No. 8: Purpose Gentle Cleansing Bar, $3, 21 Best Soaps

Health & beauty

21 Best Soaps

Sometimes the most basic necessities are the most luxurious beauty products -- see the top-rated soaps now

May 2, 2011 | by Sharon J. Yi | 37 COMMENTS

No. 8: Purpose Gentle Cleansing Bar, $3

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 9.4*
Why: Readers who "had tried all the high end brands of cleansers, toners, you name it" found this to be "a gentle yet effective product." Suitable for the "most sensitive skin imaginable," "it's the best facial cleanser you'll ever try." The product "feels light when you are rubbing it on, but gets off oil, makeup, and everything in between. It left my skin feeling smoother after the first use. Plus the bar is large!"

Agree? Disagree? Write your review here.

*At time of publication

SEE NEXT PAGE: No. 7: Aveda Rosemary Mint Bath Bar, $11

15 of 22

products mentioned

Lush Soap

8.0

Philosophy Amazing Grace Luxury Soaps

7.9

Mary Kay TimeWise 3-In-1 Cleansing Bar (with soap dish)

7.9

Clinique 3 Little Soaps with Travel Dish

8.4

Chanel No.5 Bath Soap

8.3

Dial Bar Soap

8.1

Method Gel Hand Wash

8.9

Olay Ultra Moisture Bar

8.9

Dove White Beauty Bar

9.2

Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Deep Cleansing Hand...

9.1

Caress Daily Silk Beauty Bar

9.1

Bliss Lemon + Sage Soap

9.3

L'Occitane Shea Butter Extra Gentle Soap

9.3

Purpose Gentle Cleansing Bar

8.7

Aveda Rosemary Mint Bath Bar

9.4

Dial Antibacterial Liquid Soap

8.7

Burt's Bees Baby Bee Buttermilk Soap

9.5

Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Liquid Soap

9.5

Pangea Organics Bar Soap - Indian Lemongrass with...

9.5

Beecology Handmade Pure and Natural Bar Soaps

9.7

Dove Sensitive Skin Unscented Beauty Bar

9.6

leave a comment

View old comments

It is an excellent grandfather

by alwafi28 Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 06:30PM Report as inappropriate

So many of these are "staples" in our home! I also love "Ivory Soap" and DHC's "White Soap."

by GigiSD Sunday, April 14, 2013 at 03:39PM Report as inappropriate

i like Ivory soap a lot

by LittleBunny Friday, February 22, 2013 at 10:01AM Report as inappropriate

Dove is easily the best of the best in my opinion, but did enjoy reading this anyways. Some of these brands I never even heard of.

by Alana_Danes Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at 08:26AM Report as inappropriate

The article was kind of confusing....the Dove soap comes in bulk packs so even though the prices here seem high, it's really only a couple bucks per bar.

by amber.flute Monday, January 14, 2013 at 01:39PM Report as inappropriate

I definitely prefer handmade soaps over almost all commercial "soaps" ... It's a totally different experience.

by KarasuSparkle Sunday, September 30, 2012 at 09:09PM Report as inappropriate

I'm not a fan of most bar soaps, but I am a fan of Dr. Bronner's liquid soaps. I've used them my entire life. Peppermint, Almond, & Lavender are my faves.

by MissPoison Tuesday, September 4, 2012 at 01:36PM Report as inappropriate

I love Caress bar soap and have been using it for years. It's more eco-friendly than shower gel/body wash because it uses a lot less packaging and lasts a lot longer.

by RoleModel Monday, July 23, 2012 at 11:30PM Report as inappropriate

Some good soaps at good prices but also some bad soaps were in this article too. I feel like they left out a lot of good soaps on the market and please, let's try to stay away from antibacterial as much as possible with the exception for the necessary circumstances.

by angelica17 Friday, May 4, 2012 at 01:41PM Report as inappropriate

This post gives me some ideas for the next time I want something new.

