Dr. Bronner's is one of the most popular personal care product brands in the US, and is probably the most popular in the "natural" category. The brand's iconic old-school marketing stands out on retail shelves.

But what's actually in Dr. Bronner's soap? Does it contain any questionable additives? Is the bar soap healthier than the plastic-bottle soap? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of Dr. Bronner's soap?

In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Dr. Bronner's soap to give our take on whether or not it's healthy.

We'll also explain why we think the bar soap is a healthier choice than the plastic-bottle soap, and feature real Dr. Bronner's customer reviews.

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in the Unscented bar soap version of Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap are shown above.

Coconut oil can help to moisturize the skin, but also has antibacterial effects when applied topically, according to a 2023 clinical trial.

Olive oil can help to support skin healing, according to a medical review published in the Nutrients journal.

Jojoba oil is clinically shown to moisturize the skin, as we documented in our review of Truly Beauty.

Tocopherol, more commonly known as vitamin E, is clinically shown to reduce the damaging effects of UV rays on skin, making it a preventative ingredient.

There are no ingredients in this soap that we consider to be unhealthy.

Most of the scented versions use naturally-derived fragrance ingredients such as Mentha arvensis, colloquially known as wild mint, in the Peppermint version.

However, some scents like Almond use the generic "natural fragrance," which we recommend avoiding.

Overall, we consider Dr. Bronner's to be one of the healthiest soap brands we've reviewed to date on Illuminate Health, and we recommend their Unscented bar soap.

How is Dr. Bronner's Made?

A video from Insider is only three minutes long and shows how Dr. Bronner's soap is made:

Is the Liquid Soap Less Healthy?

We consider Dr. Bronner's bar soap to be a healthier choice than the liquid soap due to the packaging (not the ingredients).

The liquid soap is packaged in plastic, whereas the bar soap is packaged in paper.

Plastic packaging poses "health and environmental hazards" according to a 2022 medical review.

In our view, this risk is due to the potential for microplastics to penetrate the skin barrier and into the bloodstream, and also due to the risk of hormone-disrupting chemicals to leach from plastic packaging into the product.

For both health and environmental reasons, we recommend avoiding plastic as much as possible.

We've also tried both types of Dr. Bronner's bar soap, and have found the paper-packaged soaps to last significantly longer.

Real People Try Dr. Bronner's

A TikTok creator named "livekindly" shares nine different ways she uses Dr. Bronner's soap:

@livekindly 9 ways to use Dr. Bronner’s soap 🧼 #cleaningtiktok #cleantok ♬ FEEL THE GROOVE - Queens Road, Fabian Graetz

A YouTube creator named Audrey Victoria claims to have had a negative experience using Dr. Bronner's soap on her face:

Where to Get the Best Price

Dr. Bronner's soap is sold at a variety of online retailers.

Here's a price breakdown for a one-time purchase of the Unscented version (both bar soap and liquid soap) at the time of publishing this article:

Bar soap

Target: $4.99 (plus shipping, link)

Brand website: $4.99 (plus shipping, link)

Amazon: $4.99 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)

Liquid soap (32 ounce)

Brand website: $16.99 (plus shipping, link)

Amazon: $16.97 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)

Dr. Bronner's soap is currently around 25-50% cheaper at Amazon than at the brand's website when factoring in shipping fees.

Dr. Bronner's Soap Pros and Cons

Here are the pros and cons of Dr. Bronner's soap in our opinion:

Pros:

• Most scents have all natural ingredients
• Many research-backed active ingredients
• One of healthiest brands on the market
• Aesthetically pleasing packaging
• Widely available in-store and online

Cons:

• Expensive
• Some scents contain "natural fragrance"
• Plastic bottles may pose health concerns

Conclusion

Dr. Bronner's lives up to its billing as one of the healthiest personal care brands in the US.

The company uses predominantly organic, naturally-derived ingredients like coconut oil and jojoba oil for a non-toxic and effective wash.

We take (minor) issue with some scents such as Almond which contain "natural fragrance," and we recommend avoiding those scents.

The Unscented version is our favorite, both for health and personal reasons.

Dr. Bronner's bar soap is healthier than the brand's liquid soap, due to the lack of plastic packaging in the bar soap, in our opinion.

For consumers planning to purchase soap from Dr. Bronner's, Amazon currently has the best prices by a significant margin when factoring in shipping fees.