The 22 Best Pregnancy Safe Natural Soaps in 2025
Soap and Body Care During Pregnancy: The Ultimate Guide
Congratulations, mama, you’re pregnant! Pregnancy is an exciting time, but it can also start to make you consider the products you use, especially regarding what you put on your body. Pregnant women often think about the safety of the products they use daily. With growing awareness of the potential risks posed by harmful ingredients, we usually seek out skincare products that are effective and safe for both us and our developing baby.
Fortunately, you can maintain a healthy skincare routine throughout pregnancy by using natural, pregnancy-safe products. After researching and learning all about less-toxic living, I want to walk you through what makes certain skincare products safe during pregnancy. I will outline key ingredients to avoid and the benefits of natural and organic soaps and body care items.
Why Safe Soap is Important During Pregnancy
Many pregnant women experience dry, itchy skin, stretch marks, and even more intense skin irritation or breakouts during this time. These symptoms can exponentially increase in winter when the air is drier.
The skin is your largest organ. The skin is also porous, making it highly absorbable and susceptible to the products you put on our skin. Your skin acts as a barrier; when certain products are absorbed, they potentially reach your unborn baby. That’s why it’s essential to be curious about what you use during pregnancy and which products are best for you and your baby.
Using safe lotion, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and hand soap with clean ingredients is one of the best things you can do to protect your skin and your baby’s health. Pregnancy-safe products, including natural soap, help prevent harmful chemicals from entering your system while keeping your skin nourished, moisturized, and irritation-free.
Ingredients to Avoid in Soaps
Knowing which ingredients to avoid is crucial for pregnant women. Many cosmetic products, even those marketed as “safe,” can contain toxins that pose risks to both the mother and baby. Some ingredients to avoid include:
- Toxic Chemicals: These substances may include parabens, phthalates, and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, all linked to endocrine disruption and other health concerns. The FDA found that almost one of every five cosmetics contains a preservative that releases formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen (cancer-causing ingredient) (1).
- Harsh Chemicals: Many body washes and shampoos contain sodium lauryl sulfate, which can dry and irritate sensitive skin. During pregnancy, your skin may become more sensitive, and exposure to such toxins could lead to irritation, especially if your skin is already dry or prone to stretch marks.
- Antibacterial Products: While antibacterial soaps are designed to fight germs, they often contain triclosan, which has been flagged for its potential to disrupt hormonal function. It is still used in hand sanitizers in high concentrations (2). When looking for safe soap or body wash during pregnancy, choosing a gentle formula without antibacterial agents is a good idea.
- Fragrance: Synthetic fragrances are considered endocrine disruptors, which can interfere with normal hormone function. The chemicals in fragrance are known to cause headaches, allergies, asthma, and some chronic illnesses. These chemicals can affect your health and your unborn baby’s development. Avoiding personal care products with the ingredient “fragrance” is best. (3)
- Artificial Colors: Many conventional beauty and skincare products contain artificial colors, which can trigger allergies or skin irritation in some pregnant people. These synthetic compounds may not be the best choice for your sensitive skin during pregnancy. Opt for clean beauty products that use natural oils and botanical fragrances instead.
Benefits of Natural Products for Pregnant Women
There’s a good reason why natural products are becoming increasingly popular during pregnancy. Using safe ingredients and natural soap ensures that the products you apply to your skin are free of the harmful substances mentioned above. Let’s take a closer look at the advantages of switching to natural and organic skincare during pregnancy:
- Gentle on Sensitive Skin: Hormonal fluctuations can leave your skin feeling drier, more prone to irritation, or even more acne-prone. Organic and natural products, such as gentle, hydrating body washes, shampoos, and soaps, are less likely to aggravate skin sensitivity and help soothe dry, itchy skin.
- Nourishing and Hydrating: Natural products with organic ingredients like aloe vera, coconut, and olive oil can deeply nourish and hydrate the skin. These ingredients are rich in antioxidants and essential fatty acids that help moisturize and protect your skin from the drying effects of pregnancy.
- Preventing Stretch Marks: Many pregnant women struggle with stretch marks as their skin stretches to accommodate a growing belly. Certain natural butter, such as shea butter, mango butter, and cocoa butter, are known to promote the skin’s elasticity and may help reduce the appearance of stretch marks.
Choosing the Right Skincare Products
Now that you know a little more about the ingredients (both good and bad!) in skin care and soap products, I’d like to talk about choosing the best lotion, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and hand soap during pregnancy. Here are some tips to ensure you’re selecting safe products:
- Read Ingredient Lists Carefully: Choose products with clean, natural ingredients. Avoid those that contain parabens, sulfates, artificial fragrances, or any other harmful chemicals. Many mobile applications have been developed to help you through this process. I recommend the Yuka app.
- Opt for Organic Products: Organic ingredients are grown without harmful pesticides, making them a safer option for you and your baby. Look for body washes, soaps, and shampoos made with organic ingredients to ensure you’re getting the purest products.
- Patch Test New Products: Even when using natural ingredients, it’s essential to patch-test new skincare products before applying them to larger areas of your body. Pregnancy often brings skin sensitivity, and it’s always a good idea to test a small amount first to ensure no irritation occurs.
The List of 22 Best Soaps for Pregnancy
Whew! We finally made it to the list of best soaps. Knowledge is power, and it is imperative to outline the reasoning behind avoiding certain product ingredients.
Hand Soaps
Brach Basics sells its concentrate, which can be diluted as hand soap in its foaming wash bottle. They also sell their gel hand soap and gel hand soap refill. The star ingredient in their gel hand soap is aloe leaf juice. Both are super nourishing and long-lasting! Copy the popup code for $10 off your first order!
