The Best Natural & Non-Toxic Christmas Hand Soaps

At this time of year, from Thanksgiving to Christmas and all throughout the winter, it becomes quite popular to use special holiday-scented hand soaps. Bath & Body Works soaps are quite popular, but did you know that they contain many harmful ingredients? Do your health a favor this holiday season and the skip Bath & Body Works hand soaps. Here are all the best alternatives!

Let’s also skip the HomeSense and Home Goods ones that are so common at this time of year. I’ve made it easier for you to switch to natural ones by showing you all of the best natural, non-toxic hand soaps that are perfect for this time of year! Any of these would also make a great gift.

This page contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you purchase through these links. I only recommend products that I LOVE and personally use. Read more here.

One of the important steps to take in creating a healthy home environment is switching to a safe & natural hand soap. Not only do you want to avoid leaving potential residues of toxic ingredients on your hands, but many of the ingredients are also harmful to breathe in, and harmful to the environment.

When it becomes overwhelming to decide what items to switch and when, starting with the products that you use the most is always a good idea. Hand soap is used by all members of the household, multiple times a day!

It’s surprising how many ingredients known to be skin-irritants are commonly found in many brands of hand soap. In a perfect world, we would avoid all potentially harmful ingredients, but it may not always be possible depending on your budget and product availability. Below, I’ve broken down some of the common ingredients into two categories- those that are the most concerning, and those that are a bit less concerning.

Some of the toxic ingredients of higher concern that can be found in many brands of hand soap include:

Artificial colours and fragrances: contain endocrine-disrupting compounds (like phthalates) and can be carcinogenic. Adding synthetic colourants is completely unnecessary, and is harmful to the environment as well. The term ‘fragrance’ is used to hide unknown chemical combinations that companies don’t have to disclose because it’s “proprietary information”. So when a product is marketed as “phthalate-free”, this doesn’t mean it’s non-toxic.
Synthetic preservatives like methylisothiazolinone, benzisothiazolinone, and methylchloroisothiazinolinone: are skin sensitizers & irritants, are toxic to aquatic life, and can cause contact dermatitis.
Parabens: well-known as endocrine disruptors and are concerning for reproductive toxicity.
Ethanolamine compounds like monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine (MEA, DEA and TEA): can cause cancer, skin irritation, eye irritation, respiratory irritation, and toxicity to aquatic life.
Alcohol ethoxylates, sodium laureth sulfate, and dipropylene glycol: can be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane and ethylene oxide, which are carcinogenic. They may also cause skin, lung, and eye irritation. Dipropylene glycol also has some concern with endocrine disruption.
Benzyl benzoate: preservative associated with allergies, endocrine disruption, and skin irritation.

The following ingredients are also concerning, but to a lesser extent, but I avoid them when possible:

Cocoamidopropyl betaine: is a surfactant, and is actually synthetic even though it’s often referred to as natural because it is made partly from coconut. It can cause irritation and allergic contact dermatitis, and it is unclear if irritation is being caused from the ingredient itself or from impurities that could be present in it, such as dimethylaminopropylamine and nitrosamines. This is a very common ingredient and is generally considered to be mild, but is suspected to be an environmental toxin.
Sodium benzoate: is a preservative that is generally considered to be of low concern, however it can cause allergic skin reactions and irritation. Most of the concern for this ingredient is in regards to its’ use in food. (In food, it should be avoided when present in combination with ascorbic acid, citric acid, or vitamin C, as these can lead to the formation of benzene, which is carcinogenic. Elevated temperatures or direct sunlight is needed for that chemical reaction to occur. It has also been linked to reduced fertility and ADHD in children.)
Cocamine oxide and sodium coco sulfate: synthetic surfactants that are considered to be of low concern in rinse-off products like hand soap, but can be skin irritants and toxic to aquatic life.
Cocamidopropylamine oxide: is a synthetic surfactant that can cause allergic skin reactions and eye damage, but is also considered a low concern for rinse-off products like hand soap. It is made partially from dimethylaminopropylamine, which is a known skin irritant and can be present in cocamidopropylamine oxide.
Lauramine oxide: shows acute toxicity to aquatic life, can cause skin irritation, and is a probable human carcinogen.
Phenoxyethanol: is a preservative that is considered to be low concern, but it can cause allergic reactions and skin irritation.
Ethylhexylglycerin: a weak preservative and skin conditioning ingredient that can cause skin, respiratory, and eye irritation. It can also be a skin sensitizer and toxic to the environment and wildlife.

The best non-toxic liquid hand soaps for the holidays are:

All prices shown are in CND dollars. Note that many of these Christmas scents will only be available seasonally.

Rocky Mountain Soap Co.

