12 Best Hand Soaps to Fight Germs and Nourish Hands

Since you should be trying to both reduce your use of single-use plastics and keep your hands super clean amidst a global pandemic — this wonderful soap helps you accomplish both.

It’s made with a plant-based formula harnessed from coconuts, is safe for sensitive skin, contains skin-helping vitamin E, and the 32-ounce refills are sustainably sourced, shipped in reduced-waste packaging, and sealed with a plant-based cap.

Grapefruit Basil is our personal fave, but all the scents are pleasing and not too overpowering.

More: Treat Yourself and Planet Earth With an Organic Body Wash

To get you started on your next chapter of hand-washing, this kit includes an aluminum bottle and two refill tablets. In addition to being eco-friendly, this top-selling brand of liquid hand soap helps you avoid the messy process of refilling hand soap bottles thanks to the fizzy tablets.

It’s made with biodegradable cleaning ingredients and you can buy foaming tablet refills here.

Crafted with essential oils and free of sulfates, any loved one will delight in this hypoallergenic, moisturizing soap that's made in Italy with natural ingredients.

It works as either hand soap or shower gel — and delectable scents run the gamut from Champagne to Fresh Cut Gardenia. Our personal go-to? Sea and Dune for that oceanfront olfactory experience.

This gentle and paraben-, phthalate-, and sulfate-free liquid soap set includes three great scents: Lavender Lemon, Gardener’s Citrus Scrub, and Cedar Sage. The natural skincare company uses ingredients like non-greasy babassu seed oil and sensitive skin-friendly apricot kernel oil in its formulations — and no artificial colors or fragrances.

Throw a bottle in the shower and use it as body soap, too (on the bathing front, our pick is the refreshing citrus scent).

This hand soap is marketed towards kids, but as anyone with sensitive skin or an aversion to scents knows, baby products are always a winner for all. This germ-fighting foaming Castille soap works for hand washers of any age with sensitive skin thanks to its lack of synthetic fragrance, preservatives, triclosan, sulfates, mineral oil, vitamin E, or dyes.

As one happy reviewer described this Amazon’s Choice selection: “A company who actually understands [what] unscented means!”

Whether you opt for Lavender, Coconut Milk, Lychee Bilberry, Lemon Verbena scent, or otherwise, hand soap devotees will love this soothing soap made with ethically sourced natural ingredients that’s free of phthalates, SLS (a controversial foaming agent you should avoid), parabens, and more. Handmade in the south of France, you’ll be saying oh là là every time you suds up at the sink.

What we love most about this handwash is that its sustainable packaging can be returned for free refills. In addition to getting high marks on the environmentally-friendly front, we also dig this sulfate- and paraben-free hand soap that’s safe for babies and those with sensitive skin, to boot.

Once a go-to for your crunchy friend, there’s a good reason why this pure castile soap brand has catapulted into the mainstream in recent years. The soap maker is dedicated to sourcing the best organic and fair-trade ingredients like sustainable palm oil. Their products are free of synthetic preservatives, detergents, and foaming agents, and are packaged in recycled plastic.

The 128-fluid-ounce size also makes this an ideal candidate if you buy soap for multiple tasks like laundry, body wash, and shampoo.

For soft, velvety hands, this organic bar soap made with oats to exfoliate and smooth out rough skin is a winner. Crafted with sustainable palm oil and no artificial ingredients, the brand also uses recycled and recyclable packaging.

It works to protect pollinator habitats and strives to create a pesticide-free future. If you love bar soap but could do without the oats, try the Lavender Calendula version.

We’re a sucker for lemons, and we love the vintage-inspired design on this bottle. If you just can’t deal with buying another fancy ceramic soap dispenser that breaks after a few months, this is the best hand soap for you.

This hand soap is free from triclosan and parabens and has a lovely lemon smell to it with a non-drying formula to prevent skin irritation. There’s also a foaming version if you need to up the fun factor for kids or kids at heart. 

Both hand soap formulas are also available in refillable packs, so you have extra hand soap handily stored away as the need arises.

Fruit oils keep your hands moisturized in this skin-softening foaming hand soap with an alluring blend of almond, bergamot, and cedarwood, making each hand-washing pit stop feel like a mini aromatherapy break.

The soap comes in a glass bottle (which we love), and you can buy a 128-ounce recyclable plastic refill bottle for restocking.

Free of harsh chemicals and preservatives, we love the dreamy scents (lavender, patchouli, and lemongrass are our top three) and that this natural hand soap also moisturizes while it gets your hands squeaky clean.

Bonus: The salt in these blends serves as a natural thickener that makes for a supremely silky texture.