Dr. Bronner's Liquid Organic Pure Castile Classic Soap Reviews

(Price listed here is from Trader Joe's for a 32-ounce bottle.)

If you haven't entertained yourself by reading scraps of their label in the shower, you haven't truly showered. Their website provides a fine example of the Dr. Bronner writing style:

"Dr. Bronner's PEPPERMINT Pure-Castile Soap is our most popular variety. The peppermint essential oil creates an exhilarating chilly-tingly-cool body space. Because therapeutically peppermint oil is a mild stimulant, it increases vitality and clarity, enabling constructive-selfish Peppermint-Castile users to work hard and get done! then sing-dance-play until we're All-One! Naturally, morning peppermint power showers lead to a fulfilling life of service and fun! Exceptions Eternally? Absolute None!"

The print on these labels is teeny, and wacky quotes like this are crammed into just about every possible space, offering months of stimulating entertainment and showertime laughs.

The label also claims that it can be used for shaving, shampooing, dishes, shower gel, hand soap, laundry, toothpaste (toothpaste??) and probably even more things by now. It doesn't, however, claim that it will do all these things WELL. It is certainly not going to produce thick or fluffy shaving lather, for those that need it. And while it makes a perfectly effective shower gel, it... well, it can be a little TOO effective in some areas, if you get my drift. I've heard some customers suggest that it should be diluted before any use, but it doesn't offer any suggestions for how much it should be diluted to be used as toothpaste or soap.

Nor am I willing to try it as a toothpaste; no matter how great the flavors they offer are, I don't want the flavor of peppermint or lemon-eucalyptus AND soap in my mouth. The one flaw with Dr. Bronner's (okay, besides the potential burning icy-hot sensation of too much peppermint oil where no peppermint oil was ever meant to be) is that it frequently falls into the trap of preaching deprivation instead of eco-friendliness. It is not worth it to me to save a few dollars a year by using Dr. Bronner's Soap as toothpaste (nor am I convinced I would actually be saving money that way). And I absolutely draw the line at following their suggestion of saving water by bathing in an empty tub with a damp washcloth moistened with Dr. Bronner's. Low-flow showerhead and greywater system, sure: damp washcloth "bath," no. No the hell no.

Still, when used appropriately, Dr. Bronner's is a cheap, eco-friendly, multi-purpose product with a wide range of nice scents. I would happily use it to wash my floor or scrub just about anything. It just happens to want you to do the footwork yourself to figure out which of their suggestions for use is actually going to work for you.

I have always had a hard time finding any soap that my skin didn't protest - loudly. Dr. Bronner's is simply the best, most skin-friendly soap I have ever used. It comes in a wonderful variety of scents - or unscented - and I've tried the lavender, almond, peppermint and unscented... in fact I have three of them at the moment. It uses all organic oils, no chemical surfactants or sudsing agents. It cleans wonderfully, even in hard water, and a single 16 oz bottle can easily last for 6 months - even using it as shampoo as well as body wash - so the price per size is fantastic - of course the bigger you go the more you save, and you can buy it by the gallon. Besides being animal-friendly and earth-friendly, as a bonus the company is fair-trade on most of it's ingredients, so it also humanity-friendly.

I was doing alot of research on ways to go natural, because I don't like putting all the chemical junk in my body. I recently switched from a facial cleanser I got from Walmart to a fabulous all-natural oatmeal faical cleanser that I make myself. After that I thought I would do a little research on switching to all natural shampoo. It turns out the almost every shampoo, including the ones that claim to be "natural", have really harsh cleansing ingredients in them. They put the same cleaning ingredients that they put into your dishwashing detergent! I started imagining how luscious and yummy my hair would look without using all those harsh things in it, and I basically inspired myself to make my own shampoo. I looked up lots of recipes and eventually decided on a water, pure castile soap, and vegetable oil mix. I went shopping the next day and got everything Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap and hurried home to try it out. I mixed everything up like the recipe called for and washed my hair. At first, it didn't make much of a difference but after about 2 weeks of use, my hair is extremely shiny, soft, frizz-free, and manageable! I wish I would have done this sooner, because I have spent hundreds of dollars on expensive "all-natural" and "good for your hair" shampoos, and all they did was make my hair look worse! I also wash my body with Dr. Bronner's and it gives me a nice, tingly feeling. I have to admit the smell of this the Lavender Dr. Bronner's I got makes me want to puke, but I am willing to endure the smell because it works wonders. It's an extremely strong small, your either going to hate it, or love it, there isn't a in-between. Overall, I give this product 16 thumbs up 34 stars!! :) The writing all over the label is slightly unnevering though, I have tried but I can't really make sense of what Dr.Bronner is exactly trying to say.... oh well.

