7 Shaving Soap Bars For A Smooth, Sustainable Shave
Looking to ditch your chemical-filled aerosol?
We’ll shave you some time by introducing your stubbly skin to some good old-fashioned shaving soap bars.
But wait, can you shave with bar soap? And is shaving with bar soap good?
Yes, and yes! In fact, we’d argue that it’s the best because it means no harmful fillers, synthetic foaming agents, or wasteful packaging—except maybe a little paper wrapper.
So grab your zero waste razor because these solid shave bars are here to prove that eco-conscious grooming can be razor-sharp and ‘bar-none’ in terms of effectiveness.
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The Best Shaving Bar Brands For Sustainably Stubble-Free Skin
EcoRoots’ organic shaving soap is packed with organic ingredients and essential oils and if you pair it with one of their women’s reusable razors, you know you’re being as green as possible with your shaving routine.
Say goodbye to your 5 o’clock shadow with Craftsman Soap Co. Their handmade men’s shaving soap bars include beer soaps that use local craft beers instead of water in the soap-making process.
To learn more about how we decided which bar soap is best for shaving—along with some tips for how to use them—glide to the bottom.
The Full List of Sustainable Shaving Soap Bars
1. EcoRoots
*Note: Most products offered by EcoRoots are palm oil free, but not their bar soaps.
EcoRoots’ Organic Shaving Soap Bar
Price Range: $13
Say goodbye to prickly skin, packaging, and unpronounceable ingredients with the organic men’s or women’s shaving bar from EcoRoots.
It’s handmade in the USA with USDA organic coconut oil, avocado oil, and essential oils, along with other natural and organic ingredients that come together in a rich lather.
You can incorporate the organic bar shaving soap as part of a Shaving Kit that also includes one of EcoRoots’ rose gold safety razors.
About EcoRoots
EcoRoots’ business ethos is rooted in zero waste practices.
From skin and hair care products to beauty essentials and items for around the kitchen, this ethical online shopping center does it all—without plastic.
In addition to putting the ‘eco’ in eco-friendly packaging, they feature products that are always cruelty-free, mostly palm oil-free, SLS-free, non-toxic, and mostly organic.
All EcoRoots’ proprietary zero waste products are vegan and cruelty-free, but they do retail some products from other brands containing organic beeswax.
The Colorado brand is a contributing member of 1% for the Planet that supports organizations like Ocean Conservancy.
2. Craftsman Soap Co
Craftsman Soap Co’s Zero Waste Men’s Shaving Soap Bar
Price Range: $8–$11
Hands-on techniques and minimal processing keep Craftsman Soap Co’s select ingredients in their natural, preservative-free soaps as close to the source as possible.
Pure oils, waxes, sustainably-sourced beef tallow, and nourishing butters are the critical ingredients, together with essential oils such as peppermint, tea tree, lemon, and Scotch pine.
Or, in the case of their unique line of Beer Soap, locally sourced beer!
Even if you don’t want your face smelling like your favorite IPA, their cold-pressed shave bar soap range includes plenty of other earthy scents, like Campfire or the milder, more refreshing Sea Clay Eucalyptus.
About Craftsman Soap Co
Craftsman Soap Co’s production processes ensure minimal waste as the complete range is handmade in small batches in their Los Angeles workshop.
Labeled “All-Natural”, Craftsman’ products contain minimally processed ingredients, no synthetic fragrances and colorants, and no palm oil.
The tallow used in the soap products is purified from suet collected from local butcher shops, thereby keeping travel miles to a minimum.
This does mean the soaps are not vegan-friendly, but they never test on animals.
3. Jungle Culture
Jungle Culture’s Shaving Bar Soap
Price Range: $11
With Jungle Culture’s help, you can switch out your shaving gel or shaving foam and reduce your plastic waste output significantly.
Their range of vegan shaving soaps is handmade using cruelty-free, natural, and organic ingredients like organic coconut oil.
To infuse the calming fragrances of the natural essential oils, they cold-press their organic shave soap bar recipe for 40 days.
If you think that sounds like a long time, wait until you find out each bar lasts between 6–12 months, depending on frequency of use. We can tell you from testing that it does indeed last a long time. We’ve yet to put much of a dent in ours, even after using it regularly for several months.
