9 Organic & Sustainable Face Washes For The Most Eco Friendly Lather
We all close our eyes when we wash our face (unless we like a nice soapy sting), but we shouldn’t close our eyes to the stinging impacts of face wash.
We need to scrub away more than just oil and dirt from our organic skin care routine.
Rid your skin of impurities with products that don’t contain impurities themselves—AKA ingredients to avoid in skincare—with organic sustainable face wash.
Here are the eco friendly face wash brands we think will leave your pores (and the planet) feeling fresh:
If the name doesn’t tell you that Conscious Skincare belongs on this list, the EWG certifications for different skin types should.
Superfly Soap offers aloe-enriched sustainable face wash for dark skin and sensitive skin alike.
For eco friendly face cleanser that’s refillable, scrub those pores clear with Plaine Products.
Check out our criteria at the end of the article to find out how we faced up to the best sustainable face wash brands.
*This post contains affiliate links
QUICK LINKS FOR ECO FRIENDLY FACE WASH
1. CONSCIOUS SKINCARE
About Conscious Skincare’s Eco Friendly Palm Oil free Face Wash
If you’re after sustainable face wash for oily skin, check out the Enrich Natural Face Wash by Conscious Skincare which uses the magical powers of organic geranium and lavender to cleanse and maintain sebum production.
Conscious Skincare also offers an eco friendly acne face wash, as well as those for mature skin and sensitive skin.
What makes Conscious Skincare one of the best organic face wash brands?
Having many more options (including exfoliants) aside, they’re also cruelty-free, palm oil-free, and vegan friendly.
While their packaging is not entirely zero waste, they do offer all their products in recyclable lined aluminum, glass, or recycled PET plastic containers.
About Conscious Skincare
Conscious Skincare is a Wales-based award-winning organic skin care brand that gives a much-needed break from the “modern toxic world that surrounds us.”
Founder Rebecca started the company after suffering from dry skin and witnessing her partner experience a reaction to mainstream skincare so severe that it hospitalized him.
Their natural beauty products (think: cruelty free shampoos, vegan moisturizers, and more) are made sans chemicals we wouldn’t put on our pets, let alone our face or bodies: parabens, phthalates, and SLS.
They only use ingredients rated “safest” by the Environmental Working Group and have some entire products that are EWG VERIFIED™.
They’re also approved by Cruelty Free International, PETA, and the Vegetarian Society.
Available: Etsy
Conscious Skincare has featured in an article on eco friendly toiletries.
2. MOKOSH SKINCARE
*Note: Mokosh is almost entirely vegan (including their face wash), except for their Pure Body Balm and the Coconut & Blackcurrant Lip Balm which contain beeswax.
About Mokosh Skincare’s Natural Sustainable Face Wash Australia
Mokosh? More like mo’ wash!
Because that’s what you’ll love to do with their gentle eco friendly face wash.
Wipe off the day with Mokosh’s Makeup Remover & Cleansing Oil. Certified organic, it uses botanical oils to remove makeup, dirt, and impurities, while the sebum leaves the skin hydrated.
They also have a Facial Cleanser, Exfoliator & Mask which is one of the best natural face washes in convenient powder form.
Mokosh products are made with certified organic, vegan, and palm oil-free ingredients, some of which are also fair trade.
About Mokosh Skincare
With a goal to demystify sustainable skincare, medical scientist Marion O’Leary combined her scientific background with the wisdom of nature and Ayurvedic science—and voila, Mokosh was born.
The Australian sustainable face wash and skin care company uses pure, concentrated ingredients instead of water, emulsifiers, fillers, and preservatives.
Mokosh is certified by Choose Cruelty-Free, organic, Orangutan Alliance certified palm oil-free, and sources fair trade wherever possible.
They also use recyclable paper and glass, and have a container return scheme for jars if you live in Australia. If not, you can send back droppers, lids, pumps, etc. and they’ll pay to have them properly recycled via Terracycle.
Mokosh plays an active part in solving climate change and human rights abuse.
They support organizations like One Girl and The Orangutan Project and are currently planting trees with the Plant-a-Tree campaign in biodiversity hot spots or bushfire-affected areas.
Available: All Natural Collection (US) | Biome Stores (AU)
3. ECOROOTS
*Note: Most products offered by EcoRoots are palm oil free.
About EcoRoots’ Natural Eco Friendly Face Wash Bars
EcoRoots’ sustainable face wash bars are made using the cold process method, meaning they capture all nourishing benefits from the plant oils, clays, and herbs contained in them.
They offer three varieties: Charcoal Tea Tree, Orange Bergamot, and Shea Oatmeal (which is unscented and an ideal sustainable face wash for sensitive skin).
For something portable, their clay-based Powder Face Cleanser enriches your skin with Vitamin C and all it requires is a little water.
Each product is free from sulfates, parabens, synthetic dyes and fragrances and replaces about three liquid bottles.
About EcoRoots
This zero waste online store offers much more than just an eco friendly way to wash your face.
In addition to some of the best eco friendly face wash in the USA, EcoRoots also makes other bathroom essentials (like zero waste shaving cream), laundry soap, and plastic free reusables.
