5 Best Bar Soap For Men In 2023

You’re probably a hard working guy – putting in that overtime, on the grind, and y’know what? If your daily shower is one of the few moments that you really take to relax and unwind, then you deserve the best bar soap for men to accompany your mini-self-care moments.

Based on scent, texture, feel, aromatherapeutic properties, brand name, popularity, Amazon reviews, and more, we’re happy to bring you the greatest list of soaps to adapt to whatever your shower needs may be. 

Dr. Squatch Cedar Citrus (Our Top Pick)

At the end of the day, most of us really want a soap that’s going to smell nice, feel good against the skin, and leave you feeling fresh after you step out of the shower. Dr. Squatch’s cedar citrus bar promises exactly that.

You’ll notice the smell the second you take it out of the package – it’ll probably build up in the box, so if it’s slightly strong at first, don’t worry. It fades nicely against the skin, so nobody will smell you coming, but they sure will enjoy it when they shake your hand and catch a whiff of fresh but woodsy.

Dr. Squatch is also a well established men’s soap brand. They’ve perfected natural soaps that lather well and feel well worth the cost, making it the one of the best bar soap for men.

Pros:

• It’s a manly scent without being alpha-dog or overwhelming.

• Dr. Squatch always creates high-quality bars, safe for all skin types. You can even get away with using it on your face and beard.

• It’s a reliable soap bar. No way to go wrong with the scent, feel, or skin benefits.

Cons:

• It’s a bar that needs to be babied. It’ll dissolve quickly if you don’t keep it dry.

• If you’ve never bought natural soap before…it’ll come as a surprise just how small this bar is. It’s high-quality, but it’s not hefty.

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Marlowe Men’s Body Scrub Soap

By people’s choice, Marlowe Men’s body scrub soap is one of the most popular exfoliating men’s soaps you can get. On Amazon, it has a 77% success rate in getting five-star reviews. You’d be surprised how brutal soap reviewers can be, so that’s a true accomplishment!

That’s even more impressive when you take into account the fact that creating a gentle but effective exfoliating soap is no easy task. Lots of companies produce a product that’s 50/50 on giving users skin rashes and breakouts. Marlowe consistently manages to leave it’s buyers with smooth, soft, satisfied skin.

I also particularly like how great this bar is as a pre-shave soap. It’ll work out your ingrown hairs and clear away dead skin so that the razor can glide, leaving you with fewer nics and burns. Plus it’s got that awesome forest-y smell, which is automatically puts in any “best bar soap for men” list. What’s not to love?

Pros:

• It’s a HEAVY exfoliant. You’ll feel it working against your skin, scouring away grime. Don’t overdo it.

• Works wonders for ingrown hairs, be it on your body or face.

• For a soap who’s main sales pitch is the exfoliation, it has a surprisingly good scent and lather.

Cons:

• Patch test it before you use it. If you have really sensitive skin, this probably isn’t the bar for you.

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Pre De Provence No. 63 Soap

If you’re looking for an affordable luxury soap, my go-to is Pre De Provence. They’re amazing at scent mixing, and they have a knack for turning out soaps that feel surprisingly soft against your skin.

Part of their secret is the milling process. A milled soap is a soap that’s been ground down multiple times to make the bar more dense, giving it that creamy texture and adding some subtlety to the scent. This particular bar has a vague smell, warm but spicy, manly but not overwhelming. It’s the perfect scent to remind you to relax your jaw and close your eyes for a second.

My one complaint is actually the lack of texture. A bar this smooth could afford to have some sort of natural exfoliating ingredient, and it would be amazing for sensitive skin. If you’re not really “vibing” with the scent and creamy lather, it’s going to feel bland.

Pros:

• Great spicy, citrus-y scent. Very refreshing during and after use.

• I’m almost willing to call this one aromatherapeutic. The scent is definitely relaxing, if you’re in the right mood.

• Such a soft texture! Perfect for cleaning your nether-regions without causing irritation.

Cons:

• A little bit bland without any ingredients for texture.

• I doubt it’s all-natural, so you’ll want to patch test it before you put it on your skin.

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Art Of Sport Rise Scent Extra Fresh

For my athletes out there, I had to include an Art of Sport soap here. Whether you’re more of a rec center league player, or a serious baller, Art of Sport is just so durable. It’s a great gym soap, and the scent will run circles around your sweat.

This bar is also great for oily skin. It has some charcoal thrown in there to work with oils and sweat, dissolving all that moisture so that you can get on with your day smelling great. The shea butter also acts as a moisturizer, so you shouldn’t have to worry about the soap drying you out. I do recommend pairing the bar with a lotion of some sort if you have dry, flaky, or sensitive skin.

If you have an outdoor event and an indoor meeting back to back, Art of Sport (and a little extra deodorant) will save your tail. Considering that most guys, it’s hard not to have Art of Sport as one of the best bar soap for men.

We’ve also voted this soap as one of the best bar soap for sensitive skin AND one of the best soap for body odor. That’s hard to beat.

Pros:

• Art of Sport always comes up with the best soaps for body odor. If you’re suffering from some stubborn, unpleasant smells, Art of Sport is a godsend.

• The rise scent is fresh but unobtrusive, a great base for other cologne and deodorant scents.

Cons:

• Charcoal soaps are not for everybody. Great for oily skin, disastrous against dry skin.

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Baxter Of California Exfoliating Bar

Let me just say, Baxter of California always impresses me with how effortlessly they add scents to exfoliating soaps (in fact, we ranked this soap as one of the best smelling soap for guys!). Lots of companies forget that exfoliating soaps need to not only work as heavy scrubbers, but smell great too.

This bar has that oak-y, mossy scent that almost reminds me of fresh rain, or sage. It’s also a solid exfoliator. While I wouldn’t use it against my face, it’s great as a heavy body soap that reaches all the nooks and crannies, even helping tighten up wrinkles. I definitely wouldn’t call it a relaxing soap; this is one that’ll leave you feeling fit as a fiddle.

Let me just note one more time that you should test this against your skin before you go crazy with it. Really, you should test any product that you’re using on your skin, but it’s especially important with exfoliating soaps that might cause breakouts.

Pros:

• It’s a strong scrubber. Reaches those hard-to-get places.

• Pleasant, subtle oak and moss scent.

• Definitely a beginning of the day soap, great way to wake up your body.

Cons:

• Might be too harsh if you have picky skin.

• Occasionally causes allergic reactions for some users.

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Is Bar Soap Better Than Body Wash?

I’m a little bit biased, but that’s always a yes in my book.

Two of my biggest reasons for sticking with traditional bar soap are the fact that it’s significantly more sanitary, and it tends to be more skin-friendly. If you’re looking for the best soap for men’s private parts, bar soap beats liquid body wash every time. It lets you skip out on the fun gential rashes.

The reason I say it’s more sanitary is because research has proven time and time again that bacteria just doesn’t grow on bar soap. But it does hang out on the plastic of your liquid soap pumps and caps. Bar soap also comes in more natural varieties that reduce skin irritation, while liquid soaps tend to have more added chemicals.

At the end of the day, bar soap is just more trustworthy. You can rest easy knowing that the chances of picking up an illness, a breakout, or a skin condition are far lower when you use an all-natural bar soap over a liquid soap.