About Jungle Culture
Jungle Culture’s natural solid shaving soap bars are handmade by artisan soap makers in Vietnam.
You can keep your conscience clean when you’re shaving because Jungle Culture’s zero waste shaving cream bars are SLS-free, cruelty-free, palm-oil-free, and contain no animal products.
As a member of 1% for the Planet, every purchase of a home or personal care product from this zero waste online store gives back to the environment.
4. Ethique
Ethique’s Shaving Cream Soap Bar
Price Range: $4.50–$16
The only thing better than an affordable bar soap for shaving is one that also doubles as a shampoo.
Ta-da!
Presenting: Ethique’s Tip to Toe, the do-it-all shampoo and shave bar.
Made with plant-based ingredients like kaolin clay, cocoa butter, lime, and mint oils, the ingredients in the Ethique shaving bar work together to create a soft and rich lather that lifts hairs for a close shave.
We personally love how this thick lather helps us shave even the most sensitive areas with ease, knowing we never need to worry about razor burn.
It’s also vegan, not tested on animals, certified palm oil-free, and saves 2,750 mL of water per bar.
The only thing it can’t do is actually shave a face (though Ethique will probably figure that one out, too).
About Ethique
Ethique is the Certified B Corp and a carbon-neutral company that’s prevented more than 11 million plastic bottles from being manufactured since 2012.
Check out their range of not just adult shampoo, but organic baby shampoo, deodorant, organic body wash, and so much more.
Everything comes as a plastic-free bar or a cardboard push tube.
Aside from their two operating locations (in New Zealand and the US), they have a positive presence worldwide—especially since 2% of their sales are donated to charity.
5. ZeroWasteStore.com
ZeroWasteStore.com’s Solid Shaving Bar
Price Range: $14–$20
Suds & Co, the in-house zero waste shampoo and soap brand for ZeroWasteStore.com, has created a multipurpose soap bar that’s incredible for the skin, truly zero waste and provides the perfect barrier for a clean smooth shave.
Best of all, this shaving bar for shower, bath, and beyond (sorry, not the bed!) contains only seven ingredients, including plant-based glycerin (made in-house using production waste), apricot seed color, USA-mined mica, and extracts of mango, pineapple, orange and vanilla
Each ingredient is carefully chosen to both lock in moisture and create a protective skin barrier.
Non-toxic, non-allergic, vegan, cruelty-free, palm oil free, and plastic-free, you can be confident the ingredients used in this make it the best bar soap for shaving legs AND keeping our water systems safe.
Choose the Sunshine Soap Bar Bundle and you get a bar and agave soap saver bag to create a sudsy lather and keep your solid shave bar around for longer.
About ZeroWasteStore.com
As you might imagine, at ZeroWasteStore.com, all zero waste bathoom and home products are free of plastic packaging.
100% biodegradable shipping materials are used which means every part of the package you receive can be composted, reused, or recycled.
Carbon offsets make every order you place a carbon-neutral one, and ZeroWasteStore.com is a proud contributing member of 1% for the Planet, so each purchase directly connects your dollars with the “doers” in the eco field.
6. Lusitania Soaps
Lusitania Soaps’ Shaving Cream Bars
Price Range: $10
If you’re looking for the closest thing to classic shaving foam, this is it.
Lusitania Soaps uses sustainably sourced ingredients in its shave soap bar recipe that contains no palm oil, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, tallow, or other animal-derived ingredients.
The soaps are enriched with a blend of coconut, shea butter, sweet almond, olive, castor, and babassu oils.
These ingredients deliver unsurpassed hydration, smoothness, and plenty of lather.
Unlike other bars, this solid shaving cream comes in a compact tin that makes it perfect for travel.
About Lusitania Soaps
Lusitania Soaps is a family-owned business that has its roots in traditional soap-making techniques passed down from grandparents in southern Portugal.
From soap, they moved on to laundry detergent, body lotions and creams, natural make-up remover, and zero waste lip balm.
This zero waste brand also uses waste-free packaging for its vegan-friendly and environmentally-friendly formulations.
7. Badger
*Note: The shaving soaps are vegan but not all Badger products are. These bars contain organic palm oil.
Badger Shaving Bars
Price Range: $13
Badger offers a good selection of clean and organic products including beard oil, mustache wax, beard balm, and a balm for hardworking hands.
