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.
By choosing an organic face wash we (that’s us and the planet) can avoid both.
Besides, we need to scrub away more than just oil and dirt from our skincare routine.
I.e. we need products that don’t contain impurities themselves—AKA ingredients to avoid in skincare.
Enter: eco-friendly and natural face wash that will leave your pores feeling fresh. These products contain healthy formulations, and their ingredients have been ethically sourced.
As with all our personal care guides, we prioritize brands and products that use healthy ingredients, that are clearly identifiable on their labels and can back up their cosmetic claims. We also consider several other important sustainability factors.
In the coming months, look out for our new Brand Rating System, where we assess brands against more criteria, including climate impact and product efficacy. Here’s our explainer if you want to know more.
Our Favorite Natural Face Washes For An Excellent Exfoliation
For eco-friendly face cleanser that’s refillable, scrub those pores clear with Plaine Products. Plaine Products has been comprehensively rated by us on their sustainability credentials – find the full rating here.
Superfly Soap offers aloe-enriched face wash for dark and sensitive skin alike.
We independently research all featured brands, and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. We explain this further in our Terms of Use.
Index: Eco-Friendly & Natural Face Washes
- Plaine Products Jump to brand
- HiBAR Jump to brand
- Ethique Jump to brand
- Superfly Soap Jump to brand
- etee Jump to brand
- Mokosh Organic Skincare Jump to brand
- Conscious Skincare Jump to brand
- EcoRoots Jump to brand
- 100% Pure Jump to brand
Plaine Products
Circular
All or some products are circular in nature - such that no part of the product needs to end up in landfill at the end of its life
Cruelty-free
Products are not test on animals at any stage in their production.
Locally Made
Products are made local to the brand's headquarters.
Non-toxic
All products are made with ingredients or materials that are currently considered non-toxic
Palm Oil Free
Products contain no palm oil or palm oil derivatives.
Plastic-free
All products are entirely plastic-free
Refillable
Product packaging can be refilled with more product, either at a physical store or via a return program.
Small business
This brand is a small business run by less than 15 people
Take Back Program
Brand offers a take back program for their products and responsibly manages returned items.
Thoughtful packaging
Product packaging has been designed and created with the end of life outcome in mind and can be easily recycled or composted.
Vegan
This brand does not use any animal products or by-products in their products
Woman Owned
This brand is owned by a woman or a group of women.
Zero Waste
Products are made with a low or zero waste approach where ideally no or limited waste is created throughout the production process or at the end of life.
1% for the planet
B Corp
Leaping Bunny
PETA
1% for the planet
Certified Environmental Giving — Businesses give 1% of their annual sales directly to vetted environmental partners.B Corp
The B Corp Certification, administered by the nonprofit B Lab, recognizes companies that meet high standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. Certified B Corps balance profit with purpose, committing to responsible practices that benefit workers, communities, customers, and the planet while embedding sustainability into their business model.Leaping Bunny
The Leaping Bunny certification, managed by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC), is the globally recognized gold standard for cruelty-free products. It ensures that neither a company’s finished products nor their ingredients are tested on animals at any stage of development. Brands must also agree to independent audits and supplier monitoring, guaranteeing genuine cruelty-free commitment across their entire supply chain.PETA
The PETA-Approved Vegan certification verifies that a brand’s certified products are completely free from animal-derived materials and that no animal testing is conducted at any stage of production. Managed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the label helps consumers easily identify fashion, beauty, and lifestyle products that align with a fully vegan and cruelty-free standard.About Plaine Products’ 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 an 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, body wash, and moisturizer: this is just a taste of all the refillable products offered by sister-owned Plaine Products.
Each is made in the USA and is 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.
Plaine Products has been rated by Sustainable Jungle. Find the full rating here.
HiBAR
HiBAR has not been rated.
About HiBAR’s Face Washes
The name says it all because that’s exactly what HiBAR is setting for the world of facewashes.
This vegan, amino acid-rich bar cleans (and leaves) the skin’s natural oil barrier intact, the perfect environmentally friendly 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 researches 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 products to schools, the homeless, and women’s shelters.
Ethique
Ethique has not been rated.
About Ethique’s Facial 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 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 with laundry detergent too.
#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 fragrances, and FD&C dyes.
They also donate 2% of revenue or 20% of profit (whichever is higher each year) to charity.
Superfly Soap
Superfly Soap has not been rated.
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 an ethical 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.
etee
etee has not been rated.
About etee’s 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 natural facial cleansers.
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 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 them to women’s shelters.
Mokosh Organic Skincare
Mokosh Organic Skincare has not been rated.
About Mokosh Skincare’s Face Wash
Mokosh? More like mo’ wash!
Because that’s what you’ll love to do with their gentle natural 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 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.
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.
Conscious Skincare
Conscious Skincare has not been rated.
About Conscious Skincare’s Face Wash
If you’re after biodegradable 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 cleanser, as well as those for mature skin and sensitive skin.
But what makes Conscious Skincare one of the best 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 skincare 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.
EcoRoots
EcoRoots has not been rated.
About EcoRoots’ Face Wash
EcoRoots’ 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 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.
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.
100% Pure
100% Pure has not been rated.
About 100%’ Pure’s Cleansers
100% Pure carries a range of natural sustainable face cleansers and post-cleansing moisturizers for any type of skin.
If you’re looking for an 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.
My Personal Review of 100% Pure’s Matcha Cleansing Balm:
“I’ve been using 100% Pure’s Matcha Cleansing Balm for about a year now and wouldn’t be without it. Packed with nourishing ingredients like coconut oil, shea butter, and avocado oil, this is a thick, paste-like formula. I prefer to use it in the shower with a washcloth because it does leave some oily residue behind on the skin, and this way, I can remove the excess. I also use it before bed so that my skin can soak up all those nourishing oils overnight.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Heather earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition from the The Ohio State University before completing a Masters in Environment at The University of Melbourne. She then went on to achieve a Permaculture Design Certificate at the Djanbung Gardens. Heather feels best when she is barefoot in a forest or has dirt under her fingernails. She’s constantly daydreaming about her homesteading future and has a rapidly-growing list of the best local (and not-so-local) hiking trails. When she’s not busy hoarding an embarrassing number of upcycled glass jars, experimenting with urban composting, or quelling her eco-anxiety on a long run, Heather spends her 9-5 working for a sustainable agriculture nonprofit, where she advocates for state and federal policies that support thriving farmers and a habitable future.
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 !!!!
Amazing article and the whole blog! I’m happy to find a lot of precious information about sustainable leaving!