 

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I had already been using the Peppermint for about a year in the shower and bathtub. I ran out in the
shower so decided to try another, which I chose the Orange. It isn't as tingly and doesn't sting your eyes.
However, the other day I noticed some scum in the shower, and got a cleaning sponge, put some orange Dr. Bronner's on it and scrubbed it. Magically it just disappeared. I then continued to clean the entire shower in nothing flat!! Wonderful. I love it, and will try other scents also.

Overall, I like this soap quite a bit.  It cleans really nicely (and it's actually a pretty all-purpose soap...I use it as hand soap and a body wash mostly...but I have tried it as a dish soaps) and is very.  It's very eco-friendly, organic, and paraben free.  And of course, the packaging is pretty unique and gives you lots of stuff to read as you stand there in the shower washing up. 

 

The only problem is that it's a pretty thin soap.  If you're not careful, you can squeeze out way too much.  Also, I don't recommend decanting it into a push pump container...I tried that and many a time, I managed to squirt soap all over my shirt because it's so thin and just comes flying out.  As a dish washing soap, it's not my favorite.  It cuts grease pretty well and doesn't generate too many suds but I just end up using tons of it accidentally. 

 

Hand and body soap = wunderbar.

 

Good stuff! I've used it for a couple years.

I have been using Dr. Bronners since I was a little girl and my dad used to buy it. A few years ago, my husband started buying it again and I remembered why I loved it so much. It smells great and makes your skin feel super, squeaky clean. I wish it wasn't quite so expensive, but honestly, it's worth the money.

Liquid soap is arguably one of the most wasteful "green" products things you can buy. Let's face it - liquid soap is mostly water. And, it comes in plastic packaging which isn't truly recyclable, it's really just "down-cyclable."

Clearly - using bar or powdered soaps is a more green option.

That said - Dr Bronner's liquid soaps are possibly my favorite soap -- I can use them for my skin, my hair, my cat, my shower, my dishes, my car. The soaps are biodegradable which means -- yes -- you can take them camping. Washing your hair over a bucket and rinsing right onto the ground. The bonus with Peppermint is that it leaves you feeling very tingly and clean -- it's a good thing.

However - I won't be buying anymore liquid soap once I run out of my giant size bottles of Dr Bronner's - it's just not in line with what I consider really green.

My dog was bitten by a brown recluse spider I soaked his leg in the Lavender soap 2x's a day and it made a big difference! Definitely recommend

I just bought the product after reading about it for awhile now. I found it at Walgreens of all places!
It lathers up really nicley. A little goes a long way so that justifies the price.
I love how my face tingles after I wash with it.
I know others have said the package is fun to read but I found it kinda distracting. It does have postive messages though.

My wife read about this soap online and now we make a point of buying it.

Even although $12 a bottle feels expensive (at least to me), it really isn't too bad. It lathers so well that you only need to use a tiny amount each time, so we find that it lasts for months. It's also organic and fair trade, so that helps make it feel like a better deal!

An added bonus is the bizarre packaging - it'll provide you with a little shower entertainment the first couple of times you buy it.

The only thing they could do better is have bulk refill stations (as with most things).

We started buying this soap a year ago, and now we always seek it out. We buy the peppermint version, and use it as soap in the shower and also for soap dispensers at our sink. For soap dispensers, you can dilute Dr. Bronners with about 50% water, which helps it to last longer. It's very strong, so if you don't dilute, you only need a small amount to work up a lot of lather. I love that it is organic, as many natural products are not.

