Body Washes That Are Better For You

My taste in body washes changes throughout the year. Sometimes I want something fruity or floral-scented and other times I’m more concerned about the benefits a wash has, particularly during the winter months when my skin gets drier. My own husband started complaining how itchy his back felt and I knew it was because of him using hot water and the same body wash he likes using year-round. I’m trying to break him of that habit and teach him sometimes our skin needs a little more….he finally caved. Lol

In my own search for great body washes, I’ve come across four great options that I rotate in my shower. I’m so curious if any of these are ones you guys use too! If so, share in the comment section what you think of these!

Odele Moisturizing Body Wash

I have seen the Odele brand at Target for a long time now and I finally took the plunge. I wanted to grab all their products when they were on sale, but I have so much stuff I need to curb the impulse. Odele is a woman-owned and operated brand that strives to make products without harmful ingredients. All of their products (as of now) are vegan, gluten-free, sulfate-free, and cruelty-free. They do use 100% natural fragrance (NO synthetic fragrances ever) but have fragrance-free options as well. They also omit 1328+ cosmetic ingredients banned in the E.U. in their formulas and package their products in 40% PCR material. 

I chose the Moisturizing Body Wash which smells like juicy oranges. The packaging says grapefruit and orange peel. My nose just says ORANGES! The scent is very yummy and I love how this one suds in the shower, I can get a lot of bubbles using my Daily Concepts Body Scrubber (these are the best, everyone needs one of these). The moisturizing body wash features a vitamin B complex that contains B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, and B9 (not in that order and is designed for dry, dull, or sensitive skin.)

I shave using my body wash at the moment and this one does a good job of allowing my razor to glide over body parts while making my shower smell delicious. At only $9 per bottle, this is a bargain for me. I like that I can always find it at Target. I would like it to be available on Amazon too, but maybe that’ll happen down the road. Odele also has shampoo, conditioners, and body lotions. 

Beautycounter Body Wash

If you’re looking for a clean formula with a little bit of luxury added to it, then allow me to take a moment to introduce you to Beautycounter’s Body Wash which was recently repackaged and had a huge relaunch at the beginning of 2022. Major props to the repackaging of this product as it is considered refillable even though they are housed in beautiful aluminum bottles with plastic pumps, alleviated the part of the burden on our landfills. 

Not only that, this made for all skin types body wash is formulated with your skin and our plant in mind. Key ingredients are marula oil (antioxidant source), mongongo oil (high in omegas and antioxidants), pro-vitamin B5 and have been updated to include RESPONSIBLY-sourced palm oil. 

The scent and bubble action of this product is more delicate than the Odele body wash, but I still enjoy it. And I think a big draw with this is that you’re getting a luxurious feeling product that has our plant in mind. Hello, refills! That’s very cool and the packaging was adopted throughout the body care and haircare lines.  **** new to Beautycounter? First time customers get a 20% discount on their order! let me know and I’ll supply you with a code! ***

Aleavia Honeysuckle Body Cleanse

I can’t remember how exactly I found the Aleavia brand but I’m glad I did! What drew me to this brand with the ridiculously short ingredient list. For real, I almost thought it was a typo until I looked up all of their products and realized the ingredient deck was correct. Aleavia specializes in organic prebiotic plant-based skincare products that are biodegradable, sulfate-free, and free of artificial fragrances, colorants and parabens. 

They do have a few naturally scented products like orchid and honeysuckle but also have a  fragrance-free  Enzymatic wash. While this product line was created for problematic skin and I don’t suffer any serious skin issues, I chose it because if it can make unhappy skin happy — it would surely make my happy skin, happiER. I do enjoy the amount of bubbles this thicker body wash creates. My Daily Concepts body scrubber is not a good match for this wash though, it seems the bubbles go away faster, so I use their included shower poof and got the bubbles I wanted. The scent of honeysuckle is INCREDIBLE, and my skin feels great so I look forward to trying other scents when I finish what I have. 

Naturium Glow Getter Multi-Oil Hydrating Body Wash

Naturium is ALL over Instagram, but not for its body products, rather, it’s skincare. It looks like a nice line but I didn’t investigate it much because I have a lot of skincare already. But because my husband has been complaining of dry, itchy skin in the middle of the night I suggested he try a shower-oil cleanser instead of his usual Turbo Wash from Jack Black. Obviously, I bought this for him. Wink, wink. I know I’ve tried shower oils before and loved how the Loccitane version smelled and made my skin feel good in winter months, but I like trying new things so this was a good time to see how Naturium makes a body wash. 

The key features of this wash are that it contains over 50% glycerin (that’s the stuff that attracts water to the skin), squalane and phytolipids to help strengthen the skin barrier. I really thought this would be a low foam wash but I was surprised when it created TONS of bubbles delicately scented like vanilla and something else I can’t quite put my finger on. I LOVE how this oil-to-gel wash feels on the skin and will definitely repurchase. I feel a difference in my skin immediately and that doesn’t happen often. I would like to see the body products carried at Target so I don’t need to order online, but aside from that, I am happy with the price range (around $20) and how it worked for my skin and my husband. You can find Naturium Glow Getter Multi-Oil Hydrating Body Wash here. (update is that they just released 4 more skincare specific washes! more on that later!)

Final Thoughts

I enjoy ALL of these washes, I truly do. I think each has something unique to them whether its affordability, accessibility, luxuriously clean ingredients, or noticeable improvements to the skin. Right now, if I had to pick a favorite it would be the Naturium wash because it just really moisturizes the skin well and the bottle feels huge! Aleavia has such a gorgeous scent and I’m still shocked by the smallest ingredient list I’ve seen for a wash. Sigh. I like everything, guys. I had to share them all. What’s funny is I just spotted another clean brand of body washes that I MUST get my hands on and will share once I give them a trial run.

Do you see any washes here you would try? I’d love to know what you think!