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Hand soap seems like an oddly specific thing to get excited about; I get it. But as a grooming editor and fragrance obsessive, I notice the hand wash when I walk into someone’s bathroom. Is it a sad pump of antibacterial something or a bottle that says, “Yeah, I know Flamingo Estate”? We use it multiple times a day, and a great one smells fantastic, feels better on your skin and in general elevates the look of the newly minted taste-o-meter.
“The best hand soaps go beyond simply cleansing: They bring fragrance, texture and a sense of luxury to an otherwise mundane routine,” says Shannon Travis, co-founder of 1996comms. “Think of the scented hand soaps you find in a great restaurant or hotel — they become part of the experience and can subtly elevate the entire setting.” Like a great candle, it’s a small design detail with an outsized effect. As Travis puts it, “It’s an easy, relatively small way to express your taste — a reminder that even the most functional rituals can be made more beautiful.”
There’s also never been more to choose from. As elevated grooming has boomed, hand soap has gotten the same treatment, with brands obsessing over formulas, fragrances and vessels. Some have scent pyramids that rival cologne; others use nourishing oils and skin-friendly ingredients, all while looking worthy of permanent sink-side real estate. So rather than sorting them by skin type or concern, I focused on the ones that are enjoyable to use, where scent, experience and ritual matter just as much. The picks below may cost a little more, but if you can swing it, I’d argue that sometimes it’s the seemingly mundane things that bring a little joy — and your guests will appreciate the upgrade, too.
We’ve praised Flamingo Estate’s bar soaps enough times that we should probably be on commission. I kid, but when I saw — and tried — this hand soap, I knew few others could touch it. Start with that newly designed ribbed green glass vessel, which looks like something plucked from an old cathedral or impossibly chic apothecary right down to the wonderfully retro printed label. It’s old-world-meets-modern and, ahem, just quiet-luxury enough to display proudly by your sink. Inside is an herbaceous rosemary and clary sage scent — an elevated botanical blend the brand does so well — plus avocado and olive oils that leave hands soft. It feels every bit as good as it looks. Buy the bottle once, then top it off with recyclable refills. If it’s on a waitlist, there’s a reason: add yourself.
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If any brand taught us that hand wash could be a bona fide bathroom flex, it was Aesop. You know the bottle: that amber vessel with its unmistakable typography that can be spotted beside the sinks of seemingly every cool restaurant, boutique hotel and particularly stylish friend’s bathroom for the better part of two decades. Yes, Aesop’s hand washes are ubiquitous at this point, but they’ve earned their cult status. The packaging still looks fantastic, the citrusy, herbaceous blend of rosemary and lavender smells so damn good and the formula cleans thoroughly without leaving your hands feeling stripped. Plenty of brands have entered the fancy-hand-soap game since, but this remains a tried-and-true classic that still feels worthy of its reputation.
Was there ever any doubt that Le Labo would make a seriously scent-stellar hand wash? The fragrance obsessives behind some of the most recognizable scents on the planet make one of the best-smelling hand washes, period. Hinoki is a warm, woody aroma inspired by the sacred hinoki trees surrounding the Buddhist temples of Japan’s Mount Koya. Earthy and subtly smoky, it brings an almost meditative quality to the simple act of, well, washing your hands. It’s not all olfactory, though: The satisfying formula packs plant extracts and oils to cleanse while leaving hands feeling soft and smooth. Hinoki has practically become a grooming category unto itself, but few capture its transportive appeal quite as well as Le Labo.
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Frama didn’t exactly burst onto the scent scene. The Copenhagen-based design house seemed to arrive in hushed whispers, bringing the same minimalist sensibility of its furniture and interiors — and the kind of instant cool factor that made you want to know more — to body care. Its Apothecary hand wash certainly looks the part, housed in a reusable Italian glass bottle so handsomely minimalist you’ll want to admire it. But plenty is happening inside, too. The scent is on the subtler side, with sandalwood, cedarwood and ylang-ylang coming together in a woody, gently warm blend. Made with natural and organic ingredients and available in refills, consider it the hand wash for the discerning minimalist — or the guy who likes being able to say, “Oh, you haven’t heard of Frama?”
Ninety bucks for hand soap? Hear us out. Dries Van Noten brought his singular eye for color, pattern and unexpected pairings to hand and body care this past April, and the liquid soaps are about as luxurious as hand wash gets. Each comes housed in an artful, refillable bottle that feels more like a small piece of Dries design you just happen to use to wash your hands. The scents are equally considered, with three fantastic pairings built around unexpected contrasts: pepper and rose, basil and hinoki (again, hinoki is a thing) and soie & amber. It’s undeniably a splurge (and hey, the holidays are around the corner), but if your bathroom deserves the same consideration as your wardrobe, this is one seriously covetable — and fantastic-smelling — way to do it.
Evolvetogether has taken the design-savvy set by storm, despite a name that sounds vaguely like a Target in-house brand. (It’s not.) Its Restorative hand wash takes a considerably more stylish approach, pairing a gentle, hydrating formula made for frequent hand washers (raises hand) with a handsome, refillable glass bottle. Havana is my pick: warm cardamom gives way to earthy vetiver and dry, smoky cedarwood for a gorgeous, spicy-woody sudsing-scape. For those of us who wash our hands approximately 300 times a day, consider this a particularly elevated and enjoyable way to do it.
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C.O. Bigelow has been doing the apothecary thing since 1838 because, well, it’s an actual apothecary. And while plenty of hand washes on this list command luxury-fragrance prices, its Rosemary Mint hand wash proves you don’t have to spend a ton to upgrade what’s sitting by your sink. The formula pairs aloe vera with a bracing hit of rosemary and mint that smells wonderfully fresh, herbal and invigorating. It lathers well, leaves hands feeling soft and comes in that old-school C.O. Bigelow packaging that looks considerably chicer than your average aisle-seven cleanser. Consider it your gateway “better” hand wash.
Wonder Valley just doesn’t miss, and its recent foray into hand wash is, bar none, one of my favorite grooming launches of late. Earthy, natural, old-school yet modern, Wild Garden has that instantly recognizable design sensibility the brand does so well. Its olive oil-heavy formula gives the wash a silky feel and, naturally, the herbal scent is transportive: cedarwood anchors a tangle of basil, vetiver, bay, mint, rosemary, sage and lavender for something green, earthy and just a little wild. And then there’s that wonderfully vintage-inspired aluminum bottle, which looks so damn cool that I suspect most folks will happily keep it sink-side long after it’s empty (or, you know, refill it).