All are vegan, cruelty free, made in the USA in small batches, and shipped sans plastic.
They’re also woman-owned and put 1% of profits toward ocean cleaning efforts through Ocean Conservancy.
4. PLAINE PRODUCTS
About Plaine Products’ Sustainable Palm Oil Free Face Wash
Offering protection for your pores and the planet, plastic free Plaine Products makes eco friendly facewash in refillable liquid form.
Available in either unscented or naturally scented citrus, it’s free of palm oil, sulfates, phthalates, parabens, synthetic fragrances, and non-biodegradable ingredients.
Not to mention vegan and cruelty free.
Pair it with their toners for a sustainable acne face wash routine.
When your aluminum bottle is empty, you can either recycle it or (better yet) send it back to the brand to be cleaned and refilled. Just hang onto the pump and transfer it to your new bottle.
About Plaine Products
Zero waste hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, organic body wash, and moisturizer: this is just a taste of all the refillable personal care products offered by sister-owned Plaine Products.
Each is made in the USA and totally non toxic.
Their third-party certifications and memberships are numerous: Certified B Corp, Leaping Bunny cruelty free, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, 1% for the Planet, and the Plastic Pollution Coalition.
That’s on top of the fact that all ingredients meet the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep criteria as safe.
Available: EarthHero
5. HIBAR
*Note: While the face wash is vegan, some shampoo bars contain honey. Palm oil is not directly used products, but a supplier notes that one ingredient “may” contain palm oil.
About HiBAR’s Eco Friendly Face Wash for Sensitive Skin
The name says it all because that’s exactly what HiBAR is setting for the world of sustainable facewash.
This vegan, amino acid-rich bar cleans (and leaves) the skin’s natural oil barrier intact, the perfect sustainable face wash for dry skin.
You’ll find no fragrances, parabens, phthalates, sulfates, or mineral oils on the ingredient list. You will, however, see some palm oil derivatives (like Cetearyl alcohol) as one supplier can’t guarantee an ingredient is palm oil free, though they often are.
Wrapped in compostable paper, each river-rock-inspired zero waste face wash bar is intended to replace a whole 8 oz bottle.
About HiBAR
In addition to being one of the best natural face wash brands, HiBAR also creates shampoo and conditioner, too.
Across the line, these bar products are COSMOS and ECOCERT certified and plastic free.
While HiBAR is certified cruelty free by Leaping Bunny (and sources only from suppliers who also follow cruelty free policies), the use of honey means they’re not strictly vegan.
Before sourcing ingredients, HiBAR research all potential negative impacts and chooses ethical, ideally-certified suppliers.
To manage waste, they have plans to start recycling the plastic wrap they receive from suppliers and already use compostable EcoWrap on their own pallets.
They also compost or donate defective and surplus product to schools, the homeless and women’s shelters.
Available: EarthHero
6. ETHIQUE
About Ethique’s Organic Sustainable Face Cleansers
Wash away dirt, grime, and stress with Ethique’s soap-free organic face washes, all of which tick every one of our beauty boxes.
Whether you’re looking for eco friendly face wash for dry skin (which you’ll find in their Bliss Bar) or have oily skin better suited to their Gingersnap face scrub, they have it all.
The SuperStar! cleansing balm even doubles as zero waste makeup remover.
With short ingredient lists filled with the likes of cacao seed butter, kokum butter, and orange peel oil, they safely scrub away the day while leaving your skin’s natural moisture barrier intact.
About Ethique
Ethique is one of the world’s favorite zero waste skin care brands.
They’ve revolutionized how we do home and personal cleaning, with not just body products but zero waste laundry detergent.
#GiveUpTheBottle isn’t just a catchy hashtag; it’s a promise they’re making good on.
Since they sold their first bar nearly a decade ago, they’ve prevented more than nine million plastic bottles from being manufactured.
Between planting trees and buying carbon offsets, no surprise they’re certified carbon neutral.
The Certified B Corp is about much more than ethical manufacturing. Their conscious ingredient sourcing means they are certified vegan, cruelty-free, and palm oil-free.
With carefully formulated products like their organic baby shampoo, we can face the world without petrochemicals, parabens, synthetic fragrance, and FD&C dyes.
They also donate 2% of revenue or 20% of profit (whichever is higher each year) to charity.
Available: Ethique | Amazon | Holland & Barrett (UK) | Nourished Life (AU)
7. SUPERFLY SOAP
SuperflySoap’s Gentle Sustainable Face Wash UK
Winner of the Beauty Shortlist Awards, Superfly Soap’s Balance Facial Cleanser is a powder with “about 40 uses”.
Just add water to the kaolin and Illite red clays which combined with rosehip powder delivers gentle exfoliation and mineral richness.
It comes packaged in foil-lined cardboard (remove and recycle the foil) with eco vegan glue.
If you prefer a sustainable face wash bar, they offer two: Aloe Vera or Sensitive.
Wrapped in paper (or naked with just an ingredient card if you so choose), they’re free of not only plastic but palm oil, fragrances, dyes, and animal byproducts.