Their shaving soap bar recipe promises to give you the smoothest shave yet thanks to added soothing and moisturizing ingredients.
Badger’s shaving bars contain hydrating aloe vera, nutrient-rich organic coconut oil, and a good dose of certified organic glycerin. All these combine to create a good “slip”, lots of moisture, and a luxurious lather.
They do contain organic palm oil, but we’ll be reaching out to find if it’s otherwise sustainably sourced.
About Badger
Badger is a family-owned Certified B Corp that started almost three decades ago in a family kitchen.
Many of the minimally-processed ingredients in their zero waste sunscreens, natural bug repellents, sustainable body washes, and more are certified USDA organic, NSF and Fair Trade certified.
The brand is a big fan of all things organic, values close supplier relationships, and is a passionate advocate for sustainable and regenerative agriculture.
10% of profit before tax is donated to non-profit organizations, including those that focus on the welfare of children, those serving local communities, and groups that take charge of the stewardship of our planet.
Badger further shows its love for the planet through its recycling efforts, sustainable sourcing, and using 100% renewable energy.
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How to Use Your Shave Soap Bar
Is it OK to use bar soap as shaving cream?
Sure is, but how do you use it effectively?
Here’s a step-by-step guide to ensure your pick of the best shave bar yields the best shave ever:
- Shave in the shower or immediately after a shower. You want your skin warm and clean because it will make for a smoother shave.
- Use your hand or a shaving brush to work the soap into a lather. The foamier, the better. If you’re having trouble, soak the soap and brush in warm water for several minutes. This will soften the bristles of the shaving brush and make the soap easier to work into a rich lather.
- Spin the shaving brush around so that it’s adequately covered with soap (or do the same with your hands). You should see soap cling to the brush bristles.
- Create a thin lather, visible as a light coat covering your skin. You want to do this quickly so that it locks in moisture before moving to the next step.
- Once the first coat is layered on, add a thicker layer to protect your skin and make the shaving process easier.
- Begin to shave. Be sure to use light strokes and let the weight of the razor head do all the work. For faces and pubic regions, shave with the grain of the hair—this way you won’t get razor burn or nicks.
- Keep skin wet the entire time and rinse your razor regularly. You’ll want to learn how to clean a safety razor properly at the end of your shave.
What about how to store a shaving soap bar?
For a longer life, don’t store it wet or leave it covered with hair or other residues.
After you’ve removed any particles or hair, dry the bar before returning it to its container to prevent it from getting mushy.
Alternatively, store in a hanging soap saver bag or on a well-draining soap dish.
How We Choose The Best Shaving Bars
Using bar soap for shaving is already a more sustainable choice than traditional shaving creams, but it’s not the only thing that matters.
We specifically look for those that pass the high bar set by our sustainable beauty criteria:
- Non-toxic: This is especially important because chemicals usually found in shaving creams don’t dissolve and can contaminate waterways and harm ecosystems. Instead, we want natural skin care ingredients like organic shea butter, aloe vera, and coconut milk.
- Vegan and cruelty-free: We never want smooth legs in exchange for animal testing, but we make occasional exceptions for ethically sourced animal products like beeswax or byproduct tallow.
- Palm oil-free: If not totally absent of palm oil and its derivatives, we consider RSPO-certified palm oil though it’s not as ideal.
- Ethical sourcing: Ingredients in each shave bar should come from local, sustainable, and fair trade sources.
- Thoughtful packaging: We look for recyclable, at the very least, but zero waste is much better—especially considering that aerosol cans and containers are often not recyclable.
Final Thoughts On Shaving Soap Bars
In a world of convenience and disposability, the situation with our quickly warming planet is getting hairy.
Fortunately, we can solve two hairy situations with one little unassuming shaving soap bar.
You don’t have to go au natural or embrace an epic beard to be eco-friendly. A simple zero waste bathroom swap to a shaving soap bar will do the trick!
In fact, it’s small changes like this (and these other 50 zero waste tips) that can have a significant impact.
If you know anyone still stuck on shaving gel, aerosol shaving foam, or (gasp!) disposable razors, share this article with them.
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im not sure how brooklyn made natural is cruelty free??? their soaps use lanolin which comes from sheep i believe and their shaving brushes use boar bristles.