Wonderful, especially the almond and lavender scented soaps. As we are a family with sensitive skin, this line is particularly helpful for us (esp. the baby mild).

i was first introduced to dr. bronner's soaps in high school when i worked at a vegan cafe that promoted all things eco-friendly and organic. it was amazing! we used it to wash dishes, mop the floors, and even as handsoap for the bathrooms. ever since then, i've been an avid user! i don't know many products that are as versatile as these soaps! i actually use them for foot soaks and facial steams. they also last forever and smell absolutely amazing (i'm particularly fond of the peppermint!) worst case scenario? you don't like it. at least you'll have some entertaining reading material courtesy of its info-packed label : )

I use Dr. Bronner's lavender soap for ALL of my house-hold cleaning. Bathrooms and floors included! When my current body wash runs out, I'm going to try it for that too.

This product is great! I have used this for close to 20 years. I live overseas and can't find it here but when I get to the States, it's an item on my "to buy" list. It's hard to find sometimes but well worth the effort.

My mom had a bottle when I was a little girl and I didn't see it again until my 20's. I kind of forgot about it until I saw the The movie Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox. He was a fascinating man way ahead of his time. I use it for everything from washing the baby's bum to dog baths to washing the deck furniture. A little goes a long way. It's full of goodness and doesn't hurt the spaceship Earth-ALL ONE!!

I remember the day very well. It was Earth Day and I stood and read the label and thought, "Wow, how weird." I love to try anything weird.. so off to the registar I went and couldn't wait to use it. Over the years I have used it for everything from washing a dog, to washing my car. I use it as laundry soap, dish soap, and shower gel. If you have anything but super short hair, I would not recomend it as a shampoo, but it can be used that way too. I add essential oils to spiff it up to match my mood. You can use it as a bug repellant on plants. The uses are numerous. they now even carry little 2oz sizes to travel on planes with. Yippie.

We use this soap for shampoo and body wash. It is really great. My dh loves the almond one and my fav is the lavender. It cleans really well and washes away clean. I can wait a couple of days to wash my hair after using this soap. Very decently priced too. The medium bottle is about 5 dollars, small one is $3.00, and the big one is $8.00.

We got a large jug of this in lavender scent to use as a multipurpose kitchen soap in a built-in dispenser - for handwashing and dishwashing. It isn't strong enough for really grimy pots, but is great for light washing and handwashing - thus eliminating the need for multiple soaps. The fact that you can buy a gallon of it is also cost effective.

The only thing I'd do differently next time is get the unscented version. I thought that the lavender scent was a little too strong.

This hand soap is great. I feel good about having it in my bathroom for my young students to use. I know how damaging parabens and phthalates are to young bodies so I am so grateful that this product is on the market for those of us who want to protect the health of people and also the planet. It has a great lavender smell, cleans well, lathers up just fine and rinses off well.

You can use this to clean your dishes, or your hair! Love this versatile product!

I was introduced to Dr. Bronner's three years ago while camping with my fiance. I was new to camping and not aware that traditional soap could not be used to wash our dishes. Since then, we've incorporated Dr. Bronner's liquid soap in the kitchen and the bar soap in the shower. The soap smells fantastic and gives me a little alertness kick while I'm washing the baked on grease. Note of caution: if using the peppermint bar soap in the shower, be careful of how much lather you put on your sensitive areas; essential oils do have astringent properties.

I was confused by the label and concerned by the price when I first picked up a gallon of Dr. Bronner's. The concern dwindled as soon as I smelled the soap.

The soap is ultra concentrated so in my 2-person household a gallon is split between 2 baths, a kitchen, the pantry and the laundry with about a half gallon to spare. The scents are strong and fresh. The ingredients are natural and organic. You can dilute it with hot water for mopping, you can dilute it with cold water for hand soap and shower soap. You can mix it with baking soda and water for a scrub cleaner. You can mix it with vinegar for a disinfectent cleaner. You can add other essential oils to boost the power or change the scent.