Cold processing manufacturing ensures each one retains the full benefits of ingredients like olive oil, French green clay, and shea butter.
About SuperflySoap
Lisa McWatt is the woman behind one of the best organic face wash brands in the UK.
Based in Scotland, she small-batch handcrafts soaps, palm oil free shampoos (including for dogs), and lip balms.
While none contain palm oil or animal byproducts, some do contain synthetic fragrance oils, but plenty are available with just natural essential oils.
They source from fair labor enforcing suppliers, use clean energy, and ship zero waste.
Available: Etsy
8. ETEE
*Note: While not all etee products are palm oil free, their eco friendly face wash bars are free of palm oil and its derivatives.
About etee’s Eco Friendly Face Cleanser
When it comes to our precious skin, sometimes (scratch that: always) simple is best.
In that regard, etee makes one of the best sustainable face washes.
Made with 100% plant-based vegan ingredients (85% of which are USDA-certified organic), these bars swap out common face wash fillers (sulfates, harsh chemicals, and parabens) for activated charcoal, organic butters and oils, and aloe vera.
Designed to moisturize natural oils, this is an effective eco friendly face wash for dry skin.
For more problematic skin, they also have an organic tea tree face wash with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Its 85% organic ingredients include rhassoul clay, chamomile flowers, and lavender.
About etee
etee is one of our favorite alternatives to Amazon with many carefully crafted essentials, from eco friendly loofahs to toothpaste.
They may have broken into the plastic-free scene with simple beeswax wraps, but it didn’t stop there. Since their first sale, they’ve curbed the production of more than 100 million pieces of single-use plastic.
Because they manufacture most products in-house, their supply chain is transparent to an (e)tee.
While their zero waste dish soap is not free of palm oil derivatives, these are sustainably sourced, as are all their other ingredients.
They’re also powered by 100% renewable energy, use hand methods as much as possible, and— no shocker here—ship their products plastic free, including biodegradable packing tape.
As for charity, they donate products regularly and give to women’s shelters.
Available: etee
9. 100% PURE
*Note: While some products are vegan, 100% Pure is not a strictly vegan skincare brand.
About 100% Pure’s Organic Eco Friendly Face Wash
100% Pure carries a range of natural sustainable face cleansers and post-cleansing moisturizers for any type of skin.
If you’re looking for eco friendly face wash for oily skin, you’re in luck with the Fermented Rice Water Cleanser.
This type of organic sake doesn’t go well with sushi, but when combined with other organic ingredients, it’s rich in enzymes, minerals, and amino acids to gently exfoliate and soften skin.
Dry and inflamed skin will find relief in the Lavender Oat Milk Soothacing Cleanser, which also contains organic ingredients like black seed oil, echinacea, and lavender.
The Pore Detox Herbal Cleanser features organic tea tree extract, dandelion root, and neem leaf.
About 100% Pure
Ethics is incorporated into everything 100% Pure does—from sourcing responsible ethical mica in their eco friendly makeup to working with fair trade distributors and farmers to shipping with compostable packing peanuts and recyclable materials.
The only thing they haven’t gotten around to yet is eliminating palm oil from their products.
For every purchase, they donate a bowl of vegan dog food to an animal shelter in China.
Sustainable dog food is beneficial for animal welfare and the environment; just a single bowl can save up to 60 square feet of rainforest.
Available: 100% Pure
HOW WE FOUND THE BEST SUSTAINABLE FACE WASH
Making this list meant facing up to the fact that many of us wash away the day with downright dirty face wash ingredients.
That includes sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, parabens, mineral oil, propylene glycol, and alcohols.
Considering skin absorbs nearly everything it comes in contact with (around 64% in one study), we’d rather our skin care routine not cause allergies, remove skin’s natural and protective oils, alter our natural hormones, and dry out our skin.
Using our sustainable and ethical skin care criteria, we sought out the best natural face washes by considering the following:
- Non-toxic ingredients – like those found in natural toners.
- Vegan (or ethically-sourced animal products like beeswax)
- Cruelty-free: Not tested on animals or sold into China where animal testing is mandatory
- Palm oil free
- Ethical ingredient sourcing
- Thoughtful packaging: Ideally zero waste (compostable, refillable, or reusable), but at the very least it should be recyclable
FINAL THOUGHTS ON SUSTAINABLE & ORGANIC FACE WASH
The world has enough fake fillers and formulations.
And our skin is already exposed to enough, so why add more chemicals and irritants to the mix?
Let’s face it together with these organic sustainable face wash brands. A beauty routine that protects your body and our planet is the best way to get healthy and glowing skin, after all.
With natural skin care ingredients, we can save both face and the planet at the same time—and do so in a way that promotes brands who are trying to ensure natural eco friendly face wash is, in fact, both those things.
Healthy, sustainable living starts small, but collectively makes a big difference. So we’d be feeling bubby if you share this list of the best organic face washes with those in your skincare circle.
Using the words ” ethically sourced”, seriously !!!! DO NOT put that in brackets next to the word vegan, it is in no way vegan by any stretch of the imagination !!!!
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