Recommend a men's body wash?

September 26, 2019 9:07 AM

I'm looking for a men's body wash that's heavy on natural ingredients with a traditional masculine scent (vetiver, cedar, pine, tobacco, leather, etc.) Liquid form only - no bar soap, please. If it matters, I live in a humid, semitropical climate. No real skin issues but I tend to prefer washes that go heavy on oils and moisturizing properties.
posted by caveatz to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (16 answers total)

My husband bought this Method cedar+cypress body wash upon discovering he'd forgot soap on a recent vacation and we both love it. I told him it smells like sexy trees. Method is decently natural and they list out the ingredients and explain their purposes in the description.
posted by SeedStitch at 9:15 AM on September 26, 2019 [4 favorites]

If you're looking for natural ingredients then that may also overlap with ingredients/companies that are not animal tested-centric. So maybe check out the list of products supported by Leaping Bunny or PETA. That has been our experience anyway because fancy, non-natural ingredients with names that are 72 characters long often simply can't be on the list for products that meet those organization's criteria for eligibility.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:23 AM on September 26, 2019

I have no idea how "natural" it is, but my fancy-splurge body wash is this one from Molton Brown.
posted by uberchet at 9:29 AM on September 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

I had good luck going to a soap refill store. E.g., like this one, they tend to be hippie/wellness places. They often have unscented castille soap (think Dr. Bronner's) that you can add your own essential oils to, by the drop. I was expecting floral scents, but they had a "mountain man" scent that was piney and perfect for me.
posted by wnissen at 9:30 AM on September 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

Alpine castile soap is very nice-smelling and full of oils. I use the fir + sage and it feels like a good manly scent to me; they also have cedar + sandalwood. Before that, I used to use Every Man Jack which has good sandalwood and cedarwood scents.
posted by Jeanne at 9:31 AM on September 26, 2019

Brickell's All-In-One Wash, in the Evergreen scent (one of three available), has a very strong pine scent. I like it, but it's strong enough that I can imagine some would find it overpowering.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:33 AM on September 26, 2019

It might help if we knew in which part of the world you're shopping.
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:40 AM on September 26, 2019

Response by poster: I'm in the US. Florida.
posted by caveatz at 9:48 AM on September 26, 2019

Cremo has some really nice scents, and it’s not pricey.
And kiehl’s Body Fuel If you like a jolt in the morning.
posted by Ideefixe at 9:51 AM on September 26, 2019

The classic Dr. Bronner's has eucalyptus and tea tree scents on offer if you'd rather not DIY as suggested above - they're fair trade, organic, and no animal testing.

It is a soap (made with saponified oils) which are likely to have more "natural" ingredients lists than detergents (clean using surfactants, often colloquially called soaps, as in dish soap). Soaps tend to not be formulated with moisturizing ingredients, however. There may be a tradeoff between your criteria.
posted by momus_window at 10:08 AM on September 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

Seconding the Molton Brown recommendation. I got a sample of that once and loved it. Just being reminded about it makes me want to buy the full size, and I generally don't care what I smell like (as long as its not body odor).

It was a fairly standard body wash in terms of its ingredients / effect on the skin, but it could be made out of asbestos and I'd *still* consider it given how good it smelled.
posted by Anonymous Function at 12:48 PM on September 26, 2019

Seconding eucalyptus or tea tree Dr. Bronner's. I started using liquid Dr. Bronner's as my daily soap about 15 years ago and haven't looked back -- mainly tea tree or pepperment. As a swimmer I have found that tea tree Dr. Bronner's is particularly effective in cutting the chlorine smell on my skin and hair, and as a bonus you can use it to wash dishes and laundry as well.
posted by montbrarian at 12:58 PM on September 26, 2019

The irony of calling your product "Every One" for Every Body and then making products labeled "for men" is not lost on me, but the product is good. So: try this one?
posted by Lawn Beaver at 1:48 PM on September 26, 2019

Although not a man, I love those smells and my hands-down favourite is Activist. I find smells very hard to describe, but it is woody and spicy and rich.

There are also other men's products; I used Arber when Activist was unavailable and it's pretty good too.

A word of caution on products containing tea tree: it is pretty astringent and can really dry out your skin. It is great for pimples and oily skin for that reason, but if you want moisturising it may not be the best choice, or you may want to offset it with a moisturiser.
posted by Athanassiel at 2:05 PM on September 26, 2019

Forgot to say, the Body Shop uses lots of natural ingredients, doesn't test on animals and has strong commitments to sustainability, empowering women and so forth if those things also matter to you.
posted by Athanassiel at 2:09 PM on September 26, 2019

Le Labo Hinoki shower gel is woody, unisex, and gorgeous. Anything from that line, really, you can't go wrong.
posted by matildaben at 4:22 PM on September 26, 2019