This is the best all around product you can have in the house.

The label is fun to read too.

I love this soap! It is very effective and smells great...peppermint. You can't get any better than this.

We used this to clean everything from clothes to dishes on a 3-month road trip. It never failed to please, and we could find it all over the country. Plus not too expensive. Yay!

So theoretically you can get 18 uses in 1...but why would you stop at 1 Dr. Bronner's? 

 

Here's what I like different "flavors" for:

 

Tea Tree (new-ish): nice body wash in the summer, leaves skin smooth and clear.  Good face wash too.  Just be careful not to get it in your hair--it's really dries it out.

Peppermint: It's definitely invigorating!  Good for winter showers, because it helps your blood get flowing.  But careful on sensitive areas!

Lavender: This is my personal favorite--I use it as a body wash and bubble bath, and it works well as a hand-wash detergent for my delicates.  Supposedly you can use it for shaving, but I find I definitely need moisturizing lotion afterwards when I've tried it. 

Citrus: I like this one best for hand-washing, and it's a good for guests. Everyone likes the bright scent of citrus!  This is the only one I've used (diluted) as a cleaner.  It worked well on grease. 

Unscented/baby: Good for washing pets. Probably good for washing babies too, but I haven't tried it ;)

 

 

i can't believe its taken me this long to try dr. bronners in the shower.  i got the peppermint oil version of this soap, and it is one of the best body washes i've ever used.  it is so refreshing and minty in the morning.  it washes off and leaves me feeling squeaky clean.  it suds so well on my loofah.  and, as if it couldn't get any better, it's very inexpensive.  just a little bit goes a long way.  i'm a convert!

I've been using the baby mild version for several years (the others are too strong for my high maintenance skin).  It's great as a hand soap, I found it drying as a body soap when I lived in the desert (with horridly dry skin), but now that I'm in the south I find it much better, but not for sensitive places, if you catch my drift, try the Diva Wash by the Diva Cup people instead).  Love the packaging, but for more entertainment, read the web site.  It does tend to clog up pump dispensers and then come shooting out when the plug is unplugged, but I just clean mine out with a pin when I clean the bathrooms and that solves the problem.

I'm jumping on to an already overcrowded bandwagon here, but I'm a convert to the Dr. Bronner's team. I use the peppermint - it smells amazing, definitely leaves a tingle on my skin, lathers nicely without using too much, and rinses really cleanly. My only complaint is that its consistency is a bit watery, so sometimes I accidentally poor out too much, that that's hardly a complaint.

 

***Update - I recently tried the Tea Tree oil version rather than the peppermint and REALLY didn't like the scent. It's a personal preference and won't cause me to downgrade my 5 star rating, but man oh man, no me gusta.

I'd avoided Dr. Bronner's for years, in part because I couldn't get past the label, which frankly gave me a headache will all those fonts and sizes and text, plus it was almost impossible to even find out how to use the product. The price was also a downside. However, once I learned that you dillute it, the price actually becomes a better buy than buying liquid hand soaps. Yes, it comes out really liquidy and runny, but once you start rubbing your hands together it feels like a "normal" soap. Also love the smell of the lavender.

Only soap I use....my wife uses it occassionally, but likes her stuff better. I got this on sale for 23 a gallon delivered and bought 5 gallons like 18 months ago. I used a gallon in the laundry and we still have 3 gallons. Peppermint is great in summer and smelled awesome in the laundry although I wouldnt use it now as I cant find it for under 40...do not like the Tea Tree, so use it to clean fruit/veggies and do hands.

 

Excellent value and enough is known about their environmental and organic stands!

 

Can dry in winter, but overall it is awesome stuff. Make sure to dilute...that seems to help.

I've been using Dr. Bronner's bar and liquid castile soap for years for everything from cleaning my floors to bathing.  It's fantastic and tingly, a great way to way myself up or give my house a fresh smell.  It may seem a little pricey for liquid soap, but I diluted about a 1/4 bottle with water, and it still works well.  It goes a long way.  You don't really need a lot.  Use it with baking soda to scrub the bathtub and sinks.  Would never go back to any of those chemical cleansers. 

