soap which is a bit disappointing. But if you’re looking for a value for money, cruelty-free soap bar which comes in a recyclable cardboard box and is plastic free, this might be for you.
FAQs about vegan soap bars
What makes a Soap Bar Vegan?
There are several ingredients in soap that can be derived from either animals or plants, and some – confusingly – cross over. Glycerine is an example of this, so you have to rely on the manufacturer stating its source. Other examples that mean a soap bar isn’t vegan are things like tallow (animal fats), and honey.
Vegan soap bars contain only plant-based ingredients and you will find products using castile, glycerine or tar as a base ingredient. It is these oils that contribute to the vegan soap’s cleansing, lathering and moisturising properties.
Castile and glycerine (also known as glycerol, its chemical source) are often obtained from plant-based oils but BEWARE – this is not always the case! Whilst castile generally comes from olive, coconut or almond oil, glycerine can sometimes be derived from animals. If the label says ‘vegetable glycerine ’, then the chances are it’s ok. However, even when something is derived from plants, that doesn’t always mean it’s sustainable – palm oil can be a villain of the peace in the ‘vegetable oil’ arena.
The moral of the story here really is to read the label – I tend to look for something on the product that definitively states that it is suitable for vegans. Even better is if it is approved by an organisation like the Vegan Society and has a Leaping Bunny accreditation to show it is cruelty-free.
It can be tricky keeping clean as an ethical vegan, can’t it? But worth it. As always, do your research and satisfy yourself that you are happy with the ingredients and their source. You won’t get it right every time because there is so much confusing and conflicting information out there, but you can only do your best!
Is Dove soap vegan?
Dove soap does not claim to be vegan, and contains ingredients that may be derived from animals. For example, the ingredients include glycerine, but the source (vegetable or animal) is not stated. Not finding anything on their website that refers to vegan products, I submitted a contact form to them to ask. To date, I have not had a response and so am not able to confirm.
So, whilst there is now a lot of ‘noise’ on the internet about their cruelty-free status, that does not mean that their products are vegan, so I avoid them.
Is Pears soap vegan?
At the time of updating this review (Dec ’24) yes, it is. However, they do seem to be reformulating and I haven’t yet had confirmation back from them that it will still be vegan. This is a Unilever brand nowadays, and it does seem to contain an awfully long list of ingredients which I find quite off-putting. So for all the above reasons, I haven’t included it in my list. However, if you are looking for a budget bar of soap, this might be for you, but if/when they reformulate, you might want to re-check its vegan credentials.
Is there Animal Fat in Soap?
In a lot of soap bars, yes there is. Unless your soap brand states that it’s vegan, I’d suggest you steer well clear. Many contain sodium tallowate, an animal-derived fat that is a popular ingredient with soap-makers because it tends to:
- be hypoallergenic (depending on what else the soap contains, obviously)
- make the soap lather well
- last for longer because the animal fat doesn’t break down easily
You can read more about the use of animal fats in soap manufacturing on Healthline.com if you’re interested. However, if you’d prefer to hang out with me, my guide to vegan soap bars tells you which are:
- free from animal ingredients
- cruelty-free
- eco-friendly
Similar guides and reviews
I hope you have found this guide to the best vegan soap bars helpful. Looking for other ways to ditch plastic in the bathroom? Read my review of Fussy Deodorant to find out how I’ve also moved away from single-use plastic deodorants. And here are just a few more to choose from:
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