A more frugal option, Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap is an all-purpose soap that is great for handwashing. Dilute the soap soap in a one to three-ratio and put it into a foam dispenser for hand washing. They have a variety of pure-castile soaps scented with essential oils, or you can purchase the unscented and use it as it or add your essential oils! This is a super nourishing hand soap with coconut oil, olive oil, and jojoba oil.
Earthley creates a fantastic bar soap for the body, face, and hair. This is the perfect soap bar for handwashing. Their scents include spring blossoms, rustic, and unscented. Their featured ingredients include coconut oil, castor oil, and jojoba oil for a hydrating feel. Use code HELLONATURAL for 10% off your first order!
4. Dr. Bronner’s Ogranic Sugar Soap
Do you like castile soap but feel there must be more than diluting it on your own? Dr. Bronner also created an organic sugar soap for the face, body, hands, and hair! The sugar combined with the white grape juice provides hydration for your hands.
5. EO Hand Soap
EO Hand Soaps are made with organic ingredients, including aloe leaf juice. With scents like lavender, lemon, Eucalyptus, orange blossom, vanilla, peppermint, and tea tree, you are sure to find something you will like!
Primally Pure hand soap features aloe vera juice and coconut oil to nourish and hydrate dry skin. Their scents include cool citrus breeze, sweet floral sage, warm citrus spice, and my favorite, crisp smoky woods.
Body Wash
Branch Basics foaming wash bottles with their concentrate make a great, scent-free body wash. It is gentle enough for sensitive skin and powerful enough for the most demanding cleaning on your body! Copy the popup code for $10 off your first order!
8. Earthley
Aside from their 3-in-1 soap, Earthley also makes several nourishing body soap bars, including an exfoliating soap, a sea salt soap, and an oatmeal and honey soap for dry or damaged skin. My favorite, the oatmeal and honey soap features cocoa butter, coconut oil, and oatmeal and honey! Use code HELLONATURAL for 10% off your first order!
Carina Organics has several different body wash options. They have a Botanical Therapeutic line, a citrus daily body wash, and several scents for a shampoo and body wash combination, including lavender, peppermint, and sweet pea. Carina Organics includes several organic ingredients and mixes your order batch once it is placed. This means it can take up to two weeks to receive your order, but I promise you it will be worth the wait!
Kosmatology body washes are eight ingredients or less. There are four scents and an unscented version. Featuring ingredients like olive oil and shea butter to keep your skin moisturized. Their grapefruit scent is designed to soothe itchy, eczema-like skin.
Aware skin is designed to leave your skin soft. With key ingredients, including aloe vera and castor oil, Aware Skin prides itself in its products made from pure nature.
Primally Pure sells a low-lather body wash that improves the microbiome and strengthens the skin barrier. With scents like Eucalyptus + Lavender, Almond + Vanilla, and Bergamot + Eucalyptus, each provides a subtle scent.
Shampoo and Conditioner
13. Carina Organics
Carina Organics features a Botanical Therapeutic shampoo, daily shampoo, extra gentle shampoo, dandruff shampoo, and their shampoo and body wash combination. Their conditioner styles include the Botanical Therapeutic, a daily light conditioner, and a deep treatment conditioner.
14. Earthley
Earthly has a multi-use and shampoo bar for curly/dry and oily hair. They also have a dry shampoo for in-between washes. Finally, they carry a leave-in conditioner that can double as a detangler. Use code HELLONATURAL for 10% off your first order!
15. Acure
Acure features various shampoo and conditioner remedies to meet your needs. These include a bonding remedy, a buildup balancing remedy, a clarifying remedy, a hydrating remedy, a volume remedy, and a daily remedy, to name a few.
16. Nurture My Body
Nurture My Body includes a moisturizing remedy, an everyday remedy, and a volumizing remedy. All products are paraben and sulfate-free!
Need more time? Penny Lane Organics has an all-in-one fragrance-free shampoo and conditioner. While it does foam, it does not strip the hair of its natural oils.
Lotions and Butters
With growing bellies in mind, Earthley’s Belly Butter contains organic cocoa and mango butter to nourish itchy and glowing skin. Use code HELLONATURAL for 10% off your first order!
Made for all types of Skin, Primally Pure Body Butter features various scents. With ingredients like beef tallow and mango butter, this body butter provides vitamin-rich moisture.
20. OY-L Body Butter
OY-L has whipped body butter with hydrating ingredients, including hemp seed butter and jojoba oil. This body butter comes in 6 scents as well as unscented.
21. Carina Organics Skin Cream
Carina Organics features a Botanical Therapeutic remedy and a daily hydrating lotion. Some organic ingredients in their daily lotion include avocado oil and pumpkin seed oil to replenish dry skin.
Luminance Orange Spice body lotion features jojoba and avocado oil to keep skin moisturized and soft. With a non-greasy finish, this lotion will make your belly feel smooth and hydrated all day!
Pregnancy-Safe Soap, Body Wash, and More: A Natural Approach to Skincare
Opting for safe, natural lotion, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and hand soap can make a massive difference for your skin and peace of mind.
With clean products, gentle ingredients, and a skincare routine tailored to your sensitive skin, you can feel confident that you’re giving your body the best care possible throughout your pregnancy. This guide can ease your mind as you do some self-care and invest in new personal care products!
Want to learn more about reducing toxins in pregnancy? Read about non toxic water bottles and water in pregnancy here!
Want to learn more about me? Click here!
If you want insider tips on a less-toxic lifestyle sent straight to your inbox, follow along with my newsletter and subscribe below., follow along with my newsletter and subscribe below.