Disregard the "purchase date".... I've been using Dr. Bronner's for about TEN YEARS now, and it's hands-down the best soap in the world!!! Okay... that might be a tad dramatic, but it really is a fantastic product. I've used it for bathing, cleaning clothes, cleaning dishes, and general housecleaning. It suds up wonderfully and smells great.

I like this product as a best liguid soap.

I use the liquid soap in a refillable foaming soap bottle. I don't have any problems with clogging, spurting, etc. I just reuse the Method brand foaming pump, and add 1-2 tablespoons of soap, then slowly fill the rest up with water. The smallest bottle lasts about a month(And I wash my hands a LOT.)

 

Also, one reviewer said that they didn't like how much water the liquid soap has in it. In fact, it is still very concentrated, and more eco-friendly to ship, uses less materials to package, etc, than other liquid soaps. The big bottle lasts forever! You really can dilute it down quite a bit, without any loss of quality. Also, when you are diluting it, you can add food coloring...kinda fun. One note though--if you don't use the pump very often, some of the soap may settle, causing "loss of lubricity", as my husband likes to say. Just give it a quick shake, and all is right again.

 

They also use fair trade oils, not many companies are doing this at prices I can afford, so it is really nice to be able to buy products that are so socially responsible. Also, you should check out how this company treats their employees. They are a model for all businesses.

 

Oh, and p.s. I tried it as toothpaste. It might work in a pinch, but I wouldn't recommend it.

I love using this as a household cleaner, ect. but as a body soap I choose not to use it anymore. It fells like it dries out my skin and leaves a soap residue that other bodywashes do not.

 I'm not sure about Dr. B's liquid soap. I diluted it with water for dish soap and my dishes are not really coming out clean, they have a film on them. There is no lather with this soap, is anyone else finding this?

 

I mainly use this for washing my clothes (along with some other items) and I love it.  leaves a great scent and no film.  I find it drying to my skin to use as a body wash, but most products tend to dry me out.  Never triied it for much else.

I love Dr. Bronners! Even though the bottle says there are 16 uses for this stuff, I keep finding more! Its great for camping, washing dishes, getting rid of my bike clothes stench, body wash, shampoo, all-purpose cleaner and my boyfriend even uses it to brush his teeth (not sure if I would go that far!).

 

I just found out my co-op offers this stuff in bulk too, which is great. However, its difficult to get through a whole bottle since a little goes a long way with this stuff which makes it a great value for the price. I've tried all of the scents and I think my favorite is the peppermint because it wakes me up in the morning and leaves my skin feeling tingly and refreshed. The lavendar is soothing, almond makes me hungry cause it smells like almond pastries, tea tree oil also has the same fresh feeling as peppermint. I suggest giving them all a try.

 

Last year I watched the Dr. Bronners Documentary. I definetley recommend watching it. Dr. Bronner was (lets just say) an interesting guy. Full of love and good intention, but a little off his rocker. Though its such a feel good movie that it makes me like this soap that much more.

For 40 years of camping, wilderness and cabin, it means clean outdoors adventure

On the whole, I like this basic Dr. Bronner's soap a lot. I'm just finishing up a bottle of the lavender. Makes for really good body wash (nice and basic and gentle). They say there are 18 uses for it, but I don't think I'd be inclined to use it for much besides body wash, hand soap, or basic cleaning tasks. Just beware if you use it as hand soap...it's not meant to go in a push pump. It will squirt all over the place.

I use the soap as a wash and shampoo.    I just used it to brush my teeth tonite.   It was a little weird, but not unpleasant, and my mouth feels very clean.

The ranting on the bottle was strange at first,   but it actually makes sense.   Dr. Bronner must have been a fascinating person.

The feel and smell is amazing.   Your hair and skin may be dry at first, but  your ph levels will adjust quickly.    we're just used to crappy soaps with waxes that make you feel moisturized.

I'm using the peppermint wash.    I'm going to check out the other products.    Oh, and the company philosophy is amazing.      Too bad there aren't more companies out there who are as humane.