by StanziMozart Friday, May 4, 2012 at 01:21PM Report as inappropriate

I have always been a big fan of plain old soap

by LittleBunny Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 10:57AM Report as inappropriate

Dove is my go to but I have recently been using Yardley and it is great also! Both are very mild and great for senstive skin.

by ctunstall Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at 02:34PM Report as inappropriate

Dove is the only bar soap my family uses!

by powerwoman033 Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 11:09PM Report as inappropriate

Love Dove!

by Only1KimmieD Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 08:36AM Report as inappropriate

Why are they so many bar soaps it grosses me out! I like the gels way better.

by Alisunshine Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 09:00AM Report as inappropriate

i personally love the dove and caress soap...it smell so nice and not overwhelming however i don'r really like the dial soap because it makes my skin feel rough after use...

by ruby_chang Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 09:03PM Report as inappropriate

I absolutely love this soap!

by NDavis0730 Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 09:52PM Report as inappropriate

I love Bath & Body Works soap for washing my hands and Dove for my body.

by vfalkow Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 07:31PM Report as inappropriate

Dove is classic, I always go back to it. great article.

by taryn.romero Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 09:14AM Report as inappropriate

I love Method Hand Wash - I wash my hands a lot getting ready in the morning (before I put my contacts in, before and after I put my makeup on to get makeup off my hands, after doing my hair to get hair product off) and it gets everything off and my hands never feel dry. I also love the teardrop shaped bottle on my counter! I will have to finally try other scents, I always get Sweet Water.

by dark_beauty Monday, June 13, 2011 at 12:48PM Report as inappropriate

Yay!!!! Dove has been and will always be the best!

by efilnikufesin Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 09:45AM Report as inappropriate

love these soaps! i always go back to dove's beauty bar!

by kenya Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 09:23AM Report as inappropriate

dove is my favorite soap too!

by Sbalzer Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 02:20PM Report as inappropriate

I am giving the whole article 10 stars. Mainly because it is so hard to find bar soap any more. Unfortunately I did not see the type I used to like, but this gives me hope!

by tifosi Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 01:20PM Report as inappropriate

Wow, fascinating. I thought Dove soaps were low priced mass market soaps. Who knew? I love Fresh soaps. Those and Bliss - various ones from both, are my family's favorites. Lush is a nasty company in so many ways, they get no more of our money!

by Agrimony Monday, May 9, 2011 at 01:17PM Report as inappropriate

iVi Scents is my favorite soap!

by ntrlbeautyblog Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 02:53PM Report as inappropriate

good to know

by porsha_coleman_mcdaniels Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 01:28AM Report as inappropriate

Good suggestions

by volta Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 10:26PM Report as inappropriate

Dove soap is $9-11?

by krglvt Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 09:42PM Report as inappropriate

Thanks for the great info!!

by muellsrus Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 05:54PM Report as inappropriate

Dove and dial are great!

by Georgie1 Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 12:03PM Report as inappropriate

Dove,Caress and the new Dial.

by tiffany_gallehugh Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 11:48AM Report as inappropriate

I always love dove soap(except dove pink). Also Dial antibacterial hand soap is great. I also use soft soap antibacterial hand soap.

by ebbsandtides Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 11:07AM Report as inappropriate

Great article. Soaps are not all created equal!

by louisamarie Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 10:41AM Report as inappropriate

I like plain old Dove soap the best.

by LittleBunny Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 10:12AM Report as inappropriate

good to know

by kiofairy Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 09:08PM Report as inappropriate

Dove is amazing. And I love Bath & Body Works Antibac hand soap, although I wish it weren't antibac (bacteria become resistant), and that it weren't so drying. Dial is great stuff too--I love the pomegranate bar soap! LUSH's Vanilla in the Mist soap is great--smells vanilla-y but not too girly. It's my boyfriend's favorite soap.

by LipglossandSpandex Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 06:06PM Report as inappropriate

Home » Beauty Tips » Health & beauty » Beauty products » 21 Best Soaps