Starting at $17 for 240 mL | Refillable | Glass bottle packaging available for some scents

One of the best and most natural hand soaps on the market! They have a few amazing seasonal scents to choose from like Vanilla Candy Cane, Cedar Solstice, and Rosemary Mint. They also have a Root Beer scent, which is amazing and unique (a personal favourite of mine for any occasion!).

These soaps do not have any ingredients of concern. They are available in either a foaming wash or a regular liquid.

Pure Anada

Starting at $12 for 300 mL | Refillable

I love Pure Anada’s seasonal hand soaps (seasonal scents become available in November)! They are a more budget-friendly option compared to Rocky Mountain Soap Co’s, and the natural scents are just as good. All of the product labels/branding have really nice botanical elements that look great sitting out by the sink.

Choose from Frosted Cranberry, Shield (same scent as “Thieves” by Young Living”), Peppermint Cream, Fig & Grapefruit, Woodland Citrus, and Alpine. Additional options that suit the season include Sweet Orange and Vanilla Bean.

It’s available in either foaming soap or creamy liquid (view the Christmas section if they aren’t shown here).

Caution: contains cocamidopropyl betaine

K’Pure

Starting at $14 for 250 mL | Refillable

This soap has truly simple, natural ingredients! Their seasonal winter scent would be Comfort Spice. They do also have peppermint or sweet orange as other options for Christmas.

Scentuals

$12 for 250 mL

Another soap with simple, natural ingredients. Choose from Christmas Memories, Vanilla Mint, and Winter Wonderland for their seasonal Christmas scents!

Caution: contains sodium benzoate

Honeywild Apothecary- on Etsy

Starting at $17.25 for 250 mL | Glass bottle

This seller makes natural hand soap with only essential oils for the scent and they have no ingredients of concern! Some of their scent options that would be great for the holidays include Mountain Mint, Bergamot & Pine, and Stormy Lake Pine (plus others!)

Elva’s All Naturals

Starting at $28 for 375 mL | Refillable | Glass bottle & metal pump option

Another 100% natural formula with no ingredients of concern! This one even comes in a refillable glass bottle with a metal pump (or you can buy a smaller version in a plastic bottle). Seasonal scents available: Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice, Winter Forest, and Elva’s Blend (Thieves & Thyme).

Rowe Casa Organics

$21.30 for 237 mL | Glass bottle

This brand’s soap also has amazing ingredients, and seasonal scents include Christmas Cheer, Pumpkin Spice, Immunity, and Peppermint + Vanilla.

One downside with this one is the shape and size of the pump nozzle is a bit strange. Hopefully they change this!

Tallu

$38 for 473 mL | Glass bottle

This company makes a few holiday hand soaps that are made with only essential oils. I love the design of their glass bottles! They would not only look so festive sitting by your sink, but they would make a lovely gift too.

The essential oils scents are: Fa la la la la, Après Ski, and Into the Woods.

Caution: some of their scents appear to be scented with fragrance oils instead of essential oils. I contacted them to get confirmation and will update this post if/when I hear back. For now, I recommend sticking with the scent names I specified above.

DIY Foaming Hand Soap (most budget-friendly!)

The most budget-friendly hand soap option is to make your own! It is SO easy to make your own foaming festive holiday hand soap. You can customize the scent based on your personal preferences and the season. All you will need are essential oils, castile soap, filtered or distilled water, and a foaming soap dispenser.

View all of my Christmas and winter foaming hand soap recipes here.

Additional Non-Toxic Liquid Hand Soap Options:

The brands listed below have good ingredients for their soap and deserve a shout-out, however they don’t necessarily have special seasonal scents. Although, they do offer ones that are suitable such as cedar, peppermint, rosemary, etc.

Dr. Bronner’s
Carina Organics
Oneka
Neil’s Yard Remedies

Brands to Avoid

Brands that I intentionally did not include above due to them containing too many ingredients of concern include:

Live Clean (contains fragrance, phenoxyethanol, sodium benzoate, ethylhexylglycerin)
J.R. Watkins (unspecified fragrance, phenoxyethanol, sodium benzoate)
Mrs. Meyers (fragrance, sodium benzoate, dipropylene glycol)
Attitude (synthetic fragrance, sodium benzoate, triethyl citrate, phenethyl alcohol)
Rebel Green (ethylhexylglycerine, phenoxyethanol, benzyl benzoate, and fragrance ingredients are vague. They do have some other good products though.)
Method (fragrance, sodium benzoate, synthetic colours)

Nature Clean– this brand is ok, but it does contain both sodium benzoate and phenoxyethanol, so it isn’t one of my top choices.

I hope this list of non-toxic holiday hand soaps has been helpful! Let’s fill our homes with life-giving natural products that emulate the beauty of the season! Enjoy <3

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