We've Joined the Cult of Fancy Hand Soap (and We're Never Going Back)

If only we had a dollar for every time we’ve obsessively scrubbed our hands with globby, sad Flubber hand soap over the last few years. Ideally, the only places where we should be squirting cheap foam on our hands is at the local dive bar or the airport, and one thing has become clear: We deserve a lot better than run-of-the-mill drugstore slop that acts more as palm irritant than hand cleanser.

It’s hard to rationalize when and where we should drop (relatively) tiny, stupid, juicy sums of our leprechaun coins on something just because it makes us feel good, but that’s what’s so perfect about something like luxury hand soap: It’s an inherently practical purchase, and one whose scale of luxury, in our humble opinion, can range anywhere from a few bucks to the price of a nice bottle of whiskey. High-end hand wash has become such a covetable item that there has been media chatter about which brand will become the next jewel of the public eye (and omnipresent status symbol of restaurant bathrooms), with Eater declaring that “Le Labo might be giving Aesop a run for its money” and GQ lauding Aesop hand sanitizer as “a flex for an anxious time.”

All that industry chatter aside, it’s genuinely ripe for a little bit of olfactory escapism—a simple necessity that, when elevated, turns into a gateway luxury that leaves our fingers energized and luxuriated, as if they’ve been coddled in buttercream and butterfly-kissed by clouds—something each and every one of us deserves, whether your personal-spa-in-a-bottle is teetering next to the faucet in an otherwise grungy bachelor pad or perched by the farmhouse sink of an impeccably remodeled chef-grade kitchen. The following soaps straddle the price spectrum between "special" and "won't bankrupt anyone," while offering a virtual sensory vacation.

Say what you will, Aesop's ever-popular hand wash still slams. Citrusy, woody, and thoroughly “herbaceous,” this hand soap makes us feel both worldly and down-to-earth, like Francis Mallmann has roasted our hands over a spit and doused them in the nectar of the gods. The amber bottle is so iconic, it's become a status symbol—and it's big enough to make the price tag well worth it. 

In the luxury fragrance game, not many can rival Byredo. While its minimalist packaging and romantic-sounding names pretty much sell its entire suite of incredible-smelling products all on their own, we’re happy to report that the brand’s scents live up to their beautifully designed bottles. This soap, simply titled “Suede”, blends hits of pear and florals with musky notes and hints of sweet amber. Expect something sweet, but rugged—exactly the vibe we’re going for.

You know how every office has that one guy who just smells really good? Like you get stuck in the elevator with him and it's overpowering and borderline annoying, but also intoxicating and aspirational? That's the Le Labo guy. His cloud of Santal 33 practically precedes his presence, and leaves a memory of him wherever he may pass. Anyway, Le Labo is a hot-shot scent factory and their hand soap is no exception, this one in a more subdued basil-verbena scent that is combined with sea buckthorn, sugar scrub, and hand-soothing rosemary for feel-good effects. Its bottle is unimposing to the miscellaneous house guest, but IYKYK. 

The couple behind this New York City fragrance house is so in love with their scents, they’ve even paired them with songs (to say nothing of their IRL boutiques, a kind of Brutalist-James-Turrell wet dream). The Big Sur handsoap is also rooted in a hyper-specific, curated narrative of smelling “rain water in eucalyptus groves off Highway 1,” and specifically “young green shoots, long spears, russet underbrush.” We don’t know what long spears are, but this is the olfactory escape we’ve been looking for.

We can def imagine this Very Good Soap in Nick Offerman’s guest house bathroom (which we unfortunately have yet to be invited into), because he’s already out here ASMR-carving soaps, for one, and this cruelty-free soap is spartan in design, refreshing in scent (citrus) and made in New Jersey by a brand whose wildest superlative statements are “it’s all good.” Good, and relatively cheap. 

The staying power of Aesop’s skincare products is a testament to its quality—and its status as a symbol of luxury, elegance and, well, status. These no-rinse options are great for on-the-go hand cleaning, with style. They also won’t dry out your hands with repeated use. 

Compagnie de Provence makes BIG bottles of CREAMY soap that smell GREAT and CATCH YOUR ATTENTION WITH THAT BIG SANS SERIF TYPEFACE. For real, though, hand soap gourmands absolutely love this stuff—we're talking an orgy of five-star reviews. It's loaded with vitamin E, shea butter, and coconut oil, and you can even use it as shower gel; think Dr. Bronner's gone upscale. It ain't cheap, but at $33 for 16.7 ounces, you get a lot of bang for your buck. 

If you haven’t seen this ridiculously charming hand soap on your #fyp yet, well, congratulations—we guess you’re not addicted to TikTok (yet). Not only does this yuzu-flower-scented hand wash smell great, but it also dispenses in the shape of a flower, which provides a little bit of much-needed entertainment value to the hand-washing process.

I don’t know about any of y’all, but when you have sensitive skin, washing your hands multiple times a day can be the difference between clear, smooth skin or cracked, itchy palms. CeraVe is a go-to for its non-irritating face cleanser, but its Hydrating Cleansing Bar hits the same high marks for those soft boi-skin sufferers. Sure, you can cop CeraVe at the local drugstore, but given the brand’s groundswell of personal and professional recommendations on TikTok, CeraVe has become so popular that trying to actually buy it can be as challenging as shopping Supreme on a Box Logo drop day.  Remember: it’s not always about price; having healthy skin is its own luxury.

This unique tablet-based soap system was born from two of our favorite things to stress out about: reality TV and saving the planet. You may know Blueland from when it tap-danced on Shark Tank, or simply because you’re passionate about reducing single-use plastic. Either way, integrating their products into your life is a great way to be a less shitty skin sack on planet Earth. Just add water to the agave, lemon and eucalyptus scented tablets of this soap, and boom. Foam away, in good conscience.

This Diptyque soap comes in a refillable, heavyweight glass bottle with a chill take on the fragrance brand's signature biG LeTter logo, bringing the luxuriousness of their boutique experience to our bathrooms without feeling too douchey. The formula is a hydrating blend of lavender, rosemary, and honey, and we’re going to try really hard not to tartine it on a croissant. 

We don’t know why the words “trusted by Japanese school children” have us ready to ride ‘n die for Shabondama. The graphic design is calm, straightforward, and indicative of this scent-free, trusted road to bubbletown that lies ahead with this lil dude. It’s formulated without additives, and the refills are just as cool. 

For the sheer novelty of buying something called, “soap on a rope,” we give you this charming oval by Claus Porto. Founded in the late 1800s by two German dudes, this brand has long been making high-quality products that lather you up in old world fashion. We can’t wait for the moment to add this to our bathroom when houseguests visit, leaving them with the thrill of spending an extra stressful five minutes in the bathroom trying to figure out how TF the soap works. We may have a problem. 

So, what song should you hum to yourself while scrubbing up? We’d recommend “Steal My Sunshine.” IYKYK.

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.