Buff City Soap is a popular brand that sells online and at local “Makeries” where consumers can see the soap being made in front of them. The brand’s founders claim to have started the company because they were “frustrated by commercial soaps’ harsh chemicals.”
But is Buff City Soap really a healthier option than much cheaper commercial soap? Does it contain any questionable ingredients? And how do real users rate its scent and overall experience?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we review the ingredients in Buff City Soap and share a real, unsponsored user’s review of the brand.
Ingredient Review
The ingredient label above is from Buff City Island Nectar Soap.
While some of the ingredients in Buff City Soap are cleansing agents derived from natural compounds like coconut oil and palm oil, the brand’s formulations contain several ingredients we recommend avoiding.
Fragrance is an ingredient that we recommend consumers avoid. A medical review of fragranced consumer products published in the Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health journal concluded the following: “Results of this study provide compelling evidence that everyday fragranced products can impose serious risks to human health, environmental quality, businesses, and society.”
D&C Red No. 7 and D&C Yellow No. 5 are synthetic dyes, and a 2012 medical review found that synthetic dyes can contain carcinogenic (cancer-causing) chemicals.
Chromium oxide is an ingredient in some Buff City soaps that we recommend avoiding, because topical chromium is shown in clinical research to cause skin ulcers, severe redness and swelling of the skin in some patients.
Overall we’re disappointed in Buff City Soap’s formulations, especially since the company brands itself as a healthier alternative to regular soap (which we do not agree with).
Not all Buff City Soaps contain the above-listed ingredients, but every Buff City Soap we analyzed contained fragrance. We recommend that health-conscious consumers avoid this brand altogether.
Real, Unsponsored Buff City Soap User Review
One of the most popular YouTube reviews of Buff City Soap comes from a channel called “beautiessentials.” The creator walks through a Buff City Soap Maker shop to show you what it looks like on the inside and gives her take on the products and their scents:
Are Other Buff City Soap Products Better?
Here’s our take on other Buff City Soap products.
Buff City Soap Laundry Detergent – Regular version contains fragrance and we recommend avoiding it. There is an unscented version available for sale with clean, non-toxic ingredients that we would recommend.
Buff City Soap Bath Bomb – Contains fragrance and/or coloring agents. Avoid.
Buff City Soap Face Bars – The Rhassoul Clay face bar is the only one we’d recommend, as it has research-backed ingredients and is free of questionable additives.
Buff City Soap Shower Fizzy – We strongly recommend avoiding this product if hot water is used in the shower. Product contains ingredients like chromium compounds and fragrance that we do not recommend inhaling via steam.
Our Clean Soap Pick
The clean soap brand we recommend is Truly Free Aloe Soap.
Use code LABS30 for 30% off your first order.
This soap is made with safe, botanically-derived ingredients like aloe vera and coconut-based cleansers.
Truly Free's soap is fragrance-free and contains no additive ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
Interested consumers can check out Truly Free Aloe Soap at this link to the product page on the brand's official website, where it costs only $16.95 for